Rio Conchos is a 1964 Cinemascope Western starring Stuart Whitman, Richard Boone, Tony Franciosa, Edmund O'Brien, and in his motion picture debut, Jim Brown.
Plot
An ex- Confederate Army officer (Richard Boone) revenging himself against Apache Indians who have massacred his family recovers a stolen U.S. Army repeating rifle off some Apaches he has killed. The U.S. Army arrests him, offering him his freedom if he leads a small clandestine scouting unit into Mexico consisting of an Army Captain (Stuart Whitman), a Buffalo Soldier sergeant (Jim Brown), a knife wielding Mexican prisoner, and later an Apache woman warrior (Wende Wagner). After blasting their way through bandits and Apaches they discover another former Confederate (Edmond O'Brien) has set up a new Confederate headquarters.
Huffaker's novel is reminiscent of both John Wayne's The Comancheros of which he co-wrote the screenplay and The Searchers. The only female role, played by Wagner in a black wig, has no English dialogue but is highly convincing as are all the cast. Rio Conchos was filmed in Moab, Utah though the Conchos River and most of the action of the film takes place in Mexico.
Jerry Goldsmith's complete soundtrack was given a limited release in CD by Film Score Monthly that featured a tie-in title song by Johnny Desmond.
Cast
Billing
The posters used the same approach to billing as Warner Bros. had in 1948's Key Largo, for which Humphrey Bogart had been listed first but Edward G. Robinson was placed in the middle of the three above-the-title leads with his name elevated higher than the other two (the third name being Lauren Bacall's). In the case of Rio Conchos, Whitman was billed as Bogart had been, with Boone in Robinson's middle slot and Franciosa in Bacall's spot, with his name listed third going left to right and at the same height as Whitman's.
External links
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