The Comancheros (1961)
Review by HTQ4
Film:
DVD:

Written by James Edward Grant and Clair Huffaker, based on the novel by Paul Wellman
Directed by Michael Curtiz
Starring John Wayne, Stuart Whitman, Ina Balin, Nehemiah Persoff, Lee Marvin

Features:

• Movie Tone News Reel: Claude King and Tillman Franks receive award for The Comancheros
  

Released by: Fox Home Entertainment
Rating: NR (suitable for all audiences)
Region: 1
Anamorphic: Yes

My Advice: Own it

Texas Ranger Captain Jake Cutter (Wayne) is known for always getting his man. This time, his man happens to be one Monsieur Paul Regret (Whitman). When Regret gives him the slip, Cutter is assigned to track down a man who has been selling guns to the Comanche Indians. He runs across a man named Crow (Marvin) who acts as the distributor of these guns to the Indians. He's a surly man with a short fuse. He winds up dead with one of Cutter's bullets in his gut, but not after Cutter runs again crosses paths with Regret. He and Regret wind up knee deep with the Texas Rangers' hunt for the men supplying these guns to the Indians.

I know that John Wayne's filmography is long and distinguished and I know also that I have not even come close to seeing even half of them, but among the ones I have seen, this is one of the best. This has to be one of the best scripts for a "western" movie that I have ever seen. There is action aplenty and the dialogue between the action scenes moseys easily between carefree and witty to caring and endearing with an ease that is scary. Of course, it doesn't hurt that most of the words in this script are shared between Wayne and Whitman who seemed to have created the genre of "buddy film" right there on the set. They work together very well. And not that this is surprising, but the scenery in this movie will take your breath away.

This DVD is quaint, but it hits the mark. First of all, it's a widescreen presentation, which is good, because who the hell wants to watch anything, much less a western, in fullscreen. It would just lose so much of its grandeur. The only feature that is worth mentioning on this disc is a MovieTone Newsreel that features Claude King and Tillman Franks receiving an award for their work on the film. Unfortunately, there is no clear indication of what they did in this newsreel and why they received this award. There is no indication anywhere as to what award or why. Nor could I find the information on the IMDB, either. I'm afraid, that without this context, the reel itself is little more than history out of context. There are also the trailers for this film both in English and in Spanish which is good to have on the disc for posterity.

If you are not acquainted with the works of John Wayne, this is definitely the film with which to have your initiation. At the very least rent it, but I'm recommending that it stay on your shelf permanently.