Every day, AlloCiné recommends a film to (re)watch on TV. Tonight: a nice western by the director of “Casablanca”.
1843. Professional gambler, Paul Regret kills a man during a duel and must flee to Texas where he meets an adventurer named Pilar. In Galveston, he was captured by Captain Cutter of the Texas Rangers. Together, the two men will have to face the Comancheros gang.
This pitch is that of the very good and very refreshing western The Comancheros, released in theaters in 1961. The final feature film by the great Michael Curtiz, to whom we owe the classic Casablanca, it allows the spectator to see himself shine a John Wayne with an infectious good humor.
There is in The Comancheros everything a good western fan is entitled to ask for: wide open spaces, action, charismatic actors… And when we say charismatic, the word is not misused here, the feature film marking the first collaboration of the greats John Wayne and Lee Marvin, who would later reunite for The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and The Irishman’s Tavern, both directed by John Ford.
John Wayne does some scenes!
It will be noted, for the anecdote, that John Wayne staged several sequences of Comancherosdirector Michael Curtis having fallen ill during filming (he died of cancer in 1962).
Particularly effective, very entertaining, respecting the codes of the genre and endowed with a lot of humor, which doesn’t spoil anything, The Comancheros may not be the most famous western of them all, but it’s sure to give you a great evening.
So when, in addition, John Wayne And Lee Marvin are among the headliners, it’s difficult to move on and not savor the gift…
Tonight on Paris Première at 9 p.m.