Enrique Lucero Movies
An actor since the 1950s, Enrique Lucero is best remembered as host of the long-running Latin American radio series La Hora Latina. His screen credits include Villa (1958) and The Magnificent Seven (1960), both lensed in his native Mexico. In the 1960s, he was seen in a few horror films, quite a departure from his avuncular radio and TV image. Enrique Lucero's later films ranged from Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch (in 1969 as Ignacio) to Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye (in 1973 as Jake). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1987
In this cautionary tale, based on a novel by Luis Spota, the travails of four "wetbacks" are told. These men have left their homes throughout Mexico in order to sell their labor north of the Border in the U.S. Along the way, one dies while crossing the Rio Grande, another is deported, a third is killed, and the remaining one suffers horribly while working in the U.S. Indeed, such illegal Mexican immigrants are routinely abused and roughed-up, in addition to being poorly paid for back-breaking labor. However, in this movie at least, the lead characters are not particularly admirable people, as they are prepared to rob the only person who shows them kindness. This is clearly a movie with one simple, overriding theme for its intended viewers: no matter what, stay at home in Mexico. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Héctor Suárez, Tony Bravo, (more)
- 1987
- R
Gaby: A True Story is about a young woman -- the child of rich European refugees living in Mexico -- who was stricken with cerebral palsy at birth. Though her body is completely paralyzed, her mind is unaffected, and she is able to become a college graduate and an acclaimed author. Rachel Levin won acclaim in the title role, but Norma Aleandro received an Oscan nomination for Best Supporting Actress. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liv Ullmann, Norma Aleandro, (more)
Critically acclaimed in its homeland but barely seen stateside, this 1986 Mexican-language Western concerns the dangerous attraction between two rogue horsemen and the woman that comes between them. Its title a potent card-shark metaphor, El Tres de Copas concerns the exploits of Pedro and Damian (Humberto Zurita and Alejandro Camacho), two brothers by family if not by blood, who travel the untamed, post-Mexican War West in search of whatever quick cons they can pull. When the lovely, mysterious Casilda (Gabriela Roel) comes between them, each finds that his loyalty to the other will be put to the test. El Tres de Copas was nominated for numerous Ariel Awards -- the Mexican equivalent of the Academy Awards -- after its release. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Humberto Zurita, Alejandro Camacho, (more)
In yet another slick, formulaic Charles Bronson vengeance film (they would continue until the actor was in his mid-70s, still playing the morally insulted friend/husband/lover), Bronson is Holland, an assassin for hire who has just come out of retirement to finish off a Guatemalan thug by the name of Moloch (Joseph Maher). Moloch tortures and terrorizes the good guys and is protected by a misguided American government agency -- though nothing can stop Holland once he starts killing his way to the chief villain. No one except the wife of one of Moloch's victims -- and perhaps a few viewers now and again -- raises any questions about Holland's trail of corpses. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Bronson, Theresa Saldana, (more)
- 1983
Choices of the Heart (aka In December the Roses Will Bloom Again) recounts the life and death of Irish lay missionary Jean Donovan. Together with three American nuns, the 27-year-old Donovan (here played by Melissa Gilbert) was murdered in El Salvador in 1980. Constructed in a complex flashback-flashforward style, the film shows how Donovan went from a selfish, materialistic girl to a champion of human rights. Martin Sheen plays the priest who is instrumental in Donovan's turnaround. The increasing demand for the US to withdraw its support of El Salvador's military-oriented government is a secondary but vital ingredient to the full dramatic impact of this made-for-TV movie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melissa Gilbert, Martin Sheen, (more)
- 1983
Originally telecast as a two-hour movie TV movie, the two-part A-Team pilot episode begins as Amy Allen (Melinda Culea), intrepid girl reporter for the "Los Angeles Courier", conducts an investigation to find out if the notorious A-Team, a group of Vietnam vets who'd been unjustly imprisoned after the war for pulling off a government-ordered bank robbery, have actually escaped prison and are still at large. She soon comes face to face with the members of the A-Team, who have regrouped as soldiers of fortune dedicated to helping deserving people and righting wrongs throughout the world--all the while keeping one step ahead from the relentless Col. Lynch (William Lucking), who has vowed to put the team behind bars again. Most of Part One is devoted to introducing the individual team members: Hannibal Smith (George Peppard), team leader and master of disguise; B.A. (Mr. T), the sullen, combustible mechanic; "Howling Mad" Murdock (Dwight Schultz), versatile air pilot and habitual mental-hospital resident; and Faceman (played in the pilot only by Tim Dunigan), the resident suave, silver-tongued con artist. Promising not to reveal the team's whereabouts, Amy presses them into service to rescue her colleague Al Massey (William Windom), currently being held hostage by Mexican drug dealers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This gripping, emotional story of a roving photographer's transformation from a neutral artist with a camera to an involved human rights activist with a camera begins in Chad, travels to Nicaragua in the early 1980s, and ends when the Nicaraguan dictator Somoza takes off for the palm trees and beaches of Florida. Nick Nolte brilliantly interprets his role as the photographer Russell Price, and Joanna Cassidy is Claire, the radio journalist he meets while in Chad, along with her lover, Time Magazine reporter Alex (Gene Hackman), who ends up opting for a plush job as a TV anchorman and a quiet life on Long Island. When Alex leaves, Claire heads off to the next hot spot, Nicaragua, and Russell decides to tag along -- not because he is that interested in Nicaragua, but because he is interested in Claire. Once in the war-torn, Central American country, it does not take Russell long to see the vast difference between the corrupt, U.S.