Shalako (1968)
From the 1950s to the mid 1970s, most major film stars would appear in a western at some point in their career. The western genre was simply too popular and lucrative to avoid or dismiss. So it probably won’t come as a surprise to learn that after he walked away from James Bond in 1967, Sean Connery appeared in the western Shalako, a year later. Based on a novel by Louis L’Amour, this European financed production with an international cast is a curious beast that straddles two competing approaches to the genre. The traditional, romanticised western with its stylised tropes was giving way to a grittier, revisionist approach. Shalako still feels like an example of the former but director Edward Dmytryk does not shy away from the more contemporary use of violence. The film drags, especially during the awkward romantic interludes between Connery and Brigitte Bardot. But the action scenes are quite gritty and some of the story’s themes are quite dour.
From the 1950s to the mid 1970s, most major film stars would appear in a western at some point in their career. The western genre was simply too popular and lucrative to avoid or dismiss. So it probably won’t come as a surprise to learn that after he walked away from James Bond in 1967, Sean Connery appeared in the western Shalako, a year later. Based on a novel by Louis L’Amour, this European financed production with an international cast is a curious beast that straddles two competing approaches to the genre. The traditional, romanticised western with its stylised tropes was giving way to a grittier, revisionist approach. Shalako still feels like an example of the former but director Edward Dmytryk does not shy away from the more contemporary use of violence. The film drags, especially during the awkward romantic interludes between Connery and Brigitte Bardot. But the action scenes are quite gritty and some of the story’s themes are quite dour.
Shalako starts with an opening crawl by author Louis L’Amour, stating how many European nobles and dignitaries came to American to hunt and to experience the frontier. The story then focuses on a party of visiting aristocrats and a U.S. senator who are on a hunting expedition, while bringing all the trappings of their lifestyle with them. Servants, vintage wine and silverware as well their socioeconomic based hubris. Their questionable guide Bosky Fulton (Stephen Boyd) foolishly camps on Apache land incurring the wrath of the local chief and his warriors. When Countess Irina (Bardot) is waylaid by the Indians she is rescued by ex-army scout Shalako (Sean Connery), who had previously brokered a peace between the Indians and the US government. The pair return to the camp and inform Baron Frederick Von Hallstatt (Peter van Eyck) of the impending attack. However, neither the European dignitaries or Fulton and his men take the threat seriously. The subsequent raid the following dawn is barely repelled and leaves many dead. Fulton abandons his employer and his men take all the remaining food, water and ammunition. It is up to Shalako to lead the survivors out of Indian territory.
Filmed in Almeria, Spain, where so many international westerns were, Shalako boasts a strong cast, a desolate location and some well choreographed action scenes staged by former Bond stunt arranger Bob Simmons. On paper it all has the making for a solid western. Unfortunately the reality is somewhat different. The pacing is somewhat pedestrian and the screenplay struggles with the themes it attempts to explore. There’s a lot of unrequited love, marital resentment and lust simmering away among the characters. Senator Henry Clarke (Alexander Knox) blames his wife’s ethnicity for his political career stalling. Lady Daggett (Honor Blackman) despises her older husband (Jack Hawkins) and flirts with their guide Fulton. And Countess Irina is expected to marry the Baron but is conflicted by her desire for Shalako. These plot threads initially seem like they are going to be handled in a modern way, reflecting the changing morality of the sixties. Sadly all are resolved in a distinctly twee, old school fashion.
The story lurches between such dated scenes and several action sequences which although not especially graphic are tonally quite strong. One of Fulton’s team is captured by Indians and tied over a broken lance, while precariously balanced in a stress position. When he inevitably can no longer support his own body weight, he collapses and is impaled. One of the Baron’s staff is shot with a flaming arrow. He dies during a desperate attempt to remove it. Lady Daggett is captures by an Indian war party and there is a rather disturbing threat of rape as she is tormented by her captors. The casting of African American actor Woody Strode as an Apache is dated and somewhat risible. There is also an excess of the cast riding through the utterly barren terrain. Overall it feels as if the film could have lost fifteen minutes to tighten the flow of the story. The title song is another unnecessary hangover from earlier western films.
