The Treasure of Pancho Villa (1955) User Reviews

Viva Villa But Not Necessarily this Film **1/2

[edwagreen · 6/10 · 23 January 2006]

Shelley Winters in a typical western yarn set at the time of the uprising of the fiery Mexican Revolutionary Pancho Villa.

Gilbert Roland, as Castro, another fiery revolutionary is fascinating to watch. He has these types of parts well under his grip. Even the use of the word gringo can't be said better by anyone.

Gold is taken from a train to aid the revolution. Western star, Rory Calhoun, comes along for the ride as a American soldier of fortune, and Miss Winters portrays a woman of virtuous ideals, and full of love as well.

This is a story of betrayal and redemption.

The love triangle is there but is certainly not dominant in this film. Yes, there is lust and greed but it's revolution time!

Morals tested in the Mexican Revolution

[ed_two_o_nine · 5/10 · 3 January 2008]

So here it is a film set around the time of the revolution of Pancho Villa yet features a Coca-cola advertising board!! Once you get past that this is not a bad movie at all. A movie of a simple premise where a train is robbed of its haul of gold by a band of guerrillas to support the revolutionary Pancho Villa and the trials and trails of greed an honour that the money breeds between men. At the centre of the story are two men. The American mercenary Tom Bryan who is essentially torn between his greed and doing the right thing, and his counter part Mexican revolutionary Juan Castro who has no deigns on the gold and will give everything for Villa's revolution. The story goes through many twists and turns with the standard female love interest (Shelly Winters) capturing the affections of both men. It is refreshing to see a film from this era not afraid to show Americans in a less than glorious light and a lead character with a great deal of moral ambiguousness whilst it is the Mexican who has the hero traits. Whilst not particularly well acted there are no poor performances and if you are a fan of the western then this film is worth checking out. Would I watch it again? Perhaps but only if I was bored and had nothing else to amuse me.

A Coca-Cola Sign in a Western?

[Flaming_star_69 · 7/10 · 6 October 2005]

Yes, it's true. There is a 1950's Coca-Cola sign atop a building in this Western movie. About 5 minutes into the movie, Rory Calhoun and some Mexicans rob a bank and there, behind them atop one of the buildings, is a 1950's time period Coca-Cola sign visible for all to see. I checked the history of Coca-Cola signs and find this one was not a style until the late 1940's and, since the movie was made in 1955, it is obviously not an original 1914-1915 time period sign (which is when the movie was supposed to take place). So one wonders who was in charge of the scenery for this Western.

Otherwise, the Western is good. Calhoun plays a mercenary who is fighting for Pauncho Villa and helping the cause to raise money for guns and ammunition. Roland is one of Villa's main men who is responsible for delivery of the gold they steal to Villa. Winters, as lovely as ever, is a school teacher who wants to fight for the cause because she believes in it.

The gold gets stolen off the train and is taken by mule train to where it is to be delivered to Villa. But Villa is not there when they arrive and Calhoun wants the gold for himself. Then it becomes a struggle between him and Roland.

There's plenty of action and definitely a very good plot. The acting by the stars is good and believable. It's a Western certainly worth watching--despite the Coca-Cola sign.

Great Movie

[forshage-1 · 22 September 2007]

One of the best ending's ever - I am waiting for some body to remake this just for the ending - I saw this when I was very little - and never forgot it. Sure it's corny - but done right - its magnificent!

Shelly WInters still looked young and attractive - Rory Calhoun was the oiliest man alive, but the concept was great.

An American mercenary with a machine gun, men with pistols and horses, and of course gold!

And the ending - with the stacks of gold and the two men against the calvary - well young men play at such things. if it was remade I can see any number of actors as the lead - Russell Crowe or George Clooney come to mine, and of course Antonio Bandaras as the co-star. I highly recommend this movie.

second tier

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 1 January 2020]

It's 1915 Mexico. Tom Bryan (Rory Calhoun) is a mercenary with plenty of gold but encircled by soldiers. He recounts his story. After doing a bank robbery, he takes a job with revolutionary leader Colonel Juan Castro (Gilbert Roland) despite getting tired of the work. Castro plans to blow up a bridge to rob a government gold train. They find local supporters like Ruth Harris (Shelley Winters) who are willing to fight for Pancho Villa.

