The Professionals (1966)

☆ ☆ ☆

The Professionals (1966) – R. Brooks

Lee Marvin leads a small group of adventurers into Mexico to rescue Texas railroad man Ralph Bellamy’s wife who has been kidnapped by Mexican rebels (formerly fighting for Pancho Villa).  The wife is Claudia Cardinale and the chief rebel is Jack Palance (both playing Mexicans).  The “good guys” are Marvin, Burt Lancaster, Woody Strode, and Robert Ryan.  I felt as though I had seen this before (but I don’t think I had).  Perhaps Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch (1969), another all-star affair with Robert Ryan, was coming to mind.  Lee Marvin’s other epic action films mostly take place in WWII (not in Mexico); he’s as stony as ever here though.  Burt Lancaster seems to be rollicking through the film, as though he was still in a 1950s costume drama, half grinning at the predicaments they find themselves in.  Strode and Ryan have less to do and their characters are less developed (if any of these characters are actually developed). At any rate, I pondered whether there was still an audience for this sort of tough guy adventure film (the kind that has a fair amount of sexism thrown in, just because), the sort of uncritical Dad film of the days gone by, resting easily on shorthand and schematics in order to stitch the action sequences to the plot.  The action sequences aren’t too bad, some suspense is built, and things blow up.  Naturally, there is also a twist: the band doesn’t quite honour their contract with Bellamy – but they do stand for honour as a principle.