Les héros de Yucca

I saw this film way back in the late 1960s. It was nothing more than a take-off of the Dirty Dozen. The film was made in Iran and featured a cast of seasoned "B" actors as well as Iran's top talents.

Lots of action, some laughs and decent acting by the rugged Stu Whittman. The movie however is stolen by the beautiful blond bombshell Elke Sommer as a "sexy" dancing girl.

In the movie's best scene, Sommer is stripped of her clothing in a love=scene with Whittman and she revels a stunning body. The current video sells for over $65.00, so unless you are a big-time fan of Elke, I'd wait till the DVD comes out.

Decent late night entertainment.

Unusually this is an Iranian co-production that feels like a low budget spin on THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN. It starts off as a routine heist movie before turning into an action flick in the second half. One thing notable about it is the international cast, better than the budget would have you believe: Stuart Whitman leads the process with Elke Sommer as a sexy dancer, Ian Ogilvy as the young blood, Curt Jurgens bringing character humour, and some local actors in suppot. Jim Mitchum is the big bad. Quite routine in terms of action and direction, but it holds the attention.

Six jewel thieves under the lead of Stuart Whitman, fleeing the police in Tehran, find themselves in a small village where the police chief and his daughter are holding off a company of bandits led by James Mitchum, who wants the body of his predecessor. There's also the former chief's lover, Elke Sommer, who also wants the body because there's a way to find the treasure.

Jean Negulescu's late movie was shot in Iran, and you can see his painterly eye in the visions of ancient ruins and mountainous landscapes. It was shot in Iran in what he talked up as being the first in a long series of movies, but the staccato pacing of this SEVEN SAMURAI knockoff killed that proposal dead. Negulescu soon retired to a life of painting, far from Hollywood. Still, there's an amusing role for Curd Jürgens, and it passes the time pleasantly.

Stuart Whitman is the glue that holds this thing together. It's a rather loose storyline about an international jewel thief and his compadres who get wrapped up in the concerns of a small peasant village. The beginning seems overly long and a bit confusing -- in part because the sound quality of the VHS tape I acquired wasn't very good. Once they get to the village, events play out in a manner that is more predictable than not, but I wasn't bored. The two women in the film, Elke and the beautiful Iranian actress, really hold their own with this group of rugged men, who take it upon themselves to protect the village from a gang of bandits led by Jim Mitchum. Very few movies from the 1960s ever approach vintage. I doubt this one will because it feels like it was made "on the cheap," but the actors are better than their material so it's worth a look.

In fact, that's the poor man's MAGNIFICENT SEVEN we deal with.

A sort of war adventure movie with the usual international cast for its time: the late 60's and early 70's. It takes place in Iran. The topic is nearly a copycat of the John Sturges' masterpiece everyone knows. But with of course much lesser value. A good cast, nevertheless. Jim Mitchum gives here an interesting performance as the lead bad guy. No length in the narrating, the film offers also well paced and pretty good action sequences. But it remains in the grade B standards.

And, above all, the most surprising thing to say about this movie is the director: JEAN NEGULESCO himself. The great Hollywwood director of Daddy Long Legs, Titanic, How To Marry a Millionnaire, Mask of Dimitrios and other masterpieces...

What the hell took him there?

And it was his very last film. Perhaps that explains every thing...

I must say that I was astonished. As if Steven Seagal made a faithful adaptation of William Shakespeare...