| ''Villa Rides''
|
|
Villa Rides (1968)
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| Country
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 USA
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| Directed by
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Buzz Kulik
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| Release Date
|
1968
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| Language
|
English
|
| Studio
|
Paramount Pictures
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| Distributor
|
Paramount Pictures
|
|
|
Villa Rides is a 1968 American Western film directed by Buzz Kulik and starring Robert Mitchum in the role of Lee Arnold.
Lee Arnold is forced to land his biplane in Mexican territory due to technical problems during the flight. Once in Mexico, Arnold witnesses the country's army kidnapping an entire town to hang supporters of revolutionary Francisco "Pancho" Villa. Later, Villa himself and a horde of his revolutionaries free the people from the Mexican Army, imprisoning the surviving soldiers, including Lee Arnold, accused of smuggling weapons for the army. Lee is pardoned on the condition of helping the revolution with his plane to attack the Mexican Army.
Villa Rides was originally written and directed by Sam Peckinpah, however, actor Yul Brynner had disagreements with Peckinpah regarding the script, which was eventually rewritten and the director changed to Buzz Kulik. Presumably, Sam Peckinpah was inspired by this film to create his famed western epic The Wild Bunch, released a year later and which also set in the midst of the Mexican Revolution.
The following weapons were used in the film Villa Rides:
WARNING! THIS PAGE CONTAINS SPOILERS!
Revolvers
Single Action Army
Rodolfo Fierro (Charles Bronson) uses two Colt Single Action Armys with pearl grips as his personal sidearms. Ramírez (Frank Wolff) uses a Colt Single Action Army as his service weapon, which varies between the standard model and the Bisley variant. Most soldiers in the Mexican Army carry the Colt Single Action Army as their service sidearms. The revolutionaries also carry the Colt Single Action Army as their only weapon in combat. Pancho Villa (Yul Brynner) and one revolutionary stand out from the rest by carrying a Colt Single Action Army with a 7.5" barrel.
Colt 1873 Single Action Army w/ 7.5" barrel - .45 Long Colt
Pancho Villa, in addition to his Buntline Special, also carries a Colt Single Action Army, which is mainly seen holstered and is never used.
The
Villistas surprise the Mexican Army at the train station controlled by the latter.
Several of the
Villistas carry Colt Single Action Armys, including one that uses the "Cavalry" model.
Colt Single Action Army w/ 4.75" barrel - .45 Long Colt
Ramírez holds his Single Action Army before giving the order to attack the Mexican town.
Don Luis (
Robert Carricart) prevents his son (Antoñito Ruiz) from arming himself with his Single Action Army, preferring that his son leave the place and prevent the army from killing him.
Rodolfo piles several counterrevolutionaries into a cell, then frees them and gives them a chance to escape if they are fast enough to dodge the shots from his Single Action Army.
Urbina (Robert Viharo) fires his Single Action Army with the intention of scaring Pancho Villa and everyone in the room where the strategy of attacking the Mexican Army is being discussed.
Colt Bisley Single Action Army
Ramírez (Frank Wolff) uses a Colt Bisley Single Action Army as his service weapon, which varies between the Bisley variant and the standard model. Rodolfo Fierro (Charles Bronson) briefly arms himself with two Colt Bisley Single Action Armys during the execution of the counterrevolutionaries.
Colt Single Action Army Bisley Model w/ 5.5" barrel - .45 Long Colt
Ramírez pulls out his Colt Bisley Single Action Army and aims it at Lee Arnold, then orders his men to remove him.
Ramírez and his men go up to the first floor of Don Luis's house in search of possible hidden residents.
One of the
Villistas holds two Colt Bisley Single Action Armys while Rodolfo kills the counterrevolutionaries.
Seeing Lee approaching them, the
Villista passes his Colt Bisley Single Action Army to Rodolfo, who had run out of bullets for his two Single Action Armys.
Single Action Army Buntline Special
Pancho Villa (Yul Brynner) stands out for always carrying the Buntline Special variant of the Single Action Army. Rodolfo Fierro (Charles Bronson) briefly uses Villa's Buntline Special to shoot some Mexican soldiers. It is anachronistic to the 1910s Mexican Revolution, as the Bluntline Special was first described (and believed to have been invented by) writer Stuart N. Lake for his 1931 biography Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal, and later first produced by Colt in 1957.
Colt Single Action Army w/ 12" barrel - .45 Long Colt
Pancho Villa raises his Buntline Special in victory after liberating the Mexican town people from the Mexican Army.
"Now gringo..."A good close-up shot of Villa aiming his Buntline Special at Lee Arnold.
Villa and Fierro leave their respective Single Action Army revolvers on the table while they discuss the strategy they will use against the Mexican Army.
Fierro draws his friend Pancho Villa's Buntline Special.
Fierro is particularly enthusiastic about using the Buntline Special to execute Mexican Army soldiers.
Fierro arranges three Mexican soldiers, one after another, to shoot them in the heart from behind. A quick, merciful, and certainly honorable execution.
After killing the three soldiers, Fierro is delighted with the Buntline Special, saying he liked it and asks for three more soldiers.
Villa cleans his Buntline Special, implying that Fierro had a good time killing Mexican soldiers.
Villa and Fierro enter the military fort where Ramírez and his soldiers are located.
