El condor

El Condor is directed by John Guillermin and written by Larry Cohen and Steve Carabatsos. It stars Jim Brown, Lee Van Cleef, Patrick O'Neal, Marianna Hill and Iron Eyes Cody. Music is by Maurice Jarre and cinematography by Henri Persin.

Luke (Brown), an escaped chain-gang fugitive, and Jaroo (Cleef), a gold prospector, decide to join forces in an assault on a Mexican fort that is thought to house the gold reserves of Emperor Maximilian. Backed by a band of Apache Indians, the mission is on, but the fort is heavily armed and General Chavez (O'Neal) is a shrewd and ruthless leader of the Mexican defenders.

Ebert didn't like it, it's most divisive amongst genre aficionados, while the charge of it being a mindless action film carries some substance, but oh what raucous - riotous - rambunctious fun it is!

It would be folly to argue about the acting being great here, it simply isn't, with both Cleef and Brown getting by on charisma, screen presence and light airy by-play. Yet Guillerman and producer Andre De Toth knew how to make an action film, and how to make the action impact with as much force as possible. The spectacle on show here is quite something, from the Technicolor photography that brings Andalusia vividly to life, to the magnificent adobe fort - and to the incredibly large cast members indulging in brutal and bloody battles, El Condor knows exactly what it needs to do to entertain the viewers.

There's also the sizzle factor, brought about by some nude scenes that ensured the picture would get the highest classification upon its original release. Yet regardless of these scenes being tame by today's standards, they surely are not in the film for gratification sake anyway, there's a simmering sexuality in the movie from the off. What with its wrought machismo and breaking down of racial boundaries, it makes up for what it lacks in subtlety with high temperature atmospherics. Anyway, in spite of what you might have heard about Hill's "full monty" scene, it is beautifully erotic and it's no stretch to believe that she could, in that moment in time, stop an army in its tracks! Attagirl.

Maurice Jarre has a grand old time scoring the picture, blending stirring boom time with japery laced tinkles, it's a most appropriate musical accompaniment. So with that comes the observation that El Condor is not successful in making any deep meaningful observations on either the human condition or politico posturing. What it does do is have a bloody good time, with its bloody brutal action sequences, a body count via gun-play that would fill out a war movie and the sexually charged atmosphere, El Condor is mindless but pure unadulterated entertainment. So Amen to that! 8/10

Two men, a two-fisted Jim Brown as escaped prisoner and an humorous Lee Van Cleef as ambitious drifter, join forces to rob a lot of gold located into an impressive Mexican fortress (commanded by Patrick O'Neal) where is supposedly hidden the treasure. They're accompanied by an Indian tribe (led by Iron Eyes Cody, usual in Indian roles but he's Italian origin).

It packs shootouts, action western, tongue in cheek, thrills, violence and some of nudism in charge of a gorgeous Marianna Hill . This American-Spanish co-production paints an ironic, cynic portrayal of two rough bandits , following their exploits about an attack over an heavily armed fortress . The film results to be another action/adventure /humor Western that during the 60s and early 70s were ordinarily shot . Likable support cast by prestigious actors as Elisha Cook Jr and full of secondaries from Spaghetti Western as Dan Van Husen, Ricardo Palacios, Angel Del Pozo, Charly Bravo, Rafael Albaicin, among others . The film is well shot in Texas Hollywood-Fort Bravo, Almeria, Spain with a breathtaking production design by Julio Molina who made the great fortress , one of the best ever created and where were posteriorly filmed several Spaghetti as ¨ Blind man, Massacre at Fort Holman, A man called Noon¨ and ¨Conan the Barbarian¨. Nevertheless, today the fort has been partially crumbled and only remain some ruins . Atmospheric and lively musical score by the classic Maurice Jarre (Zivago, Lawrence of Arab ). Evocative and colorful cinematography by Henry Persin . The motion picture is lavishly produced by Andre De Toth ( who directed good Western) and professionally directed by John Guillermin, a super-productions expert ( King Kong, The towering inferno, Skyjacked) and warlike specialist(The bridge of Remagen, Blue Max) . Rating : Acceptable and passable. The picture will appeal to S.W. buffs and Lee Van Cleef fans.

John Guillermin was a better than average director but even he can't save this movie from its clichés and predictable script. Of course, by 1970 the civil rights movement was well under way and the black lead had to make up in cleverness for what the white counterpart had in stupidity. So, Brown and van Cleef make a workable duo thanks to Brown's superior intelligence and strength, while Lee shoots and blows up anything that moves.

