Fernando Wagner Movies
"If they move, kill 'em!" Beginning and ending with two of the bloodiest battles in screen history, Sam Peckinpah's classic revisionist Western ruthlessly takes apart the myths of the West. Released in the late '60s discord over Vietnam, in the wake of the controversial Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and the brutal "spaghetti westerns" of Sergio Leone, The Wild Bunch polarized critics and audiences over its ferocious bloodshed. One side hailed it as a classic appropriately pitched to the violence and nihilism of the times, while the other reviled it as depraved. After a failed payroll robbery, the outlaw Bunch, led by aging Pike Bishop (William Holden) and including Dutch (Ernest Borgnine), Angel (Jaime Sanchez), and Lyle and Tector Gorch (Warren Oates and Ben Johnson), heads for Mexico pursued by the gang of Pike's friend-turned-nemesis Deke Thornton (Robert Ryan). Ultimately caught between the corruption of railroad fat cat Harrigan (Albert Dekker) and federale general Mapache (Emilio Fernandez), and without a frontier for escape, the Bunch opts for a final Pyrrhic victory, striding purposefully to confront Mapache and avenge their friend Angel. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
- Starring:
- William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, (more)
Two of the most beautiful women in the European cinema of the 1960s -- Brigitte Bardot and Jeanne Moreau -- team up under the direction of Louis Malle in this engaging comedy/adventure. Maria Fitzgerald O'Malley (Bardot) is the daughter of an Irish political dissident who has traveled to Latin America with her father to take part in an anarchist political uprising. When her father is killed, Maria, left to her own devices, happens upon a traveling circus, where she strikes up a friendship with one of the performers, also named Maria (Moreau). Maria O'Malley joins up with the carnival, and she works up a dance routine with Maria; the act is a smash hit, especially after the Irish Maria accidentally loses part of her costume during a performance. Despite their success, the two Marias find themselves increasingly distressed with the poverty and brutality of the peasants' lives, and they soon decide to use their talents in support of revolutionary leader Flores (George Hamilton). Viva Maria!'s original ending was trimmed slightly for its American release, but the complete version was later released in the United States on DVD. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brigitte Bardot, Jeanne Moreau, (more)
- 1959
A man risks his life to save a woman he doesn't know in this action adventure yarn. Samson (David DaLie) is an American hunter on a safari in Guatemala. While tracking game, Samson encounters a strange ceremony in which a young woman named Morena (Angelica Morales) is to be sacrificed at the bidding of her father to appease the gods following a vicious animal attack. Morena is able to escape, and Samson gives chase, hoping to rescue her before the tribesmen can capture her and complete the ritual. Very loosely based on his own experiences, Virgin Sacrifice was the first feature film for actor and hunter David DaLie. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 1958
In this western set in the California territory in the mid-19th century, a rancher tries to protect his Spanish land grant from greedy American landgrabbers. Unfortunately the eastern interlopers bring in a Texas gunfighter to frighten the man. The gunfighter ends up falling in love with the rancher's sister, and decides to spare them. In the end, the gunman is killed during the climactic shoot out. The girl who loved him is devastated. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brian Keith, Rick Jason, (more)
- 1955
Seven Cities of Gold is the story of Father Junipero Serra (Michael Rennie), the 18th century Jesuit priest who founded the first missions in California. Based on the novel by Isabelle Gibson Ziegler, the film adds a dash of intrigue and adventure to the story in the person of a Spanish military commander (Anthony Quinn) who clashes with the altrustic, peace-loving Father Serra. The tenuous relationship between the Spaniards and the local Indians is endangered when one of the military officers (Richard Egan) betrays an Indian girl (Rita Moreno). To avoid wholesale bloodshed, the errant officer willingly submits to tribal tortures to make amends for his misdeeds. Too melodramatic for some tastes, Seven Cities of Gold is redeemed by the breathtakingly beautiful color cinematography of Lucien Ballard. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard Egan, Anthony Quinn, (more)
- 1954
