Four Rode Out

Interesting film with a strong cast. Pernell Roberts is outstanding and should have had more starring roles. It is slow paced but keeps the viewer's interest. Only a weak script keeps this from being more memorable. Following the success of the spaghetti westerns some American companies took advantage of the Spanish locations and used mostly American casts. "Four Rode Out" has the look of a spaghetti western while avoiding the badly dubbed dialog that hurt the genre. The primary print currently circulating appears to be from a television movie package so some words get bleeped out here and there. Fortunately it is not a choppy as many were.

About the only thing interesting in this early '70's western is the soundtrack. Composer and performer Janis Ian had a long, distinguished musical career, frequently working in Hollywood on both features and indie projects. Other than an obscure short, this 1971 feature was Ian's first effort. Ian provides not only several songs, but also the guitar work for all tbe incidental music. A great first effort in an otherwise forgetable movie. Parnell Roberts leads?

I kind of liked this slow-moving western, filmed in Spain's Almeria region. Technically this is a spaghetti western, a USA-Spain co-production, although only the location and one of the stars have any sort of Euro-Western pedigree. The music, by Janice Ian, is about as far from Ennio Morricone as you can get, although some of the banjo plunking is appropriate. Pernell Roberts is very good as the Marshal, after fugitive Julian Mateos (THE HELLBENDERS, RETURN OF THE SEVEN) who robbed a bank during which a teller was killed. Along for the ride are slimy Pinkerton man Brown played by Leslie Nielsen in a rare villainous role, and lovely Sue Lyon as Mateos' fiancé, who wants to see him brought in alive. They ride and ride, then ride some more, and finally pause for a brief action scene, then ride back the way they came, but now they're low on water. It takes patience to watch, but the actors keep our interest, and I was pleased by the ending. As half of a dollar DVD I felt my fifty cents was pretty well spent. Two puzzles though, all the listings for this flick say 1971 but the titles at the end claim 1968. I tend to believe the titles. Also, the version I saw bleeped the word whore when it was spoken, several times in the first few minutes. I wonder why?

This is an exciting film with thrills , go riding , fights , crossfire , and breathtaking outdoors from Spain . It's a thrilling western with continuous confrontation across the perilous and hot desert . U. S. Marshal (Pernell Roberts) sets out to bring in a Mexican thief (Julián Mateos) accused of killing his girlfriend's (Sue Lyon) father and starting an odyssey throughout a dangerous territory under a boiled sun , while water is running out . The third American results to be Mr. Brown (Leslie Nielsen) , a really strange role with dark secrets who is a Pinkerton man interested in recovering the bank money and the bounty as well . However , turning out that there's more to the story than there first shows up to be.

It's a mediocre Paella Western mostly produced with participation by Spain and USA Dick Miller , based on an original story nu actor/writer Dick Miller a s Richard Miller . It doesn't follow the Sergio Leone wake and being proceeded in American style more than European one . The film packs violence , shootouts and an intriguing story about ambition and treason . The picture scrutinizes the greed and paranoia that afflicts a misfit group of thirsty people , including their enormous difficulties to escape from a sunny desert and a strong taking on among four protagonists . Regarding a two-fisted sheriff on the trail of a Mexican robber who has just stolen a bank where a guard was murdered . The picture provides Pernell Roberts with a mediocre showcase as a tough marshal somewhat in a rough and adventurous mold . It was part of Pernell Roberts' unsuccessful run at movie stardom by showing a silly bravery and masculinity style , following his departure from the enormous TV hit Bonanza in 1965 . In fact , this Western ¨Four Rode Out¨(1969) was shot in Spain at the same time to ¨Tibetana¨(1970) with similar actors and director. It is a mostly shoddy film by displaying a murky script with betrayal , twisted events and disconcerting scenes This film in short budget blends thrills , intrigue , and violent confrontation , but it results to be slow-moving , a little bit boring and regularly made , being filmed in desert of Tabernas , Almeria, Andalucia , Spain . Charismatic performance for whole casting . This is a Chorizo/US Western with various American actors , boasting famous and top-of-the range players , such as : Pernell Roberts , Sue Lyon, Leslie Nielsen and the Spanish Julián Mateos and Maria Martin.

The musician Janis Ian composes a sensitive soundtrack , including catching and moody songs . It packs atmospheric cinematography by Rafael Pacheco , tough imperfect , being necessary alright remastering because of the film-copy is washed-out . The motion picture was regularly directed by John Peyser . This filmaker directed another Pernell Roberts vehicle in Spain along with Julián Mateos : ¨Tibetana¨ (1970) that was also a flop . Peyser directed as cinema as television movie . As he made occasional theatrical films, such as : ¨Undersea Girl¨ , ¨Massacre Harbor¨, ¨Tibetana¨ , ¨Four rode out¨ . But he usually shot episodes for notorious TV series , such as : ¨Man Without a Gun¨, ¨The Rifleman¨ , ¨The man behind the badge¨ , ¨Suspense¨ , ¨Danger¨ , ¨The Man from U. N. C. L. EÑ , ¨TheVirginian¨ , ¨Bonanza¨ , ¨The Rat Patrol¨ , ¨Switch¨ , ¨Shazam!¨ , ¨Mannix¨ , ¨Hawii 5 .0¨ , ¨Route 66¨, ¨ Warner Brothers Presents¨ , ¨Law of the Plainsman¨, ¨Crusader , ¨Perry Mason¨. ¨Four Rode Out (1969) rating : 5/10 . Average but passaable . The film will appeal to Spanish Westerns enthusiasts and Almerian landscapes lovers.

Four Rode Out is a European western to be sure not made in Italy so it does not rate being called a spaghetti western. It was made on the plains of Spain in the dry season as you'll see by the landscape. The same plains where the armies of Napoleon and Wellington rode back and forth upon.

For a Spanish made production, three Americans were brought over to star in this essentially four person soap opera, Pernell Roberts late of Bonanza who plays a US Marshal on the trail of bandit Julian Mateos who has just robbed a bank where a guard was killed. Mateos not wanting to leave without a little nookie from girl friend Sue Lyon also accidentally kills her father in self defense when the old man caught Sue and Julian in the act. The third American is Leslie Nielsen, a really grungy character who is a Pinkerton man interested in recovering the money and the bounty on Mateos' head. He declares himself as accompanying Roberts on the hunt and Lyons follows them both to make sure her man is taken while he still has a pulse.

Acting honors such as they are belong to Nielsen who turns out to be a far more loathsome character than even the viewer thinks when first meeting him. There's not much traditional western action after Mateos is taken alive no thanks to Nielsen. But on the way back the flaws come out in all the characters.

Four Rode Out might have been better in American hands with folks who know what the western genre is all about. As it is it becomes more of a soap opera than a horse opera, not a recipe for western fans to like.