Ódio Destruidor

Patrick Wayne had his first starring role in this handsomely produced film - a B western with many A western trappings, including a remarkable sound track - and, though only about eighteen years old when he did the movie, comports himself well. What's most impressive is the willingness of everyone involved to tackle a then controversial theme, for this is one of those mid to late 1950s westerns that dealt with racial prejudice during an era that saw the birth of the modern civil rights movement. Of course, civil rights dates back in our history, and so the incident in the film serves as an effective metaphor for what was going on at the time when this movie was made. A wild-eyed Billy the Kid type (Dennis Hopper, doing his umpteenth version of James Dean by way of Nick Adams, the rebel without a cause as a whining weakling) shoots down a Mexican citizen in the newly formed state of California. It's up to a very young lawman (Wayne) to hold him for trial. The Mexicans in town want proof that they are equal to Anglos now that California is American, and so want to see the prisoner hung - legally. Anglos, on the other hand, want the killer to go free. Though he's dating a beautiful Spanish girl (Yvonne Craig, with delightfully revealing décolletage), he's fair-minded and refuses to take sides - holding the prisoner for the judge who will decide. That character is played by the great Dan O'Herlihy, who brings this eccentric (and ultimately pivotal) character to vivid life. The result is something exceptional, and it's a shame this film is not better known.