Great Film: Pancho Villa
PANCHO VILLA (Eugenio Martin, 1972) **
Telly Savalas hams it up as the Mexican revolutionary (though he's matched by Chuck Connors as a military martinet) in this jokey yet rather boring pastiche on the famous historical figure's life and times. An earlier attempt, VILLA RIDES! (1968) with Yul Brynner in the role and co-starring Robert Mitchcum, dealt with these events more soberly and on a grander scale. As such, PANCHO VILLA is an all-too typical European venture and an undistinguished one at that, despite its credentials; the end result is more often silly rather than amusing - though a few moments, most notably the action set-pieces and a scene involving a brawl inside a church, offer some mild pleasure. Oh, and Savalas even gets to sing over the end titles!
Cast
- Pancho Villa played by Telly Savalas
- Scotty played by Clint Walker
- Col. Wilcox played by Chuck Connors
- Flo played by Anne Francis
- Luis played by José María Prada
- Lt. Eager played by Ángel Del Pozo
- McDermott played by Luis Dávila
