Instant Favorite.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

"What am I doin' here?" Those are the last dying words of someone who expected a whole bunch of gold bars in the bleak conclusion of this entertaining, if really simple-plotted (but with a funny, if tragic, considering all the lives lost because it, twist) and rather forgettable (if not for the casting of Lee Van Cleef, I imagine this film would probably remain buried even further in obscurity than it already is) spaghetti western, set in Mexico (but shot in Spain). Jim Brown—AKA the greatest running back to ever step on a football field—convinces Lee Van Cleef (filthy, poor, and desperate, with his background and strife in the old west, it wouldn't take much to talk him into going after gold), to talk an Apache leader, Iron Eyes Cody (yes, he had the iconic portrayal of a Native American who shed a tear because of pollution, the ad famous in the 70s) into getting his braves to help potentially raid a general's (Patrick O'Neal, not really convincing as a Mexican, to tell you the truth) fortress, heavily guarded by Mexican soldiers. It is believed that the general, Chavez, has millions of gold bars hidden somewhere in the fortress, spurning quite a bloody battle for them (the Apache just expect fancy horses and some rifles, as Van Cleef doesn't tell Cody of the gold bars, which leads to an unfortunate murder because if the Native Americans know of the cache, they'd slit the white/black men's throats). Marianna Hill is the gorgeous lover of Chavez, who becomes enamored with Brown, enough to assist them towards the end when they perform a nighttime raid (this help comes in the form of a striptease! It certainly gets the solders' attention, and rightfully so). The whole plot revolves around taking the Mexican fortress, and the bloodshed that occurs in order to do so. The chemistry of Van Cleef and Brown is a strength of this western which makes the final reel all the sadder. The surprise regarding the gold is quite a whopper that Brown doesn't see coming and it is exasperating because of all the death that results. The film's main appeal, besides the chemistry and action, is the strategizing between Brown and O'Neal over breaking into/defending the Mexican fortress. Poor Van Cleef goes through every kind of ordeal for Brown, sustaining his share of misery in the pursuit of a dream, which could turn out to just be fantasy. Most know Hill from Clint Eastwood's "High Plains Drifter", and she is just as sexy here, if not more so. There's a great siege upon naked Mexican soldiers, who had descended on a little Mexican town to rape/molest the women, by Brown, Van Cleef, and company, but the main raid on the fortress at the end delivers the real goods (there's another attack, quite clever on Brown and Van Cleef's part, where they are able to get inside the fortress, detonating a water tank that floods the grounds and soldiers!). This isn't the usual Van Cleef western (anti)hero role, his character not a force of nature or a feared, crafty, wise gunslinger--he's a pitiable wreck who so badly needs a break, because life hasn't ever dealt him one good hand.

Very much like his white counterparts, Fredrich March, early Gregory Peck, early Christopher Plummer (both these actors shaping up considerable with advancing age), Sir John Guielgoud (or what's-his-name), Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dolph Lundgren (shaping up a little recently) and, worst of all, Chuck Norris, Jim Brown was a log-head and a bore and a reason for not seeing the film he was in. He was nothing like Denzel Washington, Ossie Davies, Yaphet Kotto, Samuel Jackson and especially not like my own favourite Cuba Gooding. Only Wesley Snipes and maybe Will Smith (who however has done the excellent Enemy of the State) can hold a candle to his magnificent boredom. In this movie there is yet another beautiful white woman who is chosen to go to bed with "handsome" boredom Brown but who also delivers some outstanding full-frontals as compensation, which is why this film is remembered at all. Lee Van Cleef never played a more unsympathetic dumb role but he does it convincingly and maybe he wanted to show that he was a good actor. Oh, why do actors do that! It's so very boring! The five stars is for the full frontals and for nothing else.

Lee Van Cleef steals the show from a more subdued Jim Brown in El Condor, an American produced film with a British director, shot in Spain.An old favorite of mine, this was aired frequently on local television when I was growing up, though not much seen nowadays. It's a fast, funny, and violent action/adventure, that is overdue for rediscovery!In this, Brown and Van Cleef scheme to take the impregnable Spanish fort of El Condor with a little help from a virtual army of Apache warriors in order to steal billions in gold.There's so many great scenes it's hard to say which is the best, the nude massacre, the attempted execution of Brown and Van Cleef by exposure, or the final rousing battle for El Condor. It's all good!Unfortunately, the fun is undercut by a downbeat ending pitting the two allies against each other. How disappointing!

When he is part of a chain gang, Luke overhears talk of a fort where millions of dollars worth of gold is hidden under the guard of part of the Mexican army. He escapes from his captors and enlists the help of gold prospector Jaroo to help him recover the gold. Jaroo has connections with a tribe of Indians who will be told it is a political matter and promised horses and guns for their help. The duo set out with their enlisted army to attack the fort of General Chavez and steal the gold.This film looked interesting to me because it had a black star in the lead as well as the grizzled Van Cleef. I didn't know anything about the plot but decided to give it a go. Despite some good touches along the way, there isn't really much that makes this western stand out – it's all pretty standard stuff. The ending has a good twist and a downbeat ending but it's nothing that unusual for a western of this sort. The film does have some good bits of light humour, however it also tries to have all the usual clichés thrown in as well – we have the two leads fighting, Jaroo being kind to a child (with sappy Mexican music in background), nudity and Wild Bunch style excessive violence at each stage.The film is still passable as long as you know what you're watching and don't expect too much. As a western it is quite fun if you're just after something undemanding with lots of gunfights. However more than that and you'll be disappointed. The cast carries the film at several points; or at least the lead two do. Jim Brown is a pretty good screen presence even if his skills as an actor leave a little to be desired. Here his physical presence and (slightly out of place, period wise) swagger. Van Cleef has a better character and it's a shame that he plays second fiddle to Brown for much of the film – but he is still very interesting to watch. O'Neal is only so-so, Iron Eyes Cody has little to do and Hill is pretty but not much else.Overall this is a passable western as long as you don't expect too much. It is nicely driven along by the screen presence of Brown and Van Cleef. Other than them and the odd good touch here and there, this film is quite unremarkable as westerns go.