Rio Conchos (1964)

Richard Boone was always more effective, in my opinion, when he played his part with an edge as he does in "Rio Conchos". The opening scene set two years after the Civil War, has James Lassiter (Boone) slaughtering an Apache burial party. It seems that Lassiter's family had been murdered by the Apache Bloodshirt (Rodolfo Acosta) and he has taken it upon himself to "even the score".Lassiter is arrested in the burned out shell of his home by Union Captain Haver (Stuart Whitman) and his Sergeant Ben Franklin (Jim Brown in his first film) and taken to their headquarters. Col. Wagner (Warner Anderson) jails Lassiter when he refuses to tell where he obtained his new repeating rifle. Lassiter lands in jail with convicted murderer Rodriguez (Tony Franciosa).Lassiter relents and identifies Rebel Southern Colonel Pardee (Edmond O'Brien) who is holed up in Mexico, as the source of his rifle. A shipment of the new repeating rifles had been stolen by Pardee's men earlier. Pardee plans to arm the Apache with the guns to attack the soldiers.Lassiter negotiates the release of the snake in the grass Rodriguez who along with Cpt. Haven and Sgt. Franklin set out with a load of gunpowder to lure Pardee out of hiding. On the trail the group is attacked by Mexican bandits led by an unrecognizable Vito Scotti as their leader. After disposing of the bandits they capture a young Apache girl (Wende Wagner) who is forced to accompany them.By staging a gunfight in a saloon, the wagon carrying the gun powder sneaks across the Rio Conchos on a ferry. Following Rodriguez' defection, the group is contacted by Pardee's men. They go to Pardee's camp and find him in the middle of a half built house with a small army of southerners and Apaches. When Bloodshirt comes to buy the rifles, Lassiter loses it and attacks him. Pardee allows Bloodshirt to have Lassiter, Haven and Franklin dragged by horses and left tied to the horses in a corral. But help comes from an unexpected source, the men are released. The scenario at Pardee's camp is similar to one in the 1961 John Wayne film "The Comancheros" which also featured Whitman. For ex-footballer Brown, this was the first of many action films in which he starred. As pointed out earlier, Boone steals the picture with his gruff hate filled performance. It was one of the few times that he got to play the lead.

The film is not bad, has a decent cast and a reasonable story but is a bit slow at times. The film looks like a remake of a 1960 John Wayne/Stewart Whitman (in both movies) action western entitled "The Comancheros" The plot in both movies is is very very similar.I would recommend that if you can you watch them both to see which one you prefer.

Rio Conchos is directed by Gordon Douglas and adapted to screenplay by Joseph Landon from the Clair Huffaker novel. It stars Richard Boone, Stuart Whitman, Jim Brown, Tony Franciosa, Wende Wagner and Edmond O'Brien. Music is scored by Jerry Goldsmith and Joseph MacDonald is the cinematographer. Out of 20th Century Fox it's a CinemaScope production filmed in De Luxe Color, and primary location used for filming was Moab, Utah.One ex-Confederate officer out for revenge against the Apache, one Army Captain driven by a sense of duty, one Buffalo Soldier continuing to prove himself and one Mexican convict getting a second shot at freedom. Four men, one journey, a mission to find who is arming the Apache with repeating rifles. Danger, mistrust and hostility are their only companions.The plot may be routine, and certainly it owes a debt to The Comancheros (Huffaker involved there too), but this is a tough and dark Western propelled by fine acting, quality direction and photography to die for. Structured around a men on a mission basis, each one with their own particular issues, it's very much a character driven piece. It's the time spent in the company of these men that makes the film so riveting, it never gets dull, the character dynamics are such, that we never quite know what to expect from the next part of the journey. Director Douglas also doesn't shy from action, pitting our odd group against Mexican Bandits and Apache Indians along the way, and then delivering a high octane finale that has a few twists and turns to keep it away from being formulaic.Whitman and Brown acquit themselves well enough, as does Wagner as the sole female of the piece. But acting wise this film belongs to Boone and Franciosa. The former portrays a bitter vengeful heart with ease, with a lived in alcoholic face, his destiny you feel is mapped out from the off. The latter shines as the ebullient character of the group, shifty, sly and as untrustworthy as it gets, Franciosa's play off of Boone gives the film its central pulse beat. But arguably all players are trumped by MacDonald's photography and Douglas' use of the scenery. From pretty much the first frame the landscape is the big character here. Douglas wisely using many long shots to reveal miles of vistas, then knowing when to pull in close to envelope the characters to give off the feeling of mental claustrophobia. Exterior work here belies the budget afforded the film, and all told it's a far better movie than the bigger produced Comancheros. Goldsmith's score is also a plus point, striking the mood from the get go, his arrangements flow at one with the hazardous destiny of the four men.One of the better 60's Westerns, it's in desperate need of a remastering job being done on it. 8/10

If you are fan of great westerns and acting you must see this movie. I have not missed many westerns, but up until today I have never had a chance to see this, I knew about it thanks to IMDb and I am a huge fan of Richard Boone whom I consider on of the best Wesern Stars ever, right up there with John Wayne,Clint Eastwood Henry Fonda etc. Others have given the story line better than I could. But Boones performance is a must see, he totally dominates the film is as usual so incredibly believable, probably because in real like he was one tough S.O.B. It is great to see him in the beginning a burnt out shell of an ex confederate officer who's family was butchered by the Apaches and as the story races forward he slowly changes into an honourable man at the end. Some great scenes include the shoot out with the Apaches at the burned out farmhouse and Boones performance in the flea ridden bar was a also a great scene. Boone was so convincing as a tough guy, someone you wouldn;t want to go against. Great cinematography and soundtrack acompany this film which moves along at a fast rate and contains a few well placed plot turns. Highly recommended to any western fan and I hope to find it on DVD