Acting is generally substandard. The stunning Marianna Hill, with a truly fantastic set of boobs, steals the show.

The script is explosive - not through its quality but through the constant explosions on the screen.

Photography is cheap color, unsteady at times.

Still, I carried on watching until the inevitable ending. Won't happen again.

The plains of Spain was where this European western was shot with Americans Jim Brown and Lee Van Cleef who team up to take a really impressive fortress entitled El Condor. It's commanded by General Patrick O'Neal with all the comforts of home including mistress Mariana Hill. The rest of the troops get an occasional peak and then make their trips to the bordello for relief.

Brown is an escaped convict and Van Cleef is a rogue of a prospector who has an in with the local Apaches whose chief is Iron Eyes Cody. There's reputed to be a vast fortune in gold bullion in the fort, the Mexican version of Fort Knox. The French want it, the Juaristas want it, various bandits want it, but it's O'Neal who has it and guards it zealously.

It's almost comical the way our heroes and the Apaches take the place. O'Neal and his troops behave like the stupid Germans did in a ton of World War II era propaganda flicks. In fact it's one of those trips to the bordello for the troops that's the start of their undoing.

The best thing that El Condor has going for it is the easy chemistry between the leads. Both of them rarely did any comedy, Van Cleef was almost always a bad guy in the 50s and 60s. Other heavies from that era, Lee Marvin, Claude Akins, Jack Elam, Neville Brand to name a few started doing more roles spoofing themselves, Van Cleef rarely did. As for Jim Brown, the former Cleveland Browns running back could lay claim to being the first black action/adventure star in film.

El Condor is a nice action/adventure western that's laced with some humor for the two stars. And fans of one or both should see this film.

Saw this 36 years ago on Times Square in NYC. Got a tolerably Good VHS of it on Amazon.com for about $5.

It was directed by John Guillermin, and stars Lee Van Cleef, Jim Brown, Patrick O'Neal, Marianna Hill, Iron Eyes Cody, Elisha Cook Jr., and Dan Van Husen. It was made around the Blaxplotation Era, its not great but its not bad as far as an action flick goes. The score by Jaffe is nothing to get worked up about, Its supposed to take place at the end Maxamilian's Mexico reign (1867) , but all the Colts are vintage 1873 Peacemakers, so any historical reality is lost with this film at the git go. Check your brains at the door.

Its highlight for me (and the reason for any Lee Van Cleef fan to get this film) is Van Cleef's turn as a character named Jaroo.

Jaroo is as far from Van Cleef's Mortimer as you can probably go. Here he plays a somewhat shallow, alcoholic, happy go lucky Indian Trader, an Apachero so to speak, who has lived on and off with the Apaches. He's a dusty, scrawny looking saddle bum, his trademark hawk like face in this film is transformed more into a beady-eyed weasel. He wears a two bear claw necklace around his neck and a small poke that holds two gold nuggets. We first meet him as he guzzling down some whiskey in a bar.

But this is more a vehicle for Brown, and we meet him first at a prison camp, he plays a character named Luke & he is shackled to Elisa Cook Jr. Cook tells him about El Condor fort sort of the Ft. Knox of Mexico. Luke is summoned to the commandants office and offered a pardon if he would join up with General Sherman. But he escapes and heads for the gold of El Condor. Brown is average in this too.

Luke teams up with Jaroo since Jaroo can get Apache Chief Santana and an army of Apache Warriors to attack the fort for plunder rather than the gold and then Luke & Jaroo can split the Mexican Treasury.

Patrick O'Neal is the Mexican General in command of El Condor and knockout Marianna Hill his mistress. O'Neal is OK in the role and Hill does a full frontal striptease at a crucial plot point, wow. She's got quite the rack , and all of us Clint fans will recognize her from her role of town tramp Calle Travers from High Plains Drifter.

Now I know why we never see this film on TV, lots of bare flesh throughout.

There is a great sequence in a Mexican town where Jaroo has a scene with a small Mexican boy that is pretty touching. Later there is another good sequence when Jaroo gets "gold fever".

Shot in Almeria. Just treat this more as mindless entertainment, with a very good performance by Van Cleef. It could have been way better than it is but it was made to just cash in on the SW craze.

Its better than I remembered.