Shalako

This offbeat Euro-Western based on Louis L'Amour novel concerns Shalako (Sean Connery) whose Indian name means ¨he who brings rain¨ . He's an US scout who intervenes to save some European aristocrats on a hunting journey in New Mexico when they are attacked by Apaches circa 1880 .

This is a British Western set in Almeria (Spain) where in the 60s and 70s were filmed numerous Spaghetti or Paella Westerns , as Shalako is a high budget film , but poorly directed . The gun-play , Indian attacks , shootouts are gripping but the movie is just another cold British product . Violent scenes abound as the attempted rape and a creepy murder of one of the protagonists . The casting is frankly magnificent but the film gets an incredible waste of a talented cast like happens with Sean Connery , though the first choice by the producers was Henry Fonda . There appears various notorious main and secondary actors that are usual in Western genre . Gorgeous Brigitte Bardot who played with Jeanne Moreau ¨Viva Maria¨ and with Claudia Cardinale ¨The legend of Frenchie King¨ . Stephen Boyd played Western as ¨Hanna Coulder¨ and ¨The Bravados¨ . Woody Strode at one of his habitual Indian roles as ¨Winterhawk¨ , ¨Loaded gun¨ , ¨The Gatlin gun¨ ,¨Keoma¨ , ¨Once upon a time.¨ . Julian Mateos , a famed Spanish actor , player in US Western as well as Spaghetti such as ¨Hellbenders¨ , ¨Four rode out¨ , ¨Catlow¨ , ¨Return of seven magnificent¨ . Honor Blackman , pairing with Sean Connery in ¨Goldfinger¨ , here also makes love in a straw loft , this time with Stephen Boyd . Ernie Sykes playing a servant like in ¨The others¨ and Don Red Barry from Republic Pictures serial : ¨Adventures of Red Ryder¨.

Lively and spectacular musical score by Robert Farnon . Colorful cinematography by Ted Moore , he's the cameraman of most classic period in James Bond series : ¨Diamonds are forever¨ , ¨Goldfinger¨ , ¨From Russia with love¨. The motion picture was regularly directed by Edward Dmytryck who also made other Westerns as ¨Alvarez Kelly¨ , ¨ Warlock¨ , ¨Broken Lance¨, ¨Raintree County¨ . For somebody is a monumental bore but I think is a fairly watchable European Western , nothing more . Succeeds only in waste a lot of talented actors , onlyf or Brigitte Bardot and Sean Connery fans .

Brigitte Bardot went on to Hollywood but did not fare any better... 'Shalako,' a British-produced Western directed by Edward Dmytryk, teamed her with Sean Connery and Stephen Boyd (her partner in 'The Night Heaven Fell') in a smoldering relationship charged with tension and passion...

The idea is cute and unbelievable: A party of European aristocrats are on a hunting safari in New Mexico in the 1880's... They are traveling with full equipage including butlers, maids, fine linens and vintage wines...

When their safari is led upon an Apache reservation, the Indians become annoyed, and Countess Irina Lazaar (Brigitte Bardot) is attacked by a savage Apache... Shalako (Sean Connery), a scout for the U.S. Army, bravely attempts to save her and leads the aristocrats away from imminent annihilation... With the Indians determined to attack, each member of the hunting party faces the greatest peril of their lives...

Edward Dmytryk seems to have attempted to recapture the freshness and essence of the 'B.B.' that Roger Vadim had helped to shape... But the re-creation escapes him, despite the careful choice of Louis L'Amour's novel and the casting of international stars as Jack Hawkins ('Lawrence of Arabia'), Peter Van Eyck ('The Longest Day'), Honor Blackman ('Goldfinger'), Woody Strode ('Spartacus'), and Valerie French ('Jubal').

The film never becomes exciting despite incidental brutalities...

The caste alone is worth the admission: Connery, Bardot, Hawkins,Steven Boyd, Eric Sykes, Honor Blackman, Woody Strode, others ... Mostly European (actors) - strange for a Western - but not unrealistic to the times. Hawkins and Boyd - both recently out of starring in Ben Hur. A coterie of fine acting talent and charismatic screen artists. Proves my theory as to why Western Film will never die: Every Actor and every Director want to make a Western at some point. Connery and Bardot have some nice interplay in sharing the bulk of the screen time. Meanwhile here's some decent action here in what is a pretty well a straight up Western adventure tale. Possibly a Western that will enjoy greater appreciation with time.

The idea behind Shalako is not as preposterous as it sounds. Lots of European nobles came here for hunting parties during the American wild west period. As was pointed out in the beginning of Shalako among others was the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia where Buffalo Bill served as a guide to his party.

That being said I'm sure none of them were as dense as Peter Van Eyck who when warned of Indian danger, refuse to leave an area. Quite frankly those Indians should have wiped those blockheads out and would have if not for the efforts of intrepid Indian scout Shalako, played by Sean Connery in a cowboy suit.

Connery looks real nice, but if he wanted to play a western a better script would have done for him. Sean knows this thing is a turkey, but if you had the opportunity to work with Brigette Bardot, would you pass it up.

Stephen Boyd is the best one here as the turncoat guide of the Europeans. Boyd was a good looking man with a trace of arrogance in his screen persona that made him right for a part like Messala in Ben-Hur, but wrong for Livius in The Fall of the Roman Empire. He's back in his proper element.

And I can't give the ending away, but folks take my word for it, it is ridiculous.

Still if you want to see some unfamiliar faces for westerns, this is a good movie to see.

While I will concede that Shalako is not a groundbreaking film, I must take issue with the low average score it has received. The story is fairly engaging, Sean Connery is in great form, and Brigitte Bardot is as comely as ever! She reminds me of Claudia Schiffer! I also love her accent! She and Sean Connery share a very nice restrained romance. Some people might interpret this film as a celebration of the New World over the Old World but really that is too much of an analytical assertion. To me, it's a great star vehicle and a nice rousing adventure celebrating ingenuity, honor, and perseverance. 7/10.