VALDEZ IS COMING

Valdez is Coming – U.S.A. title

¡Que viene Valdez! – Spanish title

Sheriffen med de ni liv – Danish title

Valdez on tulossa! – Finnish title

Valdez – French title

Valdez – German title

Valdez kommt – German title

Erhetai o Valdez – Greek title

Valdez közeleg – Hungarian title

Io sono Valdez – Italian title

Valdez – Swedish title

Valdez geliyor – Turkish title

Valdez is Coming – English title

 

A 1970 U.S.A., Spanish co-production [Ira Steiner Productions, Norlan Productions (Hollywood)]

Producer: Ian Steiner

Director: Edwin Sherin

Story: “Only Good Ones” by Elmore Leonard (Elmore Leonard, Jr.)

Screenplay: Roland Kibbee, David Rayfiel

Cinematography: Gábor Pogány [DeLuxe Color]

Music: Charles Gross

Running time: 90 minutes

 

Cast:

Bob Valdez – Burt Lancaster (Burton Lancaster)

Gay Erin – Susan Clark (Nora Golding)

Frank Tanner – John Cypher

Diego – Frank Silvera

R.L. Davis – Richard Jordan

El Segundo – Barton Heyman

Mexican rider – Hector Elizondo

Malson – Phil Brown (Philip Brown)

Beaudry – Ralph Brown

Sheriff – Werner Hassleman (Werner Hasslemann)

Rincon – Lex Monson (Elexendre Monson)

Polly – Roberta Haynes

Segundo’s girl – Sylvia Poggioli

Carlos – José García García

Anita – María Montez

Indian woman – Juanita Penaloza

Rosa – Marta Tuch

Mexican buyer – Juan Fernández

First tracker – Rudy Ugland (Rudy Ugland, Jr.)

Bodyguard – Tony Eppers (Tony Epper)

Inez – Concha Hombria

Townsmen – Vic Albert, Per Barclay, Allen Russell

Merchant – Michael Hinn

Point rider – James Lemp

Tomás – Raoul Castro (Raul Castro)

Tanner henchmen – Mario Barros (Mario de Barros), Nick Cravat (Nicholas Cuccia), Santiago García, Jeff Kibbe (Jefferson Kibbe), Lincoln Kibbee, Ian Maclean, Tom McFadden (Thom McFadden), José Morales, Mario Sanz, Lee Thaxton, Julian Vidrie, Manolin Vidrie, John Lanis

Riders – Lisardo Iglesias, Santiago Santos

Tracker – Joaquín Parra
Stunt coordinator: Al Wyatt (Allan Wyatt)

Stunts: Eduardo García, Tony Epper, Stephanie Epper

 

Aging town constable Bob Valdez is tricked into killing an innocent man by powerful rancher Frank Tanner, whose hired gun R.L. Davis shot up the hovel where the wrongly accused man and his Indian wife were trapped. Valdez believes it would be a fair gesture to raise $200 for the widow, $100 from Tanner and the rest from others in town.

 

Tanner is livid at the old man's suggestion. He orders ranch hand El Segundo and his men to tie Valdez to a heavy wooden cross and drive him into the desert. The central pole is so long that Valdez must walk bent over. He finds an oasis blocked by two trees that he repeatedly tries to ram with the ends of the cross. When it finally breaks, the jagged ends are driven into Valdez's back.

 

Davis finds him and cuts the ropes. The badly injured Valdez is able to crawl to the ranch of his friend Diego, where he is nursed back to health. Unfortunately for Tanner, he has picked on the wrong man—Valdez is a wily, experienced Indian fighter and a marksman with a rifle. He dons his old cavalry uniform and sends Tanner a message via one of the rancher's wounded men: "Valdez is coming."

 

Valdez sneaks into the compound and, during the ensuing gun battle and his escape, kidnaps Tanner's woman, Gay Erin, for whose favors it is rumored that Tanner had her husband killed. With her in restraints, Valdez proceeds to systematically do away with the men Tanner sends after him with his long-range Sharps rifle. The only one he shows mercy to is Davis, after the gunman screams, "I cut you loose! I cut you loose!"

 

Now he has two hostages. While hiding from Tanner's posse, Valdez is informed by Gay Erin that it was she who killed her own husband in order to be with Tanner, not the other way around. He sets her free, but by now Tanner's woman is sympathetic to his cause.

 

Valdez is finally surrounded and captured. Tanner and his men ride up. The men are ordered to shoot, but R.L. Davis backs off, and El Segundo calls his men aside, refusing to obey orders. That leaves Tanner to do his own dirty work—if he can.

 

Tanner turns out to be a coward one-on-one. Valdez tells him he should have paid the $100.

 

YouTube trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEEU47yAU4o