Alvarez Kelly
Alvarez Kelly | |
---|---|
Directed by | Edward Dmytryk |
Written by | Franklin Coen |
Produced by | Sol C. Siegel |
Starring | William Holden Richard Widmark |
Cinematography | Joseph MacDonald |
Edited by | Harold F. Kress |
Music by | Johnny Green |
Color process | Pathécolor |
Production company | Sol C. Siegel Productions |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 110 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $1.4 million (est. US/ Canada rentals)[1] |
Alvarez Kelly is a 1966 American
Plot
Mexican cattleman Alvarez Kelly (William Holden) is contracted to deliver a herd to the Union Army in Virginia. As he nears the end of his long cattle drive, Kelly is captured by Confederate raiders led by Colonel Tom Rossiter (Richard Widmark). The Confederacy desperately needs the beef to feed its soldiers besieged in Richmond.
Kelly is "persuaded" to help shanghai and deliver the stolen herd to Richmond. Despite the hatred between the two men, they manage to work together. Kelly first teaches Rossiter's men how to drive cattle. Then, they proceed to capture and drive the herd away, despite the efforts of Union officer Major Albert Stedman (Patrick O'Neal). As revenge, Kelly arranges passage for Rossiter's discontented fiancée, Liz Pickering (Janice Rule), on a blockade runner leaving the besieged city.
Cast
- William Holden as Alvarez Kelly
- Richard Widmark as Col. Tom Rossiter
- Janice Rule as Liz Pickering
- Patrick O'Neal as Major Albert Stedman
- Victoria Shaw as Charity Warwick
- Roger C. Carmel as Capt. Angus Ferguson
- Richard Rust as Sergeant Hatcher
- Arthur Franz as Capt. Towers
- Don 'Red' Barryas Lt. Farrow (as Donald Barry)
- Duke Hobbie as John Beaurider
- Harry Carey Jr. as Cpl. Peterson
- Howard Caine as McIntyre
- Mauritz Hugo as Ely Harrison
- Barry Atwater as General Kautz (as G.B. Atwater)
- Robert Morgan as Capt. Williams
- Paul Lukather as Capt. Webster
- Stephanie Hill as Mary Ann
- Indus Arthur as Melinda
- Clint Ritchie as Union L.t.
Production
The film was shot in the vicinity of
Reception
The film was generally well received by critics. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times remarked that it was "a good picture—nice and crisp and tough", praised the script writer Franklin Coen for "blueprinting a fresh idea, and salting it with some tingling, unstereotyped behavior and gristly dialogue". He further praised the cinematography, the casting of Holden and Widmark, which he considered "sardonic perfection", and added that the "picture perks up beautifully in the ripely-detailed homestretch".[3] Variety praised the action sequences with the cattle stampede but, unlike Crowther, thought there were some issues with the script which they believed "overdevelops some characters and situations, and underdevelops others".[4]
Author John H. Lenihan compares the film to
References
- ^ "Big Rental Pictures of 1966", Variety, 4 January 1967 p 8
- ^ "Notes". TCM. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley (November 17, 1966). "Alvarez Kelly". The New York Times. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
- ^ "Alvarez Kelly". Variety. December 31, 1965. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-252-01254-9.
External links
- Alvarez Kelly at IMDb
- Alvarez Kelly at the TCM Movie Database
- Alvarez Kelly at AllMovie
- Alvarez Kelly at the American Film Institute Catalog