-backed dictatorship and the struggling guerrilla forces who have been fighting for a decade already. As his eyes are opened, he and Claire decide to go along with the rebels and film their fighting behind the lines. During one battle, the much-venerated rebel leader is shot dead, and Russell reluctantly agrees to fake a photo of the man as though he were still living, so as not to demoralize the army that looks up to him for leadership. The photo appears in the news around the world and causes such a furor that Alex shows up to demand an interview with the leader for national American television. It is on the way to this supposed interview that Alex leaves the car for a moment and is senselessly shot and killed by a government soldier, the whole episode filmed for the world by Russell's camera. This outrage (which actually occurred when journalist Bill Stewart was inhumanly shot by a Somoza soldier in full view of the video camera) soon makes global news and helps to hasten the overthrow of the corrupt dictatorship. Meanwhile, Russell has new issues to consider once his camera has become an "active" and not a "passive" observer of political unrest. René Enriquéz who plays the dictator Somoza in this film is a native Nicaraguan, related to a newspaper reporter killed by Somoza's government. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, Gene Hackman, (more)
- 1981
- PG
An electronics engineer (Ryan O'Neal) and his gal pal (Anne Archer) travel to South America, where they become involved in a plot to rob an emerald smuggler (Omar Sharif) of his fortune. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ryan O'Neal, Anne Archer, (more)
Karate champ Chuck Norris returns for another chop-socky vigilante flick in The Octagon, one of a handful of undistinguished Ninja pictures released during the early '80s. Norris appropriately plays a retired karate champ hired as a bodyguard for a wealthy woman (Karen Carlson) plagued by a gang of vicious ninjas. Reluctant at first to take the job, he reconsiders when he learns the gang is headed by his longtime arch rival Tadashi Yamashita (Lee Van Cleef). The script -- as is the case in nearly every Ninja film -- has holes bigger than Okinawa, and the acting is downright atrocious, particularly that of Norris, who, thankfully, improved with time. However, the production values are fair, as is the direction, and the action sequences are often exciting and comparatively realistic. Recommended for genre fans only. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chuck Norris, Karen Carlson, (more)
- 1979
In this western, based on a William Goldman novel, the life of scout Tom Horn, an idealistic fellow whose life experiences turn him into a bitter bounty hunter, is chronicled. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Carradine, Richard Widmark, (more)
- 1979
- PG
Though made in Britain and Europe, Eagle's Wing qualifies as a Western. Easterner Pike (Martin Sheen) does a lot of growing up in a hurry when he becomes a trapper out-West. By mid-film, Pike is accomplished enough to compete with Comanche chief White Bull (Sam Waterston, there's a masterpiece of nontypecasting!) over possession of a white, wild stallion. The film contains subliminal pro-ecological and pro-tolerance messages, courtesy of its politically-minded stars and the screenplay by future Gandhi scrivener John Briley. Supporting Sheen and Waterston are such never-fail performers as Harvey Keitel and Stephane Audran. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Sheen, Sam Waterston, (more)
- 1976
- PG
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In this sequel to A Man Called Horse, Richard Harris is back as a blue-blooded Englishman who returns to America to help the Indians who had once adopted him. Seeing their lands being taken over by greedy whites, he joins forces with the Sioux tribe to help them defend their birthborn rights. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Harris, Gale Sondergaard, (more)
This 1976 Mexican feature is based on a reportedly real incident which took place in 1968. When a group of hikers happen upon a village governed by a paranoid and fanatical priest, they are labelled as communists and desecrators and are lynched by the bespelled townspeople. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ernesto Gómez Cruz
- 1975
- R
A sultry artist (Cristina Ferrare) moonlights as a vampire while in Mexico, killing both male and female lovers. Seems the only person who has any chance of stopping the reign of terror is her father (John Carradine), also a vampire. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cristina Ferrare, David Young, (more)
During the birth of a child, an old soothsayer breaks a bottle containing evil omens and all the curses which famously come from witches' mouths afflict the community. The village swiftly disintegrates, and, eventually, most agree that they must move away from the ill-fated place. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1974
- R
