The Americano

Glenn Ford is out of money and land, but he has a contract to sell his string of bulls down in the Mato Grosso in Brazil. Except when he gets there, the man he's supposed to sell them to is dead. Ford deals with the man's successor, Frank Lovejoy, but finds himself in a range war, between Lovejoy, Ursula Thiess, whose father left her a tiny ranch and a string of cattle, and Cesar Romero, whom Lovejoy says killed his predecessor. But did he?

With talk about nesters moving in, this looks like an attempt to upgrade a western into the A category with an exotic locale. Indeed, Bud Boetticher shot some scenes in Brazil, before the money ran out. By the time additional capital was available, Boetticher and the original leading lady had moved on, and William Castle was called in to finish up, leaving Ford underplaying everything. The result is a very unkempt Romero steals every scene he's in, resulting in an erratically interesting movie.

What an interesting story, this western made in Brazil. As also was Hugo Fregoonese's SAVAGE PAMPAS, made ten years later in Argentina. During those golden years for western, it was very rare that those films were not made in the USA, Mexico, Spain or Italy...The story however brings nothig really new, besides those new settings for an American western. Good pace, solid acting, convincing directing elements; only the story is not flawless. Frank Lovejoy is excellent in this film; I don't remember he made other films with Glenn Ford, besides this one. William Castle will abandon this kind of films a few years later for his famous horror gimmick films cycle. His best part.

AMAZON but not really,the river scene...no...piranha.no man a geography mess..The sad thing is they come to our contry to film this thing ,they shot in cool location but for them to sell they have to put the label AMAZON..JUNGLE ...sad man.they shoot in MATO GROSSO nice place i like that but AMAZON ..stereotypes only and the language PORTUNHOL a mix between portuguese and spanish man stereotype ONLY but i already went to wacth knowing that would happen because...AMERICANS..and..GEOGRAPHY dont go together but its not good and itsnot bad i DIG it had fun nothing compromising long that gets boring..NOT BAD!!!

After delivering his prize bulls from Texas to a mysterious buyer in the Amazon, Glen Ford is reluctantly drawn into a dispute between a wealthy rancher, a beautiful women, homesteaders and Brazilian bandits. A vintage performance by Ford is complemented by Cesar Romero, as the bandit "El Gato." The sexy Abbe Lane pulls off a song in the middle of the movie that showcases her then husband, Xavier Cugat's, Latin score. Americans in the 1950's were fascinated with the Amazon, one of North America's last frontiers. With some great second unit wildlife shots, this is not Monument Valley. If you can enjoy an old time western, with its stoic hero and sharp moral choices, set in 1950's Brazil, then this one is for you.

The main problem with The Americano I feel is it's a film that should never have been undertaken by a studio that was on its way out. Yet RKO was in fact lucky enough to get this thing done and released at all. At least one member of the original cast, Sarita Montiel, never finished it and her scenes had to be reshot with Abbe Lane.

The Americano is a story about a Texas cattle breeder who has bred three prize Brahma bulls and is selling them to a rancher in Brazil. Glenn Ford as the rancher hopes that the money will help him and his brother get started on a new place of their own. He's accompanying the bulls to Brazil and is expecting to get $2500.00 for them.

Of course when he gets there his potential buyer is dead and Ford is soon involved in a local range war, something you've seen in a gazillion American westerns. The dead man's partner, Frank Lovejoy is himself the he bull of the valley trying to push out the other smaller ranchers and farmers like Ursula Thiess.

It was an ambitious undertaking that RKO did, a studio that was on its last legs since Howard Hughes sold it and didn't want it for a plaything any more. The location shooting in Brazil is the best thing about The Americano. A studio like MGM or Paramount should have done this film, with a better story. As it was the film shut down and then was completed stateside in California because it ran out of money. Ford walks through the film looking like a man who was worried his salary check wouldn't clear.

Cesar Romero has an interesting if undefined role as a local bandit who winds up helping the local police. As for Lovejoy there is an interesting gay subtext to his role. He tries to get Ford to stay in Brazil and partner with him, but Ford says he has to get back to Texas and his family. Then Lovejoy pays him and then sets up a robbery where one of his own men is killed so Ford has to return. Now just why was he craving Ford's company so much?

Ford's got eyes for Ursula Thiess though and when he's forced to choose a side, his duty is clear. That upsets Lovejoy even more.

The panorama of the Amazon forest deserved a film of the epic sweep of Gone With The Wind or even Duel In The Sun. What it got was a warmed over range war plot that could have come from a Roy Rogers film.