Die gefürchteten Vier

By 1966, westerns were changing. The rise of the spaghetti western had introduced a grittier image of the old west than people had seen in John Wayne's movies. "The Professionals" still has traces of the old-style westerns - namely in the casting of Jack Palance as a Mexican - but leans more towards the new direction that the genre was taking. It was especially surprising to see a Hollywood western wherein two of the white protagonists fought under Pancho Villa's command, since the US was used to seeing Villa not as a principled revolutionary but rather as a wild bandit.

Richard Brooks's movie is not a masterpiece to the degree of "Once Upon a Time in the West", "Little Big Man" or "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" (which showed how the conglomerates in the old west had no qualms about crushing anyone who stood up to them), but it's certainly an impressive piece of work: the acting, direction, cinematography, editing and score all added up to some fun. And besides, how can you not admire the sight of Claudia Cardinale?

Set in the aftermath of the Mexican revolution, this action drama concerns the rescue of a Mexican lady (Cardinale) who is married to a rich, older, white man (Bellamy.) She has been taken from her American home back down to Mexico by notorious outlaw Palance. Bellamy hires a motley crew of mercenaries to retrieve Cardinale, promising them $10,000 each upon her return. The crew is led by tough as nails Marvin and includes free-wheeling dynamite-man Lancaster, sensitive rustler Ryan and archery expert Strode. This foursome sets out across punishing desert terrain to reach Cardinale and bring her back to the U.S. border. The job is at least as difficult as they expected and getting back to the border is as hard, if not harder, than getting to Palance's lair was. The film has an exceptional ensemble cast of pros. The members of the rescue team form an uneasy affection for one another. Stern Marvin and toothy, off-the-cuff Lancaster make a great pair. Ryan adds years of presence to his smallish role and Strode is his usual imposing physical entity. Palance is always a great villain and has some decent moments here. Bellamy does a nice job with his sketchy character. Cardinale is amazingly curvy and attractive even in the dusty surroundings. There is also a healthy dose of strong action, much of it taking place in the impressive domain of Palance. Dots of humor along the way relieve the tension. Time hasn't been particularly kind to Maurice Jarre's offbeat score and the film could have been just a tad shorter, but overall it is an interesting and absorbing action film.

I've watched this terrific action-packed Western a couple of times in the past via my full-frame VHS and therefore I'll definitely upgrade now that this release is on its way. I'm certainly glad that Columbia has proved me wrong because I never thought they'd do it given that it's already available as a barebones disc.

Anyway, the fact that THE PROFESSIONALS is indeed something special is borne out by all the major awards (listed below) it was nominated for at the time of its original release and which are not commonly bestowed on this type of genre picture: Best Direction (Richard Brooks) – Academy Awards; Best Adapted Screenplay (Richard Brooks) – Academy Awards; Best Motion Picture Drama – Golden Globes; Best Direction (Richard Brooks) – Directors Guild Of America; Best Written American Drama (Richard Brooks) – Writers Guild Of America

Featuring a great cast (Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, Jack Palance, Woody Strode, Ralph Bellamy and Claudia Cardinale), beautiful camera-work and a typically fine Maurice Jarre score, the film is highlighted by Richard Brooks' witty script and Lancaster's boisterous performance. It's worth noting here that Brooks had already directed Lancaster towards his only ever Academy Award in ELMER GANTRY (1960) and that the former made two other excellent Westerns in his career – THE LAST HUNT (1956) and BITE THE BULLET (1975).

While THE PROFESSIONALS rarely crops up when classic Westerns are discussed, I'd say it lies somewhere between THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960) – where a bunch of "experts" on the fringes of the law are recruited for a seemingly impossible mission – and THE WILD BUNCH (1969) – where these same people realize they're getting on in their years and ultimately find themselves out of touch with the times they're living in.

A rich Texas landowner (the elderly Ralph Bellamy) hires three men (Robert Ryan, Burt Lancaster and Lee Marvin) to go into Mexico and return his beautiful wife (the ultra-erotic Claudia Cardinale) to him after she was kidnapped by a gang of ruthless thugs led by Jack Palance (made up to look Hispanic). The three accept the challenge, wanting to get paid handsomely of course, but as they advance and get closer to Cardinale a thin line develops and it becomes unclear if everything is really the way it appears to be. The scope of a quickly changing West before a backdrop of the Mexican Revolution only adds to a movie that nearly touches greatness. Writer/director Richard Brooks (Oscar-nominated in both categories) began to knock on the door with a potentially very dark Western here and in 1969 director Sam Peckinpah would knock that door down with the amazing "The Wild Bunch". Brooks, not known for this genre, created a legitimate winner here with this production. Sometimes though the characters lose out because of the beautiful cinematography by Conrad L. Hall (Oscar-nominated) and the fact that Cardinale is just illuminating when on the screen (she is the only actress with any substantial screen-time). Her amazing beauty overshadows all the males throughout. Thought-provoking, action-packed and highly interesting, "The Professionals" is a sometimes forgotten would-be masterpiece from the usually impressive genre. 4 stars out of 5.

Though not as perceptively grim in tone and style as Sam Peckinpah's epitaph The Wild Bunch, Richard Brook's The Professionals almost certainly inspired the former and was also one of the last great westerns Hollywood ever produced. Made at a time when the 'classical' era was waning, Brooks went entirely nostalgic, creating a story about John Wayne-like characters completely loyal to their cause but also flawed in many ways.

The cast is superb. The exotic beauty of Claudia Cardinale is great fodder for the main cast of Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan and Woody Strode. Although Ryan and Strode have considerably less screen time, the relationship between Lancaster and Marvin is terrifically fleshed out along with Brooks' steady hand guiding the entire process of four men on the hunt to rescue a millionaire's kidnapped wife only to realize all is not as it seems.

Despite the fact that this film will forever be compared to the ones it inspired like The Wild Bunch or The Dirty Dozen, it should be admired on its own terms. It is a very entertaining and satisfying film with solid writing, acting, directing and editing along with some stunning cinematography of the American southwest. Compared to today's films, who could ask for anything more?