L'aigle et le vautour

Watchable Turn-of-the-Decade Western.

1950 Was a Sign-Post on the Dusty Trail of the Western Movie that Signaled a "New Direction" for the Popular Genre.

On the Horizon were Films with More on the Mind than "Cow-Boys and Indians".

More Adult

More Concerned with the Characteristics of the Characters.

Still Wearing Cowboy Hats of Course, but Not Always Announcing what was Beneath the Black & White Sun, Wind, and Dust Shields.

In other Words a Maturation.

A Place Where Horses Didn't Have Cute Kid-Friendly Nick-Names.

The Films from Directors like Anthony Mann and Budd Bottichier and Occasionally John Ford would Not Only Entertain Audiences,

but Layer the Movies with an Intent of Purpose that the First Wave of the Screen Western Lacked.

This Movie's Concern was Politics.

More Precisely, the Fate of National Territory.

The Title Symbolizes a Mexican "General", Following Juarez, and a Plan to Invade the United States Texan Border (while they were looking the other way fighting the Union in the Civil War).

It's Not a Deep-Dive into History but a Nod toward Delivering an Elementary Level History Lesson.

It has its Moments, but Overall a bit Flat and Pedestrian with the Cast the Most Glaring of Miss-Steps and Wasted Talent.

One of the Aforementioned Maturation and Next-Level Stuff, occurs Between John Payne and 2 Horses in a Violent Scene the Likes of Which were Previously Absent or Only Eluded.

Worth a Watch.