Alvarez Kelly

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Movie
German title Alvarez Kelly
Original title Alvarez Kelly
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1966
length 105 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Edward Dmytryk
script Franklin Coen
production Sol C. Siegel
music Johnny Green
camera Joseph MacDonald
cut Harold F. Kress
occupation

Alvarez Kelly is a 1966 American western based on the true story known as the Beefsteak Raid .

action

The film takes place during the American Civil War . The Mexican cattle dealer Alvarez Kelly is contractually selling 3,000 head of cattle for $ 40,000 to the Union troops .

But the southerners , whose army is already in very bad shape a year before the end of the civil war, also want the herd, and so Colonel Rossiter's Alvarez Kelly, with the help of the impoverished plantation owner Charity Warwick , where the northerners keep the herd " parked ”, kidnapped.

At first he lures him with a lot of money to work for the confederation , whose situation is almost hopeless. He wants to steal the herd from the Union troops and drive it through a swamp to Richmond (capital of the Confederation), which is besieged by the Union troops.

But when Rossiter realizes that that doesn't work, he has Kelly locked up and finally "persuades" him to do so by shooting a finger and trying to repeat this action every following day. Kelly returns the favor by enabling his girlfriend Liz Pickering to escape on a Scottish blockade breaker . Its captain lets the ship sail because he would rather sell his 1,000 barrels of whiskey in the north when he realizes that the money of the southern states is no longer worth anything.

Colonel Rossiter's people are good riders, but they're not trained cowboys who can handle cattle, which Kelly can easily prove to them. Within ten days he teaches them the bare essentials before the two main characters set out with 100 men to steal the herd, despite mutual hatred. They have to make a detour of 100 miles. You expect to go undetected because of the swampy terrain. But the Union troops are already waiting for them, because the herd was only bait.

In this hopeless situation for Colonel Rossiter, who actually wants to kill him, Kelly is given command. Like the hero in Three Rivals (The Tall Men) from 1955 (played by Clark Gable), Kelly relies on the overwhelming power of a galloping herd of cattle to break the Union troops' blockade on a bridge in the swamp. This is then blown up. The Colonel saves Kelly's life by shooting his aide when he realizes that Kelly is about to murder. Finally, he pays tribute to the cattle trader's military commitment.

From the off, reference is made to the historical incident and President Lincoln is quoted, for whom this was the most brazen cattle theft he had ever heard of.

Historical background

In fact, the herd of cattle was a supply for the troops involved in the Siege of Petersburg (Richmond-Petersburg Campaign) . Petersburg, located 27 miles south of Richmond, played an important role as a rail hub in supplying Richmond. President Lincoln was in dire need of success; General Grant planned to cut off supplies to Richmond by attacking Petersburg. To do this, all five railway lines should be destroyed. The destruction of a railway line is the subject of John Ford's The Last Order, 1959, in which William Holden also starred .

The cattle robbery by Major General Wade Hampton is also known as the catering raid. He used a bridge that had previously been destroyed by Union troops. Therefore, he does not expect to meet the opponent there. After crossing the repaired bridge, however, his vanguard met a contingent of Union soldiers who he was able to hold out until the herd was safe. The whole coup lasted three days and stretched over 100 miles.

criticism

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote that the film was "a mixture of comedy, nostalgia, social awareness and fashionable brutality" and was "held together by the highly professional clash of Richard Widmark and William Holden" . Phil Hardy calls the film "mediocre and kinky" . The Protestant film observer draws the following conclusion: “Despite some blemishes (which should not negatively affect the adult visitor) a perfectly staged entertainment. Therefore, this adventure film can be recommended with claim. "

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Map of the cattle track
  2. ↑ Ackerman, Robert. Wade Hampton III ( University of South Carolina Press, 2007), p. 67.
  3. ↑ Wade Hampton and the Great Beefsteak Raid Lt. Gene. Wade Hampton Camp No. 273
  4. ↑ quoted in: Joe Hembus : Western-Lexikon - 1272 films from 1894-1975. Carl Hanser Verlag Munich Vienna 2nd edition 1977. ISBN 3-446-12189-7 . P. 35
  5. ^ Phil Hardy: The Encyclopedia of Western Movies. Woodbury Press Minneapolis 1984. ISBN 0-8300-0405-X . P. 294
  6. ↑ Critique No. 432/1966, p. 778