Written by / 9/10/2021 / No comments / , , , , , , , ,

WARREN OATES WAITING OUT LEE VAN CLEEF FOR 'BARQUERO'

Warren Beatty plays bad to the bone for BARQUERO Year: 1970 Rating: **1/2

Of course you've heard of a Mexican Standoff, but BARQURO takes that concept of two sides waiting in deadly/suspenseful anticipation of who'll strike next to the next level, owning more than half of what begins an ultra-violent town-takeover-Western the likes of Sam Peckinpah's famous open from THE WILD BUNCH, and one of that bunch is down-and-dirty villain Warren Oates as Remy... 

Like many American-made Westerns from the 1970's... albeit this one heavily borrowing music, main star and style from the Italian Spaghetti format... the bad guys are more like gritty, disgusting, marauding bikers from the previous decade's exploitation drive-in flicks... 

Lee Van Cleef is a ferryman but not fairy, man from BARQUERO

But once Lee Van Cleef as a stealthily heroic river ferryman named Travis refuses to send his barge back (after saving the town) so the vicious gang can take their stolen gold to Mexico, the long, long wait begins, and it's a rather dull, slow ride with a few good moments in-between... 

Like Tucker Forrest's Mountain Phil goading bandit-patsy John David Chandler while Cleef... whose presence and dynamic should have been equally intense as Oates's monologue-spouting menace... seems stuck in a lethargic Sergio Leone daydream, only partially pulled-off by director Gordon Douglas, more interested in what Oates is mad at (curbed by classy Spaniard Kerwin Matthews) than what Cleef is made of.  

Future Columbo victims Forrest Tucker and John Davis Chandler in Barquero
This about sums up everything in Barquero
Eyes of sophisticated villain Kerwin Matthews in Barquero
Ed Bakey with Warren Oates and Kerwin Matthews in BARQUERO
Lee Van Cleef and hooker with the heart of gold Marie Gomez in BARQUERO
Lee Van Cleef in BARQUERO
Random Western-style action when it happens in BARQUERO
Warren Oates in BARQUERO
Final gunfight in BARQUERO
Lee Van Cleef in BARQUERO
Warren Oates in BARQUERO
Lee Van Cleef in BARQUERO

Share This Post :
Tags : , , , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

All Time Popular

Featured Post

RUSHING THROUGH JOHN SCHLESINGER'S 'HONKY TONK FREEWAY'

Title: HONKY TONK FREEWAY Year: 1981 Rating: **** John Schlesinger's HONKY TONK FREEWAY has two composers: Elmer Bernstein doing his usu...

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM
Movie Reviews, Interviews, Articles and Pop Culture from White Heat to Blue City

RIP ACTOR KEN HUTCHISON

TOTAL HITS

Popular Trending

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE
RANDOM QUOTE: "Powerful little things, these credit cards." Harry Morgan, Dragnet

FILM NOIR & NEO NOIR CRIME

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)HELL IS A CITY 3)ROBBERY 4)THE FEARMAKERS 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)VIOLENT SATURDAY 7)HOT CARS 8)JUNGLE STREET 9)THE CROWDED SKY 10)THE ROARING TWENTIES 11) ANATOMY OF A MURDER 12)CALCULATED RISK 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 15)HARDCORE 16)THE BREAK 17)WHITE HEAT 18)AL CAPONE 19)THE SERGEANT 20)FALLEN ANGEL 21)SHARKS' TREASURE 22)THE ASPHALT JUNGLE 23)ASH WEDNESDAY 24)THE SYSTEM 25)AIR PATROL 26)THE STONE KILLER 27)SANDS OF THE KALAHARI 28)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 29)RIOT 30)THE MAN FROM LARAMIE FAVORITE ACTORS 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)STANLEY BAKER 4)MARLON BRANDO 5)JACK NICHOLSON 6) CHARLES BRONSON 7)BURT REYNOLDS 8)WILLIAM LUCAS 9)TOM COURTENAY 10)GENE HACKMAN DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)VAL GUEST 4)STANLEY KUBRICK 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)ORSON WELLES 7)JOHN GUILLERMAN 8)JOHN LANDIS 9)SAM PECKINPAH 10)MICHAEL WINNER

BRITISH NEW WAVE CINEMA

RARITIES AND EXPLOITATION

HAMMER HORROR & THRILLER

Popular This Month

CHARLES BRONSON CINEMA

CINEMA OF DANA ANDREWS

WESTERN GENRE REVIEWS

PEAKING INTO THE SIXTIES

KICKING IN THE EIGHTIES

TALES AND REFLECTIONS

REVVING THE SEVENTIES

Most Popular Last Year