Man from Del Rio (1956)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

While slavery and Japanese internment has its proper place in the U.S. history books, what does not is the forced deportation of any person who had the misfortune of having a Spanish name (or looked "Mexican) during the Great Depression, when these people were rounded-up by local and federal agents and simply thrown across the border with little more than what they could carry, with no due process rights. It is estimated that 60 percent of these people were U.S. citizens.During the 1950s, several films--Giant, Trial and Man From Del Rio--provided commentary on anti-Hispanic prejudice in this country, and obviously nothing has changed since then. Today the media and Hollywood fear to tread into the topic of this ongoing prejudice (usually disguised under the guise of "immigration" and "crime"), so it is fortunate that films like this still exist to tell us the ugly truth. David Robles (Anthony Quinn) is seen as just a "thug" who is good with a gun after he arrives to find a man who helped shoot-up his town of Del Rio. Even the only other Hispanic in town, Estella (Katy Jurado) is so desperate to "fit-in" with the Anglos that she also wants him gone. The townspeople offer him a job as sheriff, not to enforce the law, but to be a ready gun when needed. They will not socialize with him, they just want him to do their "dirty work." Sound familiar? There are several ugly scenes that manifest this racism, especially ones involving white women.To Estella's credit, she witnesses one of these debasing incidents and changes her tune. As the film progresses we discover that Robles is not the ignorant "Mexican" the townspeople think he is; he is not just good with a gun, but he displays a cunning level of intelligence that even if the townspeople probably still won't socialize with him, they cannot underestimate him, and he wins the only things he wanted since coming to the town, his self-respect and the love of the only person in town capable of giving it to him.

Man from Del Rio is directed by Harry Horner and written by Richard Carr. It stars Anthony Quinn, Katy Jurado, Peter Whitney, Douglas Fowley, John Larch, Whit Bissell, Douglas Spencer and Guinn Williams. Music is by Frederick Steiner and cinematography by Stanley Cortez.Mexican David Robles (Quinn) has taught himself to be a gunfighter because he wants revenge on Dan Ritchy (Barry Atwater). Revenge he gets in the town of Mesa. It soon becomes apparent that Mesa has problems, the sheriff is weak willed and lawlessness is being orchestrated by Ed Bannister (Whitney). Seeing that Robles has something tough about him, the townsfolk urge him to become sheriff. But that doesn't mean they want anything to do with him socially…I like your whiskey. But I'm not sure I like you.Very tidy. The formula is standard, following along the lines of many a Western movie that featured a town tamer or stoic law man thrust into a life and death struggle for a town that doesn't deserve help. Man from Del Rio does not, however, lack for intelligence, offering up a bubbling under the surface racism strand that pits the lonely and uneducated Robles in a battle to be accepted.Robles is by definition a Western anti-hero, he's coarse, unclean, drinks to excess and has no idea how to treat a woman. That his only skill is of being quick on the draw is something of a millstone around his neck, if that skill is taken away from him what has he got to offer then? This is something we will inevitably find out, but it's worth the wait to see how this characterisation turns out.Quinn is hugely enjoyable, he almost always was when playing this sort of rough and ready character. Jurado is a little under used, her character under developed as well, while Whitney is sadly too weak as the villain. Star of the show is Bissell, playing the town drunk who becomes Robles only avenue for discourse, Bissell instills the character with pathos and humour and it's a joy to watch.Horner and Cortez (The Magnificent Ambersons/The Night of the Hunter) shoot it in chiaroscuro to great effect, very much complimenting the air of alienation hovering over Robles. Horner also has a keen eye for an imposing scene and a good ear for humour, both evident here with a heart aching scene involving the hapless sheriff and with some of the barbs emitted from Quinn and Jurado.Well worth seeking out by Western fans. 7/10

In The Man From Del Rio Anthony Quinn rides into town on a mission, kind of like James Caan in El Dorado. Both are after a group of men and both kill the last they were after. But whereas Caan takes up with John Wayne as a mentor and fights for law and order, Quinn starts to hang out at Peter Whitney's saloon with a whole collection of prize specimens of fast guns who are nothing but bullies.Whitney has a plan to recreate his sleepy prairie town into a wide open cattle drive town and make a ton of money, never mind what the solid citizens want. Quinn likes the idea and becomes the sheriff, but soon the solid citizens see him as their savior. Will Quinn step into the role?The Man From Del Rio is a minor western that did not even rate color back in the Fifties. Rarely seen today it's in that category of adult westerns so popular in the Fifties and Sixties with some very adult themes. Quinn and Katy Jurado have some truly adult dialog and she most of all persuades Quinn to step in the role of hero.Not a film often shown today, The Man From Del Rio with a bit better in the production values department could have been a big hit. Quinn, fresh off his second Oscar for Lust For Life does well in a part perfect for him. Check this one out if broadcast.

Dreary melodrama about a drifter (played by Anthony Quinn) who initially gains respect as a fast-draw gunslinger, only to find that it takes more than a quick gun to win respect from the town folk.This obscure western is mostly a character study, and as such, it reminds me of the old Gunsmoke series. The town is predictably drab; the main props are guns and whiskey bottles; and the music and shadows make the atmosphere grim. The acting is adequate. In addition to Quinn, the film features veteran actor Whit Bissell, and the always engaging Katy Jurado.