"Villa Rides!"
Movie Review
Reviewed by: Rosalind Ruiz
(1968) Yul Brynner, Robert Mitchum, Charles Bronson,
Grazia Buccella, Robert Viharo, Frank Wolff, Herbert Lom,
Alexander Knox, Diana Lorys, Jill Ireland.
Set in early 20th century Mexico, Villa Rides! attempts
to chronicle
the exploits of Pancho Villa, infamous bandit and folk hero.
Lee Arnold (Robert Mitchum), an American pilot and gun-running
mercenary, comes into the picture when he asks Luis Gonzalez, a
blacksmith in a little Mexican village, to repair his plane (which he
stole from the U.S. Air Force). During Arnold's stay at the home of
Gonzalez, the village is attacked by soldiers, known as "Colorados,"
who hang by the neck those fighting back. In the chaos, Arnold is
captured, but Pancho Villa and his revolutionaries arrive on the
scene, avenge the town by slaughtering the Colorados, and take
Arnold prisoner.
Upon being mistaken as a mercenary for the Colorados, Arnold
persuades Villa not to put him to death when he pledges to fly his
plane for Villa. Together, Villa and Arnold work and fly for
"the cause," dropping bombs and.........................................