This is an American western shot in Mexico. The production seems big. The vista is grand. There is one or two good leads. In the end, it is no more than a B-movie. The directing is inferior. It doesn't have style and neither is it that realistic. The imagination is not really there. It's a second tier western.

Sizzling and exciting adventure Western with drama , frantic action and breathtaking ending

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 4 December 2019]

In 1915, an American adventurer (Rory Calhoun) and freelance fighter joins the supporters of Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa , as he plots a gold heist to help the revolutionaries .This one deals with an one man army who was secretly paid to help revolutionaries at a mighty adventure and there's some gold around , too . A yankee soldier of fortune , Rory Calhoun , becomes involved in a blazing war of revolt , as he does a spot of smuggling in 1915 revolutionary Mexico , the period during which this film is set , as war swept Mexico . As the Gringo mercenary crossing the river , and living in Mexico , as he encounters every obstacle in the West while on his way to help Mexican rebels . As he runs into problem with a Mexican revolutionary (Gilbert Roland) and , at the same time relentlessly chased by the Regulars . As Colonel Castro's band of loyal Villa-supporters hope to get him back in power so rob a gold train . The rebel revolutionaries and continuous treason reflect different aspects of his situation . Then , Calhoun falls for an unhappy and high-thinking teacher (Shelley Winters) , allied to the fiery , dedicated revolutionaries . Throughout the dangerous paths the expedition carrying the valuable treasure being chased by the Indians and the federales , government troops , in pursuit, too . ¼Gold For Villa !' A slice of living history out of Pancho Villa's fabulous saga! With gust and gunfire and more dangers lurk. ¡ , they blasted their way into history! "Kill you for a woman, gringo? Never! But for the gold...?" Out of Pancho Villa's fabulous saga comes this slice of living history...filmed in Mexico's wild regions where it once happened, as it once happened! The cry that rooked the world'd hottest strip the hell ¡.

A Western drama with dramatic moments , noisy action , shootouts , crosses , doublé crosses and a highly commendable musical score . Bursting with attractive characters, interesting sub-plots , symbols , and with very decent filmmaking and interpretation . It is set in 1915 , Mexico Revolution , where the ever popular ex-revolutionary dictator, Pancho Villa, has been deposed and driven to his home province by another tyrant . Mexican revolution often brings out the best in Hollywood's Soldier Of Fortune action heroes , they are apt to give quite a lift , too, to a routine Western story ; these heroes were usually starred by Robert Mitchum , such as ¨Bandolero¨ by Richard Fleischer with Robert Mitchum , Zachary Scott , Ursula Thies ; ¨Viva rides¨by Buzz Kulik with Mitchum , Yul Bynner , Charles Bronson ; and ¨The wonderful country¨1959 by Robert Parish with Robert Mitchum , Julie London , Garry Merrill , Albert Dekker . Photographically with portentous images , being spectacularly filmed among the treacherous canyons of old Mexico and musically , it's a continuous treat , including an excellently thrilling climax . The picture centers on Rory Calhoun , a gringo and bank robber called Tom Bryan who hopes to retire to Mexico, as he is a mercenary operating South of Border , in a gun-running mission and transporting a treasure , as he finds out the blessings , and along the way delivering the gold to Pancho by Yaqui country proves harder . Rory Calhoun grapples rather unsteadly with his role as a gunrunner who ends with his heart in the right place . Rory gives a lively as well as easy acting as an extremely tough and two-fisted soldier of fortune wielding a machine-gun over his shoulders to get his objectives . Rory was a B-actor who starred a lot of films of all kinds of genres , outstanding in Western , Wartime , Nor film and drama , such as : Ticket to Tomahawk , A bullet is waiting , Finger on the trigger , Apache uprising , Hard driving' , The red house , Mission to Glory , Martin the Gaucho , Adventure island , Dayton's devil, The rebels , Operation Cross Eagles , Bad Jim , I'd climb the highhest , River of no return , Motel Hell , Angel , Avenging Angel . The gorgeous eye-candy Shelley Winters, who married Vittorio Gassman and Anthony Franciosa , here she plays a sweet role , though Shelley ,subsequently , would perfom hardest and dramatic characters ; at the beginning she was a model, vaudevillian and nightclub chorine , turning a good actress . Winters is pretty good as the teacher with a sad life , and she attempts to take a honest way by supporting the revolutionaries . Satisfying support cast plenty of prestigious secondaries , such as : Joseph Calleia and the latin lover Gilbert Roland also takes advantage from a villain but good character role . Including a lot of extras , as the older Mexicans hired as extras in the film were former soldiers of Pancho Villa and others were former government troops who fought them . Interesting and well structured screenplay - though somewhat wordy- by Niven Busch , based on a successful story . It contains a colorful cinematography in Cinemascope , Color De Luxe by courtesy of William Snyder , including wonderful landscapes from Morelos , Mexico ; in fact , it was shot on many of the actual battle sites of the 1916 Mexican revolution . And a sensitive and rousing musical score by Leith Stevens , adding marvelous Mexican sounds and songs , including the famous ¨ La Cucaracha¨ the traditional song whistled at different times by Castro, Bryan, and others and also performed by the passengers on the train .

