The Treasure of Pancho Villa
Dir: George Sherman
1955
***
George Sherman's The Treasure of Pancho Villa is a mature Western that could have been a classic, had it not pandered to certain trends. Rory Calhoun plays Bryan, a (machine) gun for hire who, tired of the life-style, decides to cease working for Mexican revolutionaries and work for the Cubans instead. He is talked out of it when a job comes from long-term partner Castro who is in turn working for Pancho Villa. The job is too big to refuse, the reward being big and the opportunity to begin his own revolution too tempting to ignore. It is the relationship between Bryan and Castro that is the driving force behind the story, as both have equal respect for one another but neither one will let the other get in the way of their own persona agendas. Bryan is the perfect anti-hero with a moral message and Castro is his somewhat untrustworthy side-kick. The development of Bryan's character is thrilling as the audience is never sure whether or not we should be behind him or not, Castro's character being likewise. I think Shelley Winter's inclusion as an American woman turned soldadera after her father is killed, is there purely for the sake of having a big star name on the poster. Her performance is good but her character really isn't needed as Bryan narrates the story throughout. Her inclusion is a bit of a distraction, I'm glad hers wasn't mean't to be a romantic role, which wouldn't have fitted the film's style but at the same time, if it was meant to credit and acknowledge the soldaderas it was a little half-hearted. The conclusion is great but the second half of the film never quite lives up to the impact of the first. Entertaining enough but a let down considering the uniqueness of the story.