By Lee Pfeiffer
Although I've been a long time admirer of both Jim Brown and Lee Van Cleef, their 1970 Western El Condor had eluded me until the Warner Archive recently released it as a burn-to-order title. I was rather surprised at what a terrifically entertaining film this is and I was particularly impressed by the opulent production values. Filmed in Almeria, Spain (like so many Westerns of the period), El Condor presents Brown and Van Cleef as petty criminals who form a partnership in order to search for a massive fortune in gold that is supposedly secreted behind the walls of a heavily guarded desert fortress run by Chavez, a renegade Mexican general (Patrick O'Neal). Chavez has a full army at his disposal and they are seemingly indestructible. They terrorize the local population, rape women at will and have enough heavy artillery to repel any attack from either side in the on-going Mexican revolution. Nevertheless, Brown and Van Cleef formulate a plan that will allow them to seize the El Condor fortress with the help of Apache warriors. Their scheme goes disastrously wrong in several ways, leading them to rely on their wits to survive.
One of the reasons why El Condor is so good is because it was directed by John Guillerman, an old pro at helming action/adventure movies. Guillerman is known for bringing spectacle to his productions and this one is no exception. The cast is incredibly large for a Western and the climactic battle inside the fortress is astonishing to behold in both its scope and execution. The fortress itself is an amazing piece of work, an massive creation that dominates the desert landscape. Aside from the impressive action sequences, there are other joys in this film. The Butch and Sundance-like byplay between Brown and Van Cleef gives both men a rare opportunity to show their talents at playing light comedy and Van Cleef is particularly amusing as a likable, but untrustworthy cad. Marianna Hill provides the sex appeal as Chavez' reluctant mistress and she gets to dominate a single, extended sequence in which she distracts a large number of soldiers by stripping by candlelight in her bedroom. Hill goes the full monty in a sequence that is genuinely erotic, though tastefully done. Another pleasure of the film is Maurice Jarre's stirring score which adds immeasurably to the atmosphere.
El Condor is often brutal, but the bloodletting is somewhat mitigated by the humorous barbs between Van Cleef and Brown...and did I also mention that Marianna Hill has an extended nude scene?
(For a report on El Condor locations then and now, see Cinema Retro issue #5 in our back issues section)
Click here to order from Warner Archive