THE PROFESSIONALS

This 1966 Western, written and directed by Richard Brooks, was well received and has a decent cast.  

But halfway in I was feeling rather underwhelmed.

For starters the initial setup had been perfunctory: rich old man hires four guys to rescue his wife who has been kidnapped.  I'm supposed to believe that a guy well into his '60s is married to a Mexican beauty half his age, and that she has been kidnapped by a revolutionary-turned -bandit? What was she doing in Mexico in 1917 anyway, when the Mexican Revolution was still a thing?

Some of the dialogue didn't land well with me, being a mixture of heavy-handed and pretentious.   And the action scenes were too contrived for my liking.

The rescue team comprises a restrained Lee Marvin (the leader), Burt Lancaster (explosives expert), Robert Ryan (good with horses) and Woody Strode (good with a bow and arrow). Only Lancaster, as a cynic and womaniser, has much of a personality.  

Anyway I am pleased to report that things pick up considerably in the second half.

The main action set piece, the rescue of the wife, Maria, is well staged - I especially enjoyed Strode firing arrows loaded with dynamite in all directions.  And then the pursuit over several days of our heroes by the bandit, Raza, is exciting enough and well directed.

Best of all, we learn during the rescue that things are not as straightforward as they seemed.    Raza and Maria are lovers from way back, her marriage to the old guy was against her will, and the ransom money would be used to help finance the revolutionary cause.

So if Marvin et al return Maria to her husband (because after all they are professionals who aim to fulfil their contract) would that be a good thing?  Suddenly something is at stake, and I was most definitely engaged.

It helped that, rather surprisingly, Claudia Cardinale as Maria and of all people Jack Palance as Raza do a good job of portraying the two lovers.

This all leads to a satisfying conclusion where Maria's husband (nicely played by Ralph Bellamy) makes the mistake of telling the gang that the contract has been fulfilled.  This gives them the green light to let Maria and Raza go back to Mexico.  

Overall I ended up happy enough, even if this is far from being essential viewing.