Chuck Connors and Cesar Romero head an otherwise unknown cast in this tale set in South America in 1870, as Will Hansen (Connors) leads a group of four ex-Confederate soldiers now plying their trade as mercenaries. Hansen is the only member of the band that seems to have any hint of a hard edge, the rest are just a bunch of good old boys with no drive or direction of their own. The South American setting could be just about anywhere since no country is ever named, but it might just as well have been Mexico for the portrayal offered by the two opposing forces. On one side, General Alehandro Martinez offers Hansen and his comrades pay in exchange for information on the opposition in the valley town of San Carlos. Cesar Romero is the mayor there, determined to protect his town, but one wonders from what. The conflict between Martinez and Romero is never made known, maybe that's why Hansen and his men have no emotional involvement in the proceedings.
It would be difficult to describe the action in the film - there is none. There are two romantic angles involving Hansen and a gypsy woman, while one of his men named Ike (Aron Kincaid) tries to woo a senorita from the local convent. If the film's pace wasn't slow enough as it was, it's accentuated by the doleful strumming of a guitar from time to time, bringing one's attention to the fact that nothing is going on.
All doesn't go well for Hansen though, since he missed his appointment with General Martinez, he'll have to pay for that indiscretion. That prompts his men to think for themselves for the first time, and they take a stand with the citizens of San Carlos. You'll have to watch the film to see how far that goes, but even amidst the flying cannonballs, it's kind of anti climactic. One never feels any empathy for this bunch, and that's what makes the movie largely forgettable.
If you're a Chuck Connors fan, you'll be better served by any single episode of his "Rifleman", which will have more story and excitement to it in twenty six minutes than this hour and a half sleeper. The only thing I found interesting in the film was how much Connors appeared to have aged in the decade since the Rifleman series ended. Oh wait, maybe it happened during the filming!
It would be difficult to describe the action in the film - there is none. There are two romantic angles involving Hansen and a gypsy woman, while one of his men named Ike (Aron Kincaid) tries to woo a senorita from the local convent. If the film's pace wasn't slow enough as it was, it's accentuated by the doleful strumming of a guitar from time to time, bringing one's attention to the fact that nothing is going on.
All doesn't go well for Hansen though, since he missed his appointment with General Martinez, he'll have to pay for that indiscretion. That prompts his men to think for themselves for the first time, and they take a stand with the citizens of San Carlos. You'll have to watch the film to see how far that goes, but even amidst the flying cannonballs, it's kind of anti climactic. One never feels any empathy for this bunch, and that's what makes the movie largely forgettable.
If you're a Chuck Connors fan, you'll be better served by any single episode of his "Rifleman", which will have more story and excitement to it in twenty six minutes than this hour and a half sleeper. The only thing I found interesting in the film was how much Connors appeared to have aged in the decade since the Rifleman series ended. Oh wait, maybe it happened during the filming!