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Wealthy Mexican Emilio Fernandez puts a million-dollar bounty on the head of Alfredo Garcia, who has seduced and knocked up Fernandez's daughter. Trouble is, Alfredo Garcia is already dead and buried. Barkeep Bennie (Warren Oates) is appointed by two of Fernandez's hit men (Robert Webber and Gig Young) to travel to the small town in whose cemetery Garcia is interred, planning to dig up the body and recover the head; along the way, he meets and falls for prostitute Elita (Isela Vega), who had become involved with Garcia. But these two fail to anticipate the arrival of fellow corpse-seekers, equally desperate to collect the bounty. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warren Oates, Isela Vega, (more)
"It's OK with me...." Applying his deconstructive eye to the "film noir" tradition, Robert Altman updated Raymond Chandler in his 1973 version of Chandler's novel, The Long Goodbye. Smart-aleck, cat-loving private eye Philip Marlowe (Elliott Gould) is certain that his friend Terry Lennox (Jim Bouton) isn't a wife-killer, even after the cops throw Marlowe in jail for not cooperating with their investigation into Lennox's subsequent disappearance. Once he gets out of jail, Marlowe starts to conduct his own search when he discovers that mysterious blonde Eileen Wade (Nina Van Pallandt), who hired him to find her alcoholic novelist husband Roger (Sterling Hayden), lives on the same Malibu street as the absent Lennox and his deceased spouse. As numerous variations on the title song play in unexpected places, Marlowe encounters a shady doctor (Henry Gibson), a bottle-wielding gangster (director Mark Rydell), and a guard aping Barbara Stanwyck (among other stars), before heading to Mexico to stumble onto the truth once and for all. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elliott Gould, Nina Van Pallandt, (more)
- 1972
In 1934, Roberto Borgo (Jean-Paul Belmondo) leaves Sicily for Marseille, where his childhood friend Xavier (Michel Constantin) has just been condemned to 20 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Indeed, local gang leader, Villanova, has framed Xavier. Roberto confronts the mobster and kills him. Later, while helping Xavier's sister (Claudia Cardinale) to fight an American gang of racketeers, Roberto is caught by the police and is put in the same prison with Xavier. Then the two volunteer to clear land mines left from the last war, hoping to receive a pardon. The same story was previously filmed as Un nommé La Rocca also starring Belmondo. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Paul Belmondo, Claudia Cardinale, (more)
- 1972
In this made-for-TV film, the rich Dina Hunter (Barbara Eden) believes that someone is out to kill her in order to steal her jewels. However, as she attempts to get help, Dina's fears are laughed off as being paranoid and unfounded. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1972
- PG
This misunderstood film is a satirical western, written, directed, and produced by Ralph Nelson, which he adapted from the book by James Graham (a pseudonym for Jack Higgins) In a restless Central American nation in the 1920s, Van Horne (Robert Mitchum), a defrocked American priest, hides a gun in his Bible and a knife in his crucifix. He rescues Emmet Keogh (Ken Hutchinson), who is being held by a group of rapacious bandits who are angry that Keogh has taken a mute native girl, Chela (Paula Pritchett), away from them. Keogh, an Irishman, and his friend Jennings (Victor Buono), a British rum-runner, are captured along with Van Horne by Colonel Santilla (John Colicos), a revolutionary leader. The colonel offers to set the three men free and send them safely to the U.S. -- if they agree to kill Tomas De La Plata (Frank Langella), the crazed local strongman. De La Plata was driven mad by Santilla's followers, who murdered his father, raped his mother, and tormented his sister into suicide. Van Horne dons his priestly garb and reopens the church in De La Plata's village, thereby setting up the trap to lure in the madman. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Mitchum, Frank Langella, (more)
Sidney Poitier makes his directorial debut with the 1972 Western Buck and the Preacher, set during the end of the Civil War. Poitier stars as Buck, an ex-Army soldier who is scouting sites for the former slaves that want to settle out West. The villainous Deshay (Cameron Mitchell) rounds up his gang to try to stop Buck because he wants to keep the slaves working down in Louisiana. Buck meets up with the Preacher (Poitier's real-life good friend Harry Belafonte), who is really a con man in disguise. Although they don't get along at first, they eventually team up against Deshay and his murderous gang of outlaws. Also starring Ruby Dee. Jazz bandleader Benny Carter composed the soundtrack. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, (more)
- 1971
- PG
In this western, an outlaw anxiously awaits the arrival of his betrothed, who is under the false impression that her fiancé is worth a fortune. Unfortunately, the fellow has earned nothing during his stint in the West. Desperate to keep her, he begins plotting the theft of a Mexican bandit's loot. But before he can, he will need a Gatling gun. He knows a man who has one, but the gun owner refuses to part with it unless the outlaw agrees to find him a woman. The outlaw then kidnaps a likely candidate from a stage coach. Unfortunately, he doesn't realize that the woman is a colonel's wife. Later as he is hauling his heavy gun, he runs into the colonel who is looking for his missing wife. A shoot out ensues and things look bleak for the outlaw until the colonel's wife intervenes and suggests to her husband that since he is about to retire, he ought to allow the fellow to take the chance and try to pull off the heist. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
