Man from Del Rio

Ah, the good old days, when a slap in the face meant a man loved you. In Man from Del Rio, that's what it meant to Anthony Quinn and Katy Jurado. Believe me, the movie is much more than that, but that scene was pretty amusing.

Anthony Quinn stars a half-Mexican from the wrong side of the tracks who isn't really welcomed by the small town he wanders into-in other words, this is a typical Anthony Quinn role. It's a pretty mediocre 1950s western, which is a genre I don't really like, and if it weren't for Tony's good looks-and good performance-I probably would have turned it off. Thankfully he was good looking, and he did add nuances to his character that made him likable and easy to root for, despite slapping Katy Jurado, so I watched the whole movie.

Another actor could have rattled off his lines with no feeling, like much of the supporting cast, but Tony decided to give his character motivation and feelings. His main issue revolves around pride: he's ashamed that the town doesn't accept him and he wants to be able to hold his head up high. So, whenever he's challenged to a fight, he can't back down. I'm pretty sure it was Anthony Quinn who made those motivations clear. As you might expect from a movie taking place in the Old West, there are lots of shootouts, slugfests, barroom brawls, and lawless mobs. If you like that genre, you'll probably like this movie. I won't spoil anything, but Richard Carr's story grew to be pretty imaginative, and I ended up liking Man from Del Rio much more than I thought.

In The Man From Del Rio Anthony Quinn rides into town on a mission, kind of like James Caan in El Dorado. Both are after a group of men and both kill the last they were after. But whereas Caan takes up with John Wayne as a mentor and fights for law and order, Quinn starts to hang out at Peter Whitney's saloon with a whole collection of prize specimens of fast guns who are nothing but bullies.

Whitney has a plan to recreate his sleepy prairie town into a wide open cattle drive town and make a ton of money, never mind what the solid citizens want. Quinn likes the idea and becomes the sheriff, but soon the solid citizens see him as their savior. Will Quinn step into the role?

The Man From Del Rio is a minor western that did not even rate color back in the Fifties. Rarely seen today it's in that category of adult westerns so popular in the Fifties and Sixties with some very adult themes. Quinn and Katy Jurado have some truly adult dialog and she most of all persuades Quinn to step in the role of hero.

Not a film often shown today, The Man From Del Rio with a bit better in the production values department could have been a big hit. Quinn, fresh off his second Oscar for Lust For Life does well in a part perfect for him. Check this one out if broadcast.

Anthony Quinn always made it look easy and that was one of his strengths as a actor, this movie would have been good with another leading man too, because the supporting actors were top notch, but Tony definitely pulled it up a peg or two!

That gunfight in the beginning was kind of funny though, surprised Dan Ritchie lived so long with that draw of his!

An easy role for Anthony Quinn who plays himself, which does not mean that he's bad, on the contrary, because of his strong personality, without too much effort, outlines a credible character. Mexican Katy Jurado, who also starred with Anthony Quinn in "Barabbas" plus other famous westerns ("High Noon" with Gary Cooper, "Broken Lance" with Spencer Tracy, "One-Eyed Jacks" with Marlon Brando, "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid " with James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson) is also credible in the role of Estella. A western without too many gun-shots, but with more realism.

I re-watched this movie recently and it re-affirmed my belief that Anthony Quinn is one of the great character actors. Man From Del Rio was obviously a low-budget film - not because it looks 'cheap' but because it was shot in a simple old-West town setting, much like High Noon, and because it is in b/w and doesn't have any of the really top-name stars. None of those things detract from it because it has a very good story, an excellent, taut script and fine performances all-round. (Well, with one reservation I'll mention later.) Right at the beginning of the movie, David Robles (Quinn) approaches gunfighter Dan Ritchey (Barry Atwater). He has spent the last few years learning to shoot so he could avenge those who Ritchey and his friends killed when they shot up Robles' hometown of Del Rio. When Robles kills the noted gunfighter the town offers him the job of sheriff.

But the town is crooked, basically run behind the scenes by the former gunfighter who owns the saloon, and Robles makes it apparent from the start that he is not going to play along. The townspeople even regard Robles as little more than just a 'tool' to keep order, not wanting to afford him equal treatment as one of their own.

Katy Jurado plays Estella, the assistant to the town doctor, and Robles has eyes for her. She has been in SO many Westerns, playing mostly the same role - the detached, cool, beautiful Mexican lady - but here she speaks her lines in such wooden fashion it's like she's reading them phonetically and doesn't really know what she's saying. Her inflection doesn't go with her words sometimes. It's not too off-putting but I did notice it enough to mention.

I don't want to spoil the story, and there is a lot more to it than this, but it's an excellent little Western with a good plot, well-written script and believable dialogue. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to see a less-well-known but still worthwhile Western.