''The Treasure of Pancho Villa'' is a 1955 American

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by

George Sherman George Sherman (July 14, 1908 – March 15, 1991) was an American film director and producer of low-budget Western films. One obituary said his "credits rival in number those of anyone in the entertainment industry." Biography George Sherma ...

and starring

Rory Calhoun Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy McCown, August 8, 1922April 28, 1999) was an American film and television actor. He starred in numerous Westerns in the 1950s and 1960s, and appeared in supporting roles in films such as ''How to Marry a Millio ...

Shelley Winters Shelley Winters (born Shirley Schrift; August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades. She appeared in numerous films. She won Academy Awards for ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959) and ''A Patch o ...

, and

Gilbert Roland Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso (December 11, 1905 – May 15, 1994), known professionally as Gilbert Roland, was a Mexican-born American film and television actor whose career spanned seven decades from the 1920s until the 1980s. He was twice no ...

. The film was shot on location in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

Plot

During the Mexican Civil War of 1913, mercenary Tom Bryan (Rory Calhoun) and his Lewis machine gun he names ("La Cucaracha") joins a band of revolutionaries headed by Colonel Juan Castro (Gilbert Roland). Though paid for his services, Bryan is tired of the squalid life he is living in Mexico and is considering offering his services to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

. Bryan is offered one more highly paid job. Castro is planning an assault and robbery of train carrying a vast amount of gold belonging to the central government. Because of the strength of the escort of

Federales ''Federales'' (singular ''Federale'' or, rarely but aligning with Spanish, ''Federal'') is a Spanglish word used in an informal context to denote security forces operating under a federal political system. The term gained widespread usage by E ...

on two trains, one carrying an

artillery piece Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, ...

on a flat car, his men are dubious of success. Castro has two aces up his sleeve; Bryan with his machine gun, who will be disguised as a passenger on the train, and Pablo Morales, an expert

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germany, and patented in 1867. It rapidl ...

r, who will blow up a bridge separating the two trains. Castro senses treachery by Morales as the two did a robbery years ago with Castro leaving Morales behind, however Castro is reassured by Morales' wife that he is a Villista and is not a traitor. After wiping out the Federales, they steal the gold shipment from the government train, gold that Castro intends to deliver to revolutionary leader

Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa (, Orozco rebelled in March 1912, both for Madero's continuing failure to enact land reform and because he felt insufficiently rewarded for his role in bringing the new president to power. At the request of Madero's c ...

. Pursued by the Mexican Army, they flee to the mountains along with Ruth Harris (Shelley Winters) an American who was living in Mexico as a schoolteacher but who became a

soldadera ''Soldaderas'', often called Adelitas, were women in the military who participated in the conflict of the Mexican Revolution, ranging from commanding officers to combatants to camp followers. "In many respects, the Mexican revolution was not o ...

after her father was murdered. Villa and his men do not appear at the rendezvous; however, Morales gains the loyalty of some of Castro's band to keep the gold for themselves. Bryan also wants the gold for himself, wishing to use it to finance his own revolution in another country where he can loot the nation and retire in splendour. He guns down most of the Mexicans with his Lewis gun in order to keep the gold. Morales, Ruth and the others are captured by the Federales, with Morales offering them the gold, Bryan, and Castro in exchange for money and amnesty. Because of her American nationality, Ruth is escorted to

Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fifth ...

to be deported to America, while the others are to be executed. Tracked by

Yaqui The Yaqui, Hiaki, or Yoeme, are a Native American people of the southwest, who speak a Uto-Aztecan language. Their homelands include the Río Yaqui valley in Sonora, Mexico, and the area below the Gila River in Arizona, Southwestern United Sta ...

Indians working with the government pursuers, Bryan is reconciled to Castro's ideals, and the two build a gun emplacement out of the bags of gold to make a last stand. The Federales send Morales with a

white flag White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale. Contemporary use The white flag is an internationally recognized protective sign of truce or ceasefire, and for negotiation. It is also used to symbolize ...

of truce and a hand grenade, but Castro kills him first. Castro is killed by the pursuing Mexicans and Bryan has to blow up the gold in order to prevent them recovering it. This starts an avalanche that buries both the gold and the pursuers. Unarmed and broke, the solitary Bryan makes his way to Tampico to be reunited with Ruth. As Bryan leaves the place where he has buried Castro, he looks up at the vultures circling and tells them that they have feasted on many things but if they should ever have done so on Castro, they would have feasted on a real man.

Cast

– Tom Bryan *

– Ruth Harris *

– Juan Castro * Joseph Calleia – Pablo Morales * Fanny Schiller – Laria Morales * Carlos Múzquiz – Commandant * Tony Carbajal – Farolito * Pasquel Pena – Ricardo * Rodd Redwing – Yaqui tracker

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Treasure of Pancho Villa, The 1955 films 1955 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films 1950s English-language films Films directed by George Sherman Films scored by Leith Stevens Mexican Revolution films RKO Pictures films Films shot in Mexico Films set in Mexico 1950s American films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links