Review of Valdez Is Coming

Introduction

MGM are releasing a number of Westerns at the moment, and one of those is 1971`s Valdez Is Coming starring Burt Lancaster, filmed on location in Spain. Taken from an Elmore Leonard novel, Lancaster stars as an aging half-Mexican town Constable who seeks justice for an Indian widow. The film opens with a town gathering in the desert led by local Frank Tanner (John Cypher) to which the stage coach carrying Valdez arrives. Valdez is told that a murdering black army deserter has holed up in a cabin below with his Indian wife. Rather than try to storm the cabin, everyone present is just happy to shoot the cabin to bits from a distance. During a lull in the shooting, Valdez approaches the cabin to reason with the target who tells him he is innocent, has been discharged from the Army and has the documents to prove it. Unknown to Valdez, Tanner has ordered a cocky sharpshooter to take the shot if Valdez can get the man to expose himself. Under fire, the `deserter` thinks Valdez has double-crossed him and forces Valdez to kill him in self-defence. Tanner and co. come down to examine the dead man and find it`s not the right man, dismissing the fact that they have actually contributed to killing someone completely innocent due to his race.

Valdez has a conscience and buries the dead man, and attempts to look after his widow. Talking to the townsfolk, he tries to raise $200 to allow the widow to live on, which is met with disbelief by them all. Dismissing him as an old has-been, they tell him that they will put together $100 if he can convince Tanner to put in the other $100. With the best of intentions, Valdez sets out to do exactly that but is met with open hostility by Tanner and his sidekick El Segundo (Barton Heyman). Refusing to take no for an answer, Valdez goes back again to try and get the money he seeks, only to find himself tied to a cross and kicked out towards the desert. This treatment is witnessed by Tanner`s woman, Gay Erin (Susan Clark), who has a secret she`s kept from her late husband`s brother.

Surviving this harsh treatment, Valdez reverts to his old 7th Cavalry uniform and sets out to gain the money from Tanner. This time he takes more direct action, kidnapping Erin and forcing Tanner and his men to pursue him into the mountains. Initially believing that Valdez is a passive Chicano, they soon have to re-appraise their quarry and it will take some cunning and casualties before they finally catch up with the ex-Army scout.

Video

Picture is presented in a 1.66:1 aspect ratio, although there are a lot of problems. The colour looks washed out in places and is very grainy. Mid to long distance shots look blurred and there is noticeable print damage.

Audio

The audio track is in Dolby Digital Mono, not much else to say.

Features

Hey Senor, you want some steeenking extras, you moost be jokin`…

Conclusion

So here we have a Western with a conscience. Lancaster, complete with dodgy Mexican accent, plays a man who will go to hell and back in order to right a wrong. Valdez plays an ex-Cavalry scout who played a part in the Apache Wars, although he clearly regrets being a part of that. He is asked at one point whether he killed any Indians and replies `Before I knew better…` Valdez starts the film as a man who has done his bit and just wants a bit of an easy life, a fact that leads all those around him to underestimate who he is and what he is capable of. The only person to recognise this to any degree is El Segundo, who was clearly the visual template for Star Trek`s Klingons, as he sees his men cut down around him.

Tanner is the archetypal racist landowner who isn`t bothered in the slightest that he allowed an innocent man to be killed and is willing to dispense with the services of anyone who fails him with a bullet in the chest. His attitude comes in part from his assumed power within the local community, which fails him at the climax to the film when everyone turns against him.

Lancaster plays the brooding Valdez brilliantly, although it took me a while to get used to him playing a Mexican. He is clearly a tired old man and moves exactly as you would expect him too, wearily and with effort rather than the athleticism of his younger adversaries. My only problem with this film is the abrupt ending. It ends at a real climax and the suddenness of the ending catches you by surprise as well as being really annoying.

As for the DVD, well it`s clear that no effort has been made for the transfer by MGM. We are left with a bog-standard transfer with poor picture quality, a mono soundtrack and nothing aside from the main feature. To my mind, this is poor value for money but the amount of re-releases by MGM of their back catalogue suggests that there is a market out there for this type of release, even if it isn`t the main DVD buyer market. I suspect this is one for Western aficionados who maybe won`t be bothered by most of my complaints.