El Condor | |
---|---|
Directed by | John Guillermin |
Screenplay by | Larry Cohen Steven Carabatsos |
Story by | Steven Carabatsos |
Produced by | Andre de Toth |
Starring | Jim Brown Lee Van Cleef Marianna Hill Patrick O'Neal |
Cinematography | Henri Persin |
Edited by | Walter Hannemann William H. Ziegler |
Music by | Maurice Jarre |
Production company | Carthay Continental |
Distributed by | National General Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 102 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
El Condor is a 1970 American Western film directed by John Guillermin. [1]
Jim Brown and Lee Van Cleef lead a band of Apaches (including Iron Eyes Cody) against a fortress commanded by Patrick O'Neal. The fortress is said to contain the gold reserves of Emperor Maximilian.
The movie was shot in 35mm Technicolor in Almería, Spain, and involved the construction of the huge adobe fortress set that was re-used in later films, including Conan the Barbarian (1982) and March or Die (1977).
El Condor was among the first movies rated R (for violence, explicit language, and nudity).
In 1860s Mexico, Luke, an escaped convict, and Jaroo, a gold prospecting hermit (who bounty hunts would-be claim jumpers on the side), team up with a band of Apache Indians to capture a heavily armed fortress for the thousands of gold bars said to be stored within. The fortress is commanded by the sadistic Chavez, whose mistress, Claudine, Luke becomes attracted to the moment he sees her.
Actor | Role |
---|---|
Jim Brown | Luke |
Lee Van Cleef | Jaroo |
Patrick O'Neal | Chavez |
Marianna Hill | Claudine |
Iron Eyes Cody | Santana |
Imogen Hassall | Dolores |
Elisha Cook Jr. | Old Convict |
The film was financed by National General, who in October 1968 announced they had purchased Steve Carabatsos' original script and would make the film the following March. [2] Filming was pushed back; in April 1969 National General announced the movie as part of a slate of 13 films they would make, costing $35 million in all. John Guillermin was attached to direct. [3]
The studio had recently made a film called Daddy's Gone A-Hunting based on a script by Larry Cohen. Cohen says the studio decided to make the movie, built a fort and town in Almeria, Spain, then decided they disliked the script; they paid Cohen to travel to Spain and write a new film around the existing sets. Cohen wrote a script they were happy with, and Jim Brown and Lee Van Cleef were cast. According to Cohen, Van Cleef then changed his mind about doing the film on the advice of Alberto Grimaldi who said the actor's character was ridiculous; Cohen persuaded van Cleef to do it, arguing it was a comic role along the lines of Humphrey Bogart's character in The African Queen. [4]
The casting of the two leads was announced in July 1969. [5]
Filming started in October 1969. [6] Swedish actor Ewa Aulin, who had been in Candy was originally meant to play the female lead. However she quit the film, refusing to film nude scenes. [7] She was replaced by Mariana Hill who said she would go nude: "If it's done well". [8]
Cohen says that director John Guillermin and producer Andre de Toth did not get along, in part because the latter wanted to direct. According to Cohen, de Toth took over from the director on his previous movie ( Play Dirty ) and wanted to do the same thing again. The conflict resulted in Guillermin and de Toth having a fistfight. [4]
The movie was released on a fullscreen VHS in 1994, and a widescreen DVD by Warner Archive in 2009.
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave El Condor a negative review, giving it one-and-a-half stars out of four. Ebert declared that "what El Condor lacks in intelligence, it makes up for in stupidity" and opined that the film contained nothing but cynical violence. [9]
Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef Jr. was an American actor. He appeared in over 170 film and television roles in a career spanning nearly 40 years, but is best known as a star of Italian Spaghetti Westerns, particularly the Sergio Leone-directed Dollars Trilogy films For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). He received a Golden Boot Award in 1983 for his contribution to the Western film and television genre.
For a Few Dollars More is a 1965 Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone. It stars Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef as bounty hunters and Gian Maria Volonté as the primary villain. German actor Klaus Kinski plays a supporting role as a secondary villain. The film was an international co-production between Italy, West Germany, and Spain. The film was released in the United States in 1967, and is the second instillment of what is commonly known as the Dollars Trilogy.
