The Wonderful Country (1959)

[cigar joe]

Director: Robert Parrish with Robert Mitchum, Julie London, Gary Merrill,  Albert Dekker, Jack Oakie, Charles McGraw, Leroy 'Satchel' Paige, John Banner, Pedro Armendáriz

Ok now I've caught the beginning and end of this the first time on TCM the second time last night but on a channel with commercial breaks, shot in Durango, Mexico, looks interesting and has a great cast,  would like to see the full film.

From IMDb  Having fled to Mexico from the U.S. many years ago for killing his father's murderer, Martin Brady (Mitchum) travels to Texas to broker an arms deal for his Mexican boss, strongman Governor Cipriano.

Wonderful Country, Wonderful Movie

Author: howdymax from Las Cruces, New Mexico
6 December 2003

So many times the title of the movie misleads the viewer. Not in this case. The title "Wonderful Country" perfectly describes this movie. The desert photography and imagery of frontier Texas and Old Mexico is almost overwhelming.

With a few exceptions, I have never been a Robert Mitchum fan, but this role brings out those qualities in him that have always attracted the fans. When commenting on his acting ability, he once said, "I only know two ways to act. With or without a horse." This is a great example of how to act with a horse. As a matter of fact, one of his co-stars in this movie IS his horse.

The story somewhat routine. Mitchum flees across the Rio Grande as a youngster after killing the man who killed his father. There he becomes a pistolero in the employ of a couple of corrupt brothers who control that part of Mexico. On a gun buying trip north across the border, he is thrown by his horse and is unable to return to Mexico. While in Texas he meets and falls for the wife of the military governor played by Julie London, in probably her only significant role. As he recovers, he is involved in another shooting and finally escapes back to Mexico, where he is falls out of favor with his patrons for losing the guns.

It isn't the story that makes this movie. It's the photography. It's the musical score and Mariachi orchestration. It's the touching performances of all the principal players. It is a BIG movie. The dusty majesty and corruption of Old Mexico along with the personal imagery of everyday life is riviting. In my opinion, this movie rates right up there with other Western giants like: Shane, The Searchers, Stagecoach, and a half dozen others. This is a movie that would be best seen on the big screen. Do it - if you ever get the chance.

[drinkanddestroy]

just saw this on TCM, I enjoyed it, I give it a 7.5/10

Feels very much like a spag. If you didn't see Robert Mitchum and all these other Americans, you'd swear this was a spag. Besides that much of it takes place in the Mexico-Texas border, it is dirty, grimy, ugly faces, etc., nothing well-scrubbed like you might expect from some AW's.

For baseball fans, there is a wonderful treat of seeing the legendary pitcher Satchel Paige in the role of the black soldier  

The sound was really bad on TCM, many times sounded like the actors were speaking under an ocean or something, I had to turn my speakers waaaaay up to try to hear properly.

I've never thought Julie London was pretty, but in this movie she looks particularly ugly.

[cigar joe]

Julie  looks good to me: