"Alvarez Kelly" is a 1966 Civil War adventure that blends in considerable elements of the traditional Western, primarily its emphasis on a cattle drive. William Holden plays the title role of a Mexican national of Mexican-Irish heritage. He's also a hard-nosed businessman who has recently overseen the arduous move of a herd of 2500 cattle from Mexico to Virginia, where he fulfills a contract with Union forces to provide the herd as a source of food for General Grant's troops who have encircled the Confederate capital of Richmond. For his efforts, Kelly is paid the princely sum of $50,000 through his Army liaison, Major Albert Stedman (Patrick O'Neal), who takes an instant dislike to Kelly. He accurately views him as a financial opportunist who is completely apolitical in terms of the issues associated with the war. Kelly tells Stedman that he would just as easily have sold the herd to the Confederates but their currency is declining in value along with their odds of winning the conflict. Stedman's men park the herd at the stately home of local belle Charity Warwick (Victoria Shaw), who is not happy about Union forces using her land. Still, she uses her good looks and flirtatious tactics to charm both Kelly and Stedman- though both men don't realize that she is feeding any relevant information she obtains to Col. Tom Rossiter (an eye-patching wearing Richard Widmark), a local officer in the Confederate army. Rossiter has been assigned a difficult mission: to help relieve the starving and blockaded citizens of Richmond by stealing the herd and finding a way to get it to the city, despite the overwhelming numbers of Union troops in the area.
Rossiter and a handful of men succeed in kidnapping Kelly and bringing him to the War Department in Richmond where he is asked to provide assistance in enacting the audacious plan to steal the herd. If he agrees to do so, he will get $100,000- though it will be paid in Confederate money, an offer that Kelly can refuse. Rossiter places him in jail and has to finally shoot off one of his fingers to elicit reluctant cooperation from Kelly, whose first job is to train Rossiter's cavalrymen to be effective trail drivers. Kelly finds a way to exact revenge on Rossiter by seducing his girlfriend, Liz Pickering (Janice Rule), a once-wealthy woman who has seen her fortunes and lifestyle diminish as Grant's forces tighten the noose on Richmond. In return for sleeping with Kelly, he pays a Scottish riverboat merchant to take her away from the city without Rossiter's knowledge. This plot point becomes pivotal toward the end of the movie. The film shifts into high gear with the realization of the cattle raid, which Kelly and Rossiter orchestrate successfully. The problem is getting the herd into Richmond, which will require a seemingly impossible cattle drive through a notoriously dangerous swamp and across a rickety bridge- all the while with Major Stedman and his men in hot pursuit.
I had originally seen the film as a kid when it was first released but had no lingering memories of it. Having discovered it on Screenpix, I thought I'd give it try. I almost gave up when I heard the title song, which is played over the opening credits. It's the very definition of "cornball" to the point of being almost laughable. Only my belief that any movie featuring William Holden is worth watching convinced me to hang in there. I'm glad I did because "Alvarez Kelly" is quite a good, off-beat film. The teaming of Holden and Widmark is very effective. Holden was once again playing the type of character that was becoming his trademark, namely, a likable rogue with great courage but seemingly no moral principals. Holden was 48 years-old at the time but looked older, probably due to his well-known penchant for heavy drinking. Thus, the concept of presenting him as a Civil War era Matt Helm or Derek Flint, with gorgeous and willing women being easily beguiled by him seemed a bit of a stretch at this point in his career. Still, he gives a marvelous performance, as does Widmark, who could be problematic and somewhat hammy if not under the proper direction. Fortunately, veteran director Edward Dmytryk is up to the task. The film gains momentum as it moves along and climaxes with a terrific, ambitious action scene that incorporates a major battle and a thrilling cattle stampede.
The production was a troubled one, however. The script by Franklin Coen was deemed to be unsatisfactory and uncredited rewrites were done by Elliott Arnold and Daniel Taradash. There were also delays in filming caused by weather and illness. When the film was released, it was met with mixed reviews, though Holden and Widmark received good notices.
I should point out what some film fans have observed: "Alvarez Kelly" has much in common with John Ford's 1959 production of "The Horse Soldiers" in which Holden co-starred with John Wayne. Namely:
Both movies were inspired by daring raids conducted in the South during the Civil War. "Alvarez Kelly" is based on what is known as "The Beefsteak Raid" of 1864 in which Confederate raiders successfully stole about 2500 cattle from Union forces and provided them as food for starving Richmond.The raid was so daring that it won reluctant praise from its execution from none other than President Lincoln.
Both movies feature a beautiful blonde southern belle whose property is utilized by Union officers, who she charms even as she spies for the South.
Both movies were shot in Louisiana.
Both movies feature a climactic battle at a bridge which has been mined to prevent pursuing forces from catching them.
Both films feature William Holden in a tense relationship with an army officer who both come to respect each other at the film's conclusion.
"Alvarez Kelly" isn't a great film but it's a good one. It deserved a better fate in 1966 but, through streaming and home video, hopefully more people can appreciate its merits today.
The Sony DVD from many years ago is the only home video release to date in the U.S.A. The picture quality is good but the film really deserves an upgrade to Blu-ray. However, the only Blu-ray editions have been released outside of the U.S. The only bonus features are fact files about the stars and director and the original trailer along with bonus trailers for "The Bridge on the River Kwai" and "Silverado".