This modest drama/action/Western picture was professionally and firmly directed by George Sherman , assisted by a Mexico production unit ; though slowly filmed, as I miss more action and shots, but it also has explosion, pursuits and impressive battles . The movie was a collaboration between Edmund Grainger Productions and RKO Radio Pictures , supported by the prestigious craftsman fimmaker Sherman .The motion picture was competently made by George Sherman in B-style , though has some flaws and gaps . Entertainment , atmosphere , action and excitement surge along with the tale under the hand of filmmaker George Sherman , who is clearly more at home with the thrilling scenes than somewhat excessively talking storyline . Sherman made reliable low-budget fares for Columbia between 1945-48, then moved on to do the same at Universal for another eight years . Sherman specialized almost exclusively in "B" westerns there , including the "Three Musketeers" series, which featured a young John Wayne. George directed lots of Westerns as ¨The Last of the Fast Guns¨ , ¨The Lone Hand¨, ¨Santa Fe stampede¨ , ¨Red skin¨ , ¨Chief Crazy Horse¨ ¨Calamity Jane¨, ¨Relentless¨ , ¨Comanche Territory¨ , ¨Dawn at Socorro¨, ¨Border River¨ and many others . He also made occasional forays into action and horror themes, often achieving a sense of style over substance . The only "A"-grade films to his credit were two westerns starring John Wayne: ¨Comancheros¨ (1961) (as producer) and ¨The big Jack¨ (1971) . His last films were realized in Spain as "Find That Girl" , ¨The new Cinderella¨ and ¨Joaquin Murrieta¨. Rating : 6/10 . Acceptable and passable . Well worth watching.

Not Much To Look At!

[damianphelps · 4/10 · 3 November 2020]

Disappointing film.

This film fails to deliver across every aspect, the characters are unappealing, the visuals are flat and lifeless (at least the version I saw), the acting is completely dialled in (excluding Winters, who still seems a little disinterested) and the audio is blah.

The worst part is the actual story....deliver gold....that's pretty much it.

Save your time, after writing this I'm not sure why I gave it a 4?

Could be heavily scissored to advantage.

[JohnHowardReid · 6/10 · 21 November 2017]

Rory Calhoun (Tom Bryan), Shelley Winters (Ruth Harris), Gilbert Roland (Juan Castro), Joseph Calleia (Pablo Morales), Fanny Schiller (Laria Morales), Carlos Mosquiz (commandant), Tony Carvajal (Farolito), Pasquel Pena (Ricardo).

