I grew up watching Westerns, and I loved them, as did every red-blooded American boy in the 50s.
Courage, heroism, loyalty, stretching beyond one's limits – these were themes that touched us all deeply.
These kind of movies became more complex as life itself became more complex. And in 1967 we have one of the last of the breed – The Professionals, a film that does not deserve to be forgotten.
It features a dynamite all-star cast – Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, Jack Palance, Ralph Bellamy, Woody Strode, and “introducing” a young and smoldering Claudia Cardinale. The cinematography is by Conrad Hall (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) and it's directed by Richard Brooks (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Elmer Gantry, Sweet Bird of Youth, In Cold Blood, Looking for Mr. Goodbar).
Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster, and Robert Ryan are rough and hardened mercenaries hired by the ultra-rich and manipulative Ralph Bellamy to track down his wife, who has been kidnapped by the dashing Mexican bandito Jack Palance.
Our trio evades one dangerous obstacle after another and is about to successfully complete their mission when... the script delivers a satisfying twist – and the movie ends with another tasty twistaroonee.
In between, there is crackling dialogue, with a lot of juicy lines to remember, and wonderful, lovingly-crafted action sequences, just like they used to make them.
Claudia Cardinale fulfills her archetypical role as the sultry, sulky, exotic babe with large endowments. And Burt and Lee are each deeply satisfying doing what they do best – the ruggedly masculine, cynically smart, always capable anti-hero. Robert Ryan has a resigned, world-weary presence, caused by the fact that he was in fact, ill and near the end of his days. And Woody Strode is an imposing and graceful physical presence who, for whatever reason, has few lines.
The Professionals is really worth seeing and will entertain anyone who likes bold heros, sweeping vistas, exciting action – all that good old stuff.
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