Shalako did not fare well in the US but did surprisingly well at the box office in Europe. However, due to the complexities of the film’s financing, the production just about broke even. Producer Euan Lloyd had a penchant for looking back at the golden age of Hollywood and attempting to recreate it at a time when the industry was moving on. Many of his later films would fall between similar stools. Paper Tiger, The Wild Geese and Who Dares Wins all boast strong casts and robust production values but are also saddled with politically naive storylines that are out of step with the contemporary views of the times. Shalako, as mentioned earlier, seems to want to be gritty and yet clings to a very formal western idiom at times. An odd outcome considering director Edward Dmytryk’s pedigree, with films such as The Caine Mutiny (1954) and Alvarez Kelly (1966). At most Shalako remains a cinematic curiosity. The only western that Sean Connery made and a rare British produced genre entry.
Sean Connery (1930 - 2020)
Growing up in the seventies, by the time I became aware of Sean Connery as an actor he had already transcended the role of James Bond and become an international “superstar”. Roger Moore was my generation’s 007 but I was constantly reminded by the “older people” that he “couldn’t hold a candle to Sean Connery”. For many the Scottish actor defined this iconic role and so before I even became familiar with the man and his work, I was aware that there was some kind of mystique surrounding him. Around the time I was eight, I was finally introduced to his inimitable acting style with his performances as Mulai Ahmed er Raisuni in The Wind and the Lion (1975). It was a larger than life performance of a larger than life character; the sort of role that came to define Sean Connery in his later years. On paper it was utterly preposterous. A Scottish man playing an Arab potentate. But it worked and left a marked impression upon me.
Growing up in the seventies, by the time I became aware of Sean Connery as an actor he had already transcended the role of James Bond and become an international “superstar”. Roger Moore was my generation’s 007 but I was constantly reminded by the “older people” that he “couldn’t hold a candle to Sean Connery”. For many the Scottish actor defined this iconic role and so before I even became familiar with the man and his work, I was aware that there was some kind of mystique surrounding him. Around the time I was eight, I was finally introduced to his inimitable acting style with his performances as Mulai Ahmed er Raisuni in The Wind and the Lion (1975). It was a larger than life performance of a larger than life character; the sort of role that came to define Sean Connery in his later years. On paper it was utterly preposterous. A Scottish man playing an Arab potentate. But it worked and left a marked impression upon me.
As I grew older, I finally caught up with Sean Connery’s tenure as James Bond and the films were notably different to those that followed in his wake. The first two Bond instalments were quite brutal and 007 was not quite the caricature he later became. I also understood why Connery tried so hard to break away from that character and the stifling trappings of the success it brought. Yet many of the experimental roles he decided to take during the seventies, which were the polar opposite from Bond, did not find an audience or box office success. By the eighties he appeared to finally embrace the bravura roles that he was constantly offered and carved a new niche for himself, endearing him to a new generation of fans. Again the casting of Sean Connery was often incongruous. Look no further than Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez in the Highlander. But on other occasions, characters such as Henry Jones in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade were spot on and pure Hollywood gold.
Sean Connery remains a curious paradox. In many ways he was a textbook example of a Hollywood star whose sheer charm and charisma could carry him through roles that were somewhat implausible. Consider for a moment his Oscar winning performance in The Untouchables (1987) where he played an Irish Cop with a distinct Scottish accent. Yet he could provide nuance when required or more to the point when it suited him. His acting chops are clear in films such as The Man Who Would Be King (1975), The Offence (1973) and The Hill (1965). But more often than not, filmmakers just wanted Sean Connery “the star” in their movies and so that is what he gave them. He liked big speeches and monologues; scenes in which his character would philosophise or reflect upon life. Often John Milius, a writer and director he’d worked with before, would “fix” scripts to provide such dialogue for him.
However, in 2003, old age and a growing frustration with a film industry that was run by “idiots” prompted Connery to retire. He turned down the role of Gandalf in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy and a second opportunity to play Henry Jones again. In many ways this was a wise decision.Not only were quality roles declining but the media is seldom kind to ageing celebrities. For many, seeing “James Bond” grow old would have been unbearable. Even now it is quite difficult to reconcile the reality of his death with his show business persona. However, he leaves behind a broad body of work filled with numerous, eminently watchable films. The Hunt for Red October showcases Connery the Hollywood star. Marnie or Robin and Marian highlight a different side to the actor. Personally I’ve always had a soft spot for his performance as Agamemnon in Time Bandits and as Marshal O'Niel in Outland.