Gary Cooper, Richard Widmark and Cameron Mitchell portray three somewhat disreputable 19th-century soldiers of fortune, en route to California to prospect for gold. Stopping over in a tiny Mexican village, the three men are hired by Susan Hayward to rescue her husband, who is trapped in a gold mine in hostile Indian territory. The threesome agree to the expedition, their interest piqued by the possibility of picking up some gold themselves. During the harrowing journey, the party's already frayed nerves are aggravated when the men become attracted to Hayward. The group arrives at the mine's location--the Garden of Evil, so named because the Indians regard it as the domain of evil spirits. During the escape, Hayward's husband (Hugh Marlowe) is killed by the Indians, as is Mitchell. Cooper and Widmark play cards to decide who will take Hayward to safety and who will cover them while they flee. Cooper wins--but later discovers that Widmark had cheated in order to sacrifice himself. Garden of Evil takes too long to get to its climax, but the Cinemascope photography and Bernard Herrmann's rich musical score make the wait worthwhile. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Susan Hayward, (more)
- 1953
This Mexican horror/sci-fi film is a loose adaptation of "Frankenstein." The tale begins as a reporter is assigned to investigate a bizarre advertisement. It was placed by a horribly deformed, insane plastic surgeon. The mad doctor makes a creature to kidnap the journalist he has fallen love with. Unfortunately, the woman does not love him. She loves the creature. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
The star of El Senor Fotografo was the incomparable Cantinflas. Per the title, Cantinflas plays a trouble-prone photographer, whose assignments inevitably end in slapstick confusion. The "straight" plotline concerns governmental corruption, a topic with which most Mexicans were all too familiar. With Cantinflas involved, the bad guys are routed in high comic fashion. The cinematography in El Senor Fotografo was in the skilled hands of Mexico's top lensman, Gabriel Figueroa. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Cantinflas, Rosita Arenas, (more)
- 1948
Gabriel Figueroa's evocative photography makes the Mexican-American co-production The Pearl seem a more significant piece of filmmaking than it really is. Based on John Steinbeck's short novel, The Pearl is the tragic fable of a simple Mexican fisherman (Pedro Armendariz) who finds a valuable pearl and begins fantasizing about untold wealth and luxury for himself and family. His more sensible wife (Maria Elena Marques) is uncertain as to whether the pearl is an omen of good luck, but soon she, too, falls under its spell. The couple's naivete leads to their being exploited and brutalized by sharpsters and thieves. Before the fisherman angrily hurls the pearl back into the sea, the gem brings about nothing but death and despair. Co-scripted by Steinbeck, director Emil Fernandez, and Jack Wagner, The Pearl was filmed on location in Mexico, using the facilities of the RKO-owned Churubusco Studios. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Pedro Armendáriz, Maria Elena Marques, (more)
- 1948
As Cold-War melodramas go, Sofia goes pretty well. Set in a backlot version of Turkey, the film stars Gene Raymond as former OSS man Steve Roark. Assigned to rescue two atomic scientists from Russia and spirit them across the Iron Curtain, Steve discovers that one of the scientists is his ex-lover Linda Carlsen (Sigrid Gurie). Meanwhile, sultry cabaret singer-turned-spy Magda Onescu (Patricia Morison) offers her services to both the Allies and the Communists, hoping to be financially renumerated by both sides (Guess how she ends up?) Some of the espionage techniques are amusing, especially when the rascally Russians are so easily fooled by the simplest subterfuges. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gene Raymond, Sigrid Gurie, (more)
- 1948
The "mermaids" are really tribal pearl divers in this diverting Tarzan adventure. Their livelihood is threatened by an evil white trader (Fernando Wagner), who sets himself up as a "god." With the help of lovely diver Linda Christian (later Mrs. Tyrone Power), Tarzan defeats the wicked despot, but not before several underwater battles, not the least of which involves an octopus. If the jungle settings of Tarzan and the Mermaids don't look particularly African, that's because the film was shot at the Churubusco Studios in Mexico. Mermaids represents the final appearance of Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Johnny Weissmuller, Brenda Joyce, (more)
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