IMDb RATING
6.1/10
2.3K
YOUR RATING
A honorable drifter constantly on the run finds his enemies closing in around him.A honorable drifter constantly on the run finds his enemies closing in around him.A honorable drifter constantly on the run finds his enemies closing in around him.
Leroy 'Satchel' Paige
- Sgt. Tobe Sutton
- (as "Satchel" Paige)
Víctor Manuel Mendoza
- Gen. Marcos Castro
- (as Victor Mendoza)
Pedro Armendáriz
- Don Cipriano Castro
- (as Pedro Armendariz)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBoth Henry Fonda and Gregory Peck were first approached to star, but turned down the role. When Robert Mitchum came on board, he also served as executive producer.
- GoofsIn the final shootout, Martin Brady shoots six times with his six-gun. Then he walks over to his wounded horse and shoots it without reloading.
- Quotes
Helen Colton: What a pity then, that life is what we do, and not just what we feel.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Intelligence Men (1965)
Featured review
This offbeat 1959 western stars the laconic Robert Mitchum as gunslinger Martin Brady, a Texas outlaw and outcast who fled to his adopted country Mexico as a youth. He works for the corrupt Castro brothers of whom he finds out much too late that he's just a pawn they move about their chessboard (Northern Mexico) as they please.
The film's major flaw is the narrative...it's a bit jumpy in spots but may have fallen victim studio intervention. Some characters seem to enter briefly, to be seen no more or are underdeveloped. Julie London's Helen Colton seems to fall victim to that. She's an ex dance hall girl (I believe), now a 'respected' wife of Major Colton (Gary Merrill) who engages in an affair with Brady out of pure lust.
But Brady...who's growing older and wearier it seems before our eyes, sees her as his redemption. His guns have cost him heavily, he has no family or lover or even respect. All he has is Mexico and that has betrayed him too. If you're expecting an action packed, shoot them up...this is not for you.
There are elements here we see in later films...we get a taste of Mexican culture, which Brady identifies more with than America, that we see in The Magnificent Seven and The Wild Bunch. And Paul Newman's John Russell in Hombre, mirrors Brady here. All are men without countries, men who cling to a culture or code American society shuns.
The locations, photography and music (Alex North) all help create an atmosphere of majestic isolation. And the inclusion of black Buffalo soldiers is all too rare in westerns, even today.
As one reviewer stated earlier, it could have been more. But there's still a lot here.
The film's major flaw is the narrative...it's a bit jumpy in spots but may have fallen victim studio intervention. Some characters seem to enter briefly, to be seen no more or are underdeveloped. Julie London's Helen Colton seems to fall victim to that. She's an ex dance hall girl (I believe), now a 'respected' wife of Major Colton (Gary Merrill) who engages in an affair with Brady out of pure lust.
But Brady...who's growing older and wearier it seems before our eyes, sees her as his redemption. His guns have cost him heavily, he has no family or lover or even respect. All he has is Mexico and that has betrayed him too. If you're expecting an action packed, shoot them up...this is not for you.
There are elements here we see in later films...we get a taste of Mexican culture, which Brady identifies more with than America, that we see in The Magnificent Seven and The Wild Bunch. And Paul Newman's John Russell in Hombre, mirrors Brady here. All are men without countries, men who cling to a culture or code American society shuns.
The locations, photography and music (Alex North) all help create an atmosphere of majestic isolation. And the inclusion of black Buffalo soldiers is all too rare in westerns, even today.
As one reviewer stated earlier, it could have been more. But there's still a lot here.
- How long is The Wonderful Country?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 38 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.66 : 1
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