The Treasure of Pancho Villa (1955)

The Treasure of Pancho Villa (1955)


Plot Summary

Mexico, 1915. US bank robber Tom Bryan (Rory Calhoun) hopes to retire to Mexico, where the ever popular ex-revolutionary dictator, Pancho Villa, has been deposed and driven to his home province by another tyrant. Colonel Castro's (Gilbert Roland) band of loyal Villa-supporters hope to get him back in power so rob a gold train. Aboard is Bryan, who was secretly paid to help. Delivering the gold to Pancho by Yaqui country proves harder, as the Indians help with the federales (government troops) in pursuit. More dangers lurk.

Hoo boy! This movie was a good 10+ years ahead of its time as the tone and feel of this movie belongs more to the westerns of the mid to late '60s. It even evokes a bit of the spaghetti western ethos with the general grunginess of the location combined with the sweat and grime of the main actors involved just permeates throughout. The only person in this film that looks close to the stereotypical 1950s Western prototype was Shelley Winters but even though materially she looked that way her character was anything but that.

The movie starts off with a bang as Bryan and his confederates rob a small Mexican bank in broad daylight and Bryan pulls out this elaborate machine gun which he dubs La Cucaracha and starts shooting as they escape. This little scene is supposedly the last of Bryan's jobs in Mexico as he's more than just a bank robber but rather he's a mercenary for any revolution going on. He gets recruited reluctantly to transport Pancho Villa's gold with his friend Juan Castro.

Rory Calhoun is top billed in this movie but really the star of this flick was Gilbert Roland as Castro. Castro is a "big" character, full of life and adventure and he matches his big personality with a sartorial style that is spectacular with The thigh-high multi- buckled leather boots, the narrow wrist thongs to emphasize his thewed hirsute forearms, the double flap-pocketed and epauletted safari shirt diagonally crossed with a bullet-laden bandoleer, the mandatory trouser belt above the matching holster belt. So you know straight away that Castro is THE man. Unfortunately he has to align himself with a disgruntled ex confederate of his in Pablo Morales. (Joseph Calleia) In fact, the first scene between the two is filled with tension as Pablo completely poo poos Castro's plan to transport the gold and things get to the point where it looks like Pablo might knife Castro down. The only thing that saves them from bloodshed is Pablo's wife making the peace and telling Castro that Pablo will indeed work with him. Castro is also saddled with a young American teacher named Ruth Harris (Shelley Winters) who is a little nutso.

Harris sees Castro and his efforts as a great revolution and is all googly eyed over him from that point of view. When she meets Bryan she becomes disgusted with his mercenary style which is just ridiculous as she's completely bonkers for fighting for a cause she doesn't understand. There's a romantic tension between Bryan and her but every time it looks like it'll become something she cuts him off just because he takes money for doing the job. She's disgusted that he'll fight any revolution but she doesn't see the craziness of her putting her life on the line for Castro and his men.

The movie then follows a quasi Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) feel as they move through the territory moving the gold. Pablo double crosses Castro and they have a showdown only for Pablo to get beaten and having to leave with his tail between his legs. This all leads up to the climax which was explicitly shown about to happen at the beginning of the movie as Castro and Bryan are alone together and being holed up against the Federales.

In a lot of ways the Bryan/Castro relationship is similar to what happened with Pablo as Bryan tries to take all the gold for himself but when things go bad for the both of them his friendship and respect for Castro allows him to let Castro help him as they're being held up. That's the main difference between Bryan and Pablo. I don't want to spoil too much but by the end of the film there's a mutual respect between the two that comes from suddenly having the same goal of getting out of the situation alive.

This is an excellent film and for those who like Westerns like The Wild Bunch I think you'll like this one **** stars.