Barquero

The picture narrates as a renegade motley group (Warren Oates, Kerwin Matthews, Armando Silvestre) executes a massacre when they are robbing the village's inhabitants . They flee but are stopped by a barge's owner (Lee Van Cleef) in the frontier on river Grande . The barquero called Travis has his own life-style and his own death-style . He is only helped by a mountain man (Forrest Tucker) . The confrontation will be terrible and they will fight until death .

The highlights of the movie are the initial slaughter by the cutthroats and facing off between the good and bad guys on the lumber barges . This picture along with ¨ Hang'em high¨ (by Ted Post with Clint Eatwood) belongs to numerous filmed in the 60s and 70s influenced by Spaghetti Western , thus it develops ordinary themes such as : revenge , violent facing , similar musical score , tough antiheroes , spectacular gun-down and excessive baddies , all of them common issues in Italian Western . Lee Van Cleef , recent his success in Leone Western (A few dollars more) is top-notch . Warren Oates is magnificent as the ominous and hideous villain . The secondary cast is excellent , Forrest Tucker as the wry and impulsive trapper , Kerwin Mathew as Marquette , Mariette Hartley as Anna , Armando Silvestre as Sawyer and John Davis Chandler plays a cocky villain , as always . Dominic Frontiere's musical score is atmospheric and adjusted to action western , similar to ¨Hang 'Em High¨ soundtrack that he also composed . The motion picture was well directed by Gordon Douglas , though Robert Sparr was originally set to direct, but he was killed in a plane crash while scouting locations , then Gordon was hired to replace him . Gordon Douglas direction is nice , he had formerly got a lot of experience in Western genre (Only the valiant and Chuka). The yarn will appeal to Lee Van Cleef fonds and Western movies fans.

Around 1970 the Western genre had a new lease of life from the success of the Spaghetti Western. This is one of many attempts to marry the classic Western with this new style, and it does it quite convincingly. In the title role we have Lee van Cleef as the most impressive ferryman in film history - making his colleague at the Styx worry about the security of his job. Lee is up against Warren Oates and his bandits who need his ferry to transport their booty. Consequently, we are treated with the rare sight of a naval battle in a Western.

The villains of this piece are rather traditional Western villains (John Davis Chandler plays a delightful little dirtbag) while the heros (van Cleef and Tucker), all enigmatic and a bit on the shady side, seem to have been borrowed from Cinecitta. The excellent music by Dominic Frontiere is also presented in Italian style.

Beautiful Colorado scenery and a fine attention to detail in this western set in the late 1860s.

Several American attempts at a spaghetti western surfaced in the late 1960s: this one is a much more compelling film than Eastwood's "Hang 'Em High", in that all of the lead characters are well-drawn and mysterious.

Van Cleef, in his finest lead, plays the title character, a man more interested in protecting his barge than in the well-being of the "squatters" who populate the town. Oates is a bit hammy as Remy, but an effective psychotic villain nonetheless.

Tucker practically steals the film in a role that would have gone to Edgar Buchanan two decades earlier, that of Mountain Phil, a man loyal enough to put his life on the line for his best friend, and who holds the "squatters" in even more contempt than the barquero does.

Should be on DVD by now. An overlooked gem that anticipated "Tom Horn", "Unforgiven", and other stripped-down westerns that would follow over the next 25 years.

"Barquero" ended up on my must-see list for a number of reasons. First of all because it's a so-called American Spaghetti western, which basically means (in my book, at least) that it's raw, uncompromising and violent in comparison to those polished and politically correct John Wayne flicks. Secondly, the basic premise is incredibly simple yet original and intriguing. A gang of outlaws and a bunch of townsfolks each find themselves stuck at the wrong side of a river, leading to a tense ego-contest between the embittered and asocial ferryman Travis and the vicious but indecisive gang leader Remy. And last but not least, because the lead actors in "Barquero" are two of the most robustly charismatic but criminally underrated actors in history. I think it's safe to say that both Lee Van Cleef and Warren Oates lift the film to a much higher level, and it wouldn't be even half as recommendable if their roles were played by different actors. Even with a broad river separating them, there's a continuously intense and ominous rivalry between these two über-machos. The film suffers from a few very tedious parts and Gordon Douglas' direction is rather monotone, but the locations and performances are great. Van Cleef receives good support from Forrest Tucker as the eccentric "Mountain Phil", while Oates' can rely on the excellent Kerwin Matthews.

The Quick Pitch: Remy (Warren Oates) is the leader of a band of outlaws. He wants to cross a river on his way to Mexico. The titular barquero, Travis (Lee Van Cleef), isn't going to let him use his barge. He knows it will be destroyed to prevent others from following. A stand-off ensues.

Until I stumbled on this last night, I had no idea Barquero even existed. What a find! Warren Oates and Lee Van Cleef in the same movie. These guys just ooze machismo. Throw in a supporting cast featuring Forrest Tucker and Kerwin Mathews and there was no way I wouldn't enjoy Barquero. The opening shootout as Remy and his men slaughter everyone in a small town to steal a wagon load of guns is an over-the-top joy to behold. And the last act where Remy and Travis are drawn into their final, inevitable showdown is just plain old awesome.

The problem with Barquero is the bits that come between the beginning and the end. Unfortunately, the second act really drags with Remy and Travis separated by a river. They shout back and forth, but there's really not much else that happens. Too bad, because with this kind of cast, some fantastic locations, and plenty of blood and violence, Barquero had the potential to be legendary.

6/10