Colt New Service
Lee Arnold (Robert Mitchum) carries a Colt New Service in his holster when he lands in Mexico at the beginning of the film. During the ambush on the train station protected by the Mexican Army, one of the revolutionaries is seen carrying a Colt New Service to threaten a Mexican soldier.
Colt New Service - .45 ACP
One of the
Villistas points his Colt New Service at the Mexican general in the train station.
Colt New Service w/ ivory grips - .38-40 WCF
Lee appears before Ramírez after landing on Mexican soil with weapons for that country's army. Note his Colt New Service holstered.
Lee is welcomed by the people of the Mexican town, while he falls in love at first sight with one of the town's women.
Lee, with the help of Don Luis, repairs his biplane from the damage that forced it to land in Mexico.
This is the last appearance of Lee Arnold's Colt New Service, as it does not appear again later.
Webley .455 Mk VI
Some Mexican Army soldiers carry a Webley .455 Mk VI as a sidearm, rarer to see than the more common [[Single Action Army]. The Webley Mk VI can also be seen used by revolutionaries, although it is never fired. Although it is a minor detail, it should be noted that Webley revolvers were not used in the Mexican revolution, neither by the Mexican Army or by the Zapatistas and Villistas.
Webley Mk VI - .455 Webley
One of the Mexican Army soldiers fires his Webley Mk VI towards the
Villistas.
The
Villistas surprise the Mexican Army at the train station controlled by the latter.
One of the
Villistas carries a Webley Mk VI.
A close-up shot of the Webley Mk VI in the holster of one of the
Villistas.
Rifles
Garate El Tigre
Both the revolutionaries and the Mexican soldiers carry the Garate El Tigre during various confrontations. This film was filmed in Spain, so the rifle seen in the film is that country's copy of the period-appropriate Winchester Model 1892 Saddle Ring Carbine.
Gárate Anitua & Co. El Tigre - .44 Largo
Two
Villistas wield their Gárate El Tigres after having liberated the town from the Mexican Army.
After the
Villistas ambush the Mexican Army train, several surviving soldiers march in line under the threat of the revolutionaries' Garate El Tigre rifles.
Several
Villistas carry the Gárate El Tigre during combat against the Mexican Army outside the military fort.
M43 Spanish Mauser
Ramírez (Frank Wolff) carries a M43 Spanish Mauser as his primary long gun. Lee Arnold (Robert Mitchum) uses an M43 Spanish Mauser as a club to defend himself against a Mexican soldier when Pancho Villa and his group appear to liberate the Mexican city taken by the army. A large number of Mexican soldiers carry an M43 Spanish Mauser as their primary service rifle. This anachronistic Mauser rifle is standing in for the many variants of the Mauser Rifle Series used by all sides of the Mexican Revolution.
Mauser Modelo 1943 - 8x57mm Mauser
A Mexican soldier points his M43 Spanish Mauser at Lee Arnold to make him advance.
A side shot of an M43 Spanish Mauser aimed at Don Luis in the middle of a crowd.
Several Mexican inhabitants are threatened by soldiers with their M43 Spanish Mausers to make them observe the execution of people in favor of Pancho Villa's cause.
Ramírez arms himself with an M43 Spanish Mauser when the
Villistas arrive in town to free the townspeople and finish off all the soldiers.
All the Mexican soldiers are armed with their M43 Spanish Mauser rifles to defend the military train from the
Villista ambush.
A squad of soldiers is armed with their M43 Spanish Mausers to shoot Pancho Villa, before receiving the order not to do so from Huerta.
Springfield Model 1873 Trapdoor Carbine
Several Mexican soldiers are seen carrying the Trapdoor Springfield Rifle as another of their service rifles.
Springfield Model 1873 Trapdoor Carbine - .45-70 Government
The Mexican soldiers arm themselves with their Springfield Model 1873s when the
Villistas arrive in town and attack the army.
A good shot of a soldier trying to get his horse to stay still so he can aim his Springfield Model 1873 at the
Villistas.
Several Mexican soldiers decide to stop fighting and surrender so that the
Villistas do not finish them off (they do anyway).
Machine Guns
Vickers Mk. I
Lee Arnold (Robert Mitchum) carries several Vickers Mk. Is in his biplane that he would later hand over to the Mexican Army to fight against the revolution. Rodolfo Fierro (Charles Bronson) uses Vickers Mk. I to save the inhabitants of the town taken over by the Mexican Army. The Mexican Army is the most common user of the Vickers Mk. I throughout the entire film.
Vickers Mk. I w/ ribbed water jacket - .303 British
Lee transports several Vickers Mk. I in his biplane, minutes before being forced to land in Mexico due to a mechanical issues.
From the top of a roof, Fierro fires a Vickers Mk. I toward the Mexican soldiers.
Until his machine gun conveniently jams, so Fierro proceeds to hit it to try to get it working again.
Several Vickers Mk. I line up after the victory of the
Villistas against the Mexican soldiers.
A closer shot of the Vickers Mk. I.
Urbina inspects and touches a Vickers Mk. I, realizing that it was brought from abroad.
A Vickers Mk. I is transported by Mexican soldiers on the army train, just before Lee raids the train in his biplane.
A soldier tries to arm himself with a Vickers Mk. I to defend the Mexican army fort, without realizing that behind him are the most important leaders of the revolution.
Already inside the military fort of the Mexican Army, several soldiers guard the place with several Vickers Mk. I strategically positioned.
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WARNING! THIS PAGE CONTAINS SPOILERS!
