BANDIDO (1956: Dir. Richard Fleischer)
One of a pair of troubled films that Bob made with Dick Fleischer (see also His Kind of Woman), Bandido was written by Earl Felton (20000 Leagues Under The Sea) and originally based on a story about Pancho Villa. Plagued by production delays, script re-writes, and Mitchum's false arrest on location in Mexico for marijuana possession, this widescreen Western is better than it has any right to be, no doubt largely attributable to the unflappable skill of Fleischer, a veteran of stylish low budget noirs (The Narrow Margin, Armored Car Robbery). This time Mitchum is selling his skills as a soldier of fortune south of the border and getting entangled in the Mexican Revolution, very similar to the role he would play many years later in Villa Rides (1968). Cast as Bob's object of desire, forgotten German beauty Ursula Thiess (Bengal Brigade) may be a lovely asset but it's the film's intense action and exotic locations that keep the audience engaged. A United Artists release that has shockingly never been officially available on any home video format.
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