The Eagle and the Hawk

A "cultural" insert,at the beginning of this western,tells us it's loosely based on historical facts:The war between Maximilian von Habsburg (abetted by Napoleon the Third ,who made one of his biggest mistakes in this Mexican adventure)and Benito Juarès,who was a genuine hero for Mexicans.

Loosely is the word indeed.The villain is French,a Max and Nap's spy,but,as far History is concerned ,everything stops here.All that remains is par excellence routine western:two brave heroes(Payne and O'Keefe,the eagleS) ,one gorgeous heroine(Fleming),a baddie,and a patriot general (Tomas Gomez,who sadly resembles more Zorro's Sergeant Garcia than a dashing officer).Thanks to the three leads,the movie is watchable,and boasts,as a highlight ,a sadistic scene of quartering between two mustangs.

However,people who saw the lines at the beginning and who wish to see something "historical",should catch William Dieterle's "Juarez" (1939) with Paul Muni and Bette Davis.

Stars John Payne, Dennis O'Keefe. During the civil war here in the states, france is trying to establish Maximillian as the leader of mexico, rather than someone from mexico. Croyden and Randolph are heading into the area to check things out. it starts out as a light comedy; they are rivals... competitors for everything. and when they get into town they find that the locals are divided into two camps -- those for Juarez, and those for Maximillian. the town is led by local bigshot Liguras (Thomas Gomez... it took me a minute to figure out that he was also Curly in Key Largo!) there's going to be a battle or showdown at some point... Keep an eye out for Fred Clark. he was the married man in How to Marry a Millionaire. and of course, was Harry on the George Burns show. Clark is Danzeeger, the local big cheese, who may also be involved in the missing guns. directed by Lewis Foster. he won the oscar for Mr. Smith Goes to Wash. original story by Jess Arnold. one of the two he wrote that were made into film. not much info out there on him... appears to have died at 47, according to imdb. this one gets much better as it goes along. they quit cracking jokes and it turned into a good story, based on some actual history.

Again, a good adventure film from the '50s that only seems available on DVD in a rather poor print and whoise last 20 or 30 minutes have mismatched image and sound. Rather refrain. Miguel Marías

During the midst of the Civil War in 1863, a Texas Ranger (John Payne) and a Union agent (Dennis O'Keefe) team-up for a mission south of the border. Their focus is a town where a government agent had gone missing and the factions supporting Benito Juárez and, secretly, wannabe French-imposed emperor Maximilian. The beautiful Rhonda Fleming is on hand.

"The Eagle and the Hawk" (1950) is similar to the later "Vera Cruz" (1954), except that it takes place during the Civil War rather than immediately afterward. While it's not great like that movie, it's okay and has its highlights. The main problem is that, after a promising opening, it bogs down in the talky politics & intrigue of the Mexican town.

But the Technicolor and locations are to die for and the characters played by Payne and O'Keefe make for an entertaining duo while redhead Rhonda is stunning. The film impressively mixes magnificent location shooting with matte paintings and studio sets.

The film runs 1 hour, 44 minutes, and was shot in Sedona, Arizona, and Paramount Studios, Hollywood.

GRADE: B-/C+

Americans love to make films about the Juarez and Maximilian conflict and a big reason is that we were on the popular side then against foreign imperialism. In this case that of the French who were putting an Austrian emperor on a newly created throne of Mexico which would have become a client state. In this case both the Union and Confederacy see the danger of Emperor Maximilian.

So in a move arranged by Governor Francis Lubbock of Texas played by Grandon Rhodes, Union Army spy Dennis O'Keefe and Texas Ranger John Payne are on a joint mission to talk to a would be Pancho Villa played by Thomas Gomez who is being suckered by Fred Clark who is an agent of Maximilian from attacking Texas. Gomez is dreaming big dreams of reconquering it for Mexico, but he doesn't know he's being played for a sucker and that neither the USA or the CSA is going to stand for that.

Payne indulges in a little romance with Rhonda Fleming who is unhappily married to Clark. And Clark who possessed one of the best slow burns this side of Edgar Kennedy and usually is a comic villain plays it straight and serious here.

Payne and O'Keefe later teamed for another western for Paramount B unit producers Pine-Thomas called Passage West are much better in a much better western with The Eagle And The Hawk.