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls is a 1970 American satirical musical melodrama film starring Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, Marcia McBroom, Phyllis Davis, John LaZar, Michael Blodgett, and David Gurian. The film was directed by Russ Meyer and screenwritten by Roger Ebert from a story by Ebert and Meyer.
The Bridge at Remagen is a 1969 DeLuxe Color war film in Panavision starring George Segal, Ben Gazzara, and Robert Vaughn. The film, which was directed by John Guillermin, was shot in Czechoslovakia. It is based on the nonfiction book The Bridge at Remagen: The Amazing Story of March 7, 1945 by writer and U.S. Representative Ken Hechler. The screenplay was adapted by Richard Yates and William Roberts.
Shaft in Africa is a 1973 American blaxploitation film directed by John Guillermin, and the third film of the Shaft series, starring Richard Roundtree as John Shaft. Stirling Silliphant wrote the screenplay. The film's budget was $1.5 million, but the film was a box office flop, grossing just $1 million. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer quickly sold the property to television, but the television series was cancelled after just seven episodes.
Cherry, Harry & Raquel! is a 1969 American action exploitation film produced and directed by American film director Russ Meyer.
John Phillip Law was an American film actor.
Sheena, also known as Sheena: Queen of the Jungle, is a 1984 superhero film based on a comic-book character that first appeared in the late 1930s, Sheena, Queen of the Jungle.
Tai-Pan is a 1986 adventure drama film directed by Daryl Duke, loosely based on James Clavell's 1966 novel of the same name. While many of the same characters and plot twists are maintained, a few smaller occurrences are left out. Filmed under communist Chinese censorship, some portions of Clavell's story were considered too offensive to be filmed as written and considerable changes were made.
King Kong Lives is a 1986 American monster adventure film directed by John Guillermin. Produced by the De Laurentiis Entertainment Group and featuring special effects by Carlo Rambaldi, the film stars Linda Hamilton and Brian Kerwin.
The Long Goodbye is a 1973 American satirical neo-noir film directed by Robert Altman and written by Leigh Brackett, based on Raymond Chandler's 1953 novel. The film stars Elliott Gould as Philip Marlowe and features Sterling Hayden, Nina Van Pallandt, Jim Bouton, Mark Rydell, and an early, uncredited appearance by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Pretty Maids All in a Row is a 1971 American sexploitation film that is part black comedy, part sex comedy, and part murder mystery. Starring Rock Hudson, Angie Dickinson, and Telly Savalas, it was released on April 28, 1971. Roger Vadim directed the film, and Gene Roddenberry produced and wrote the screenplay based on a 1968 novel by Francis Pollini.
Lawman is a 1971 American revisionist Western film produced and directed by Michael Winner and starring Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, Lee J. Cobb and Robert Duvall.
The Seven Minutes is a 1971 American drama movie directed and produced by Russ Meyer. The movie was based on the 1969 novel of the same name by Irving Wallace.
The Last Run is a 1971 American action film shot in Portugal, Málaga and elsewhere in Spain directed by Richard Fleischer, starring George C. Scott, Tony Musante, Trish Van Devere, and Colleen Dewhurst.
Apache Woman is a 1955 American Western directed by Roger Corman and starring Lloyd Bridges. It was Corman's second film as director, following Five Guns West. It was one of four Westerns he made for American International Pictures, the other being Five Guns West, The Oklahoma Woman (1955) and Gunslinger (1956). Corman says Apache Woman and Oklahoma Woman were from ideas by AIP whereas the others were his ideas. This was the first film from Golden State Productions, a company headed by Alex Gordon.
John Guillermin was a French-British film director, writer and producer who was most active in big-budget, action-adventure films throughout his lengthy career.
John Clark was an American actor who had minor roles in mainly western films.
Eve and the Handyman is a 1961 American comedy film written and directed by Russ Meyer. The film stars Eve Meyer and Anthony-James Ryan. The film was released on May 5, 1961, by Pad-Ram Enterprises.
Maxwell Setton was a British film producer, notably active in the 1950s. He was born in Cairo to British parents and studied law, becoming a barrister.