Director: GEORGE SHERMAN. Screenplay: Niven Busch. Story: J. Robert Bren, Gladys Atwater. Photographed in Eastman Color by William Snyder. Prints in Color by Technicolor and Superscope. Film editor: Harry Marker. Music: Leith Stevens. Art director: Jack Okey. Hair styles: Ruby Felkner. Special effects: Jack Lannon. Unit manager: John E. Burch. Production supervisor: Cliff Broughton. Assistant director: Lew Borzage, Sound recording: Jose Carles, Terry Kellum. RCA Sound System. Producer: Edmund Grainger. An Edmund Grainger Production.

Copyright 1955 by Edmund Grainger Productions. Released through RKO- Radio Pictures, Inc. New York opening at the Palace: 24 November 1955. U.S. release: 19 October 1955. U.K. release: 30 January 1956. Australian release: 11 October 1956 (sic). Sydney opening at the Palace (ran a pre-determined two weeks). 8,582 feet. 95 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: Yankee mercenary aids Villa's guerrillas in Mexico in 1915.

COMMENT: A thinly disguised adaptation of For Whom the Bell Tolls (with elements from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre thrown in), even down to the cutting of the heroine's hair.

Unfortunately, the snidely smiling Rory Calhoun is no Gary Cooper, and the passably attractive Shelley Winters (hampered by the fervor of her amateurish dialogue) even less an Ingrid Bergman.

Gilbert Roland tries hard as a sort of composite moralistic revolutionary, but only Joseph Calleia in the Akim Tamiroff role (Pablo in both films) and his feisty wife, Fanny Schiller (played by Katina Paxinou in Sam Wood's 1943 version), really excel.

True, the action scenes are put across with a modicum of panache, but the film often grinds to a shuddering halt for some lengthy dialogue exchanges. Most of these could be heavily scissored to advantage.

On the other hand, the rugged Mexican locations are vividly realized and William Snyder's sharply detailed Superscope photography never fails to fascinate.

Muera Villa.

[hitchcockthelegend · 5/10 · 17 March 2015]

The Treasure of Pancho Villa is directed by George Sherman and adapted to screenplay by Niven Busch from a story written by J. Robert Bren and Gladys Atwater. It stars Rory Calhoun, Gilbert Roland and Shelley Winters. Music is by Leith Stevens and cinematography by William Snyder.

It's 1915, Mexico, and two adventurers are in the throes of revolutionary greed, loyalties and plain stubbornness...

It's all rather dull, really, a film not without a good action quotient, yet it drags itself through the slumber with weak characterisations. Winters is shoehorned into the pic as a sort of love interest, but ultimately her character achieves nothing more than under developed dressage, while Calhoun and Roland are saddled with some dire passages of chatter that come off as weak willed time filler. There's some sturdy machismo on show, especially when Calhoun lets fly with his Lewis Machine Gun, the location photography at Morelos (Technicolor/SuperScope) engages the eyes, and the last hurrah battle excites, but this is one that quickly fades from memory, sadly. By this point even the buzzards have had enough... 5/10

on the road to pancho villa

[ksf-2 · 7/10 · 10 June 2020]

Ruth (Shelley Winters) wants to help the freedom fighters in mexico, so she goes to Colonel Castro and offers to help. Bryan (Rory Calhoun) is already on the train they are blowing up, and joins in fighting the federales. and on that very train is the gold that they must bring to Pancho Villa to help him rise up again. and the local natives are helping the federales. Ruth and Bryan seem to be fighting for different reasons-- he's in it for the money, as he tells her very clearly, and we're not sure what why Ruth is involved. her husband was killed in a shoot-out, so she appears to be sympathetic to the rebels. and then one of the freedom fighters turns on his own group. and the water holes are dried up. lots of bumps along the way to get the gold to Pancho. my personal feeling is that Winters was miscast... she seemed out of her element in this role. but i was never a fan of hers anyway. her acting was a bit over the top for me. the film is mostly quite well done. final showdown near the end. would be interesting to know how accurate this is, historically. wikipedia dot com says Villa suffered a couple defeats in 1915 and 1916, and was pretty much out by 1920. Directed by George Sherman. he made a LOT of westerns. this one is okay.

La Cucaracha

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 24 November 2020]

As you can gather from the title the setting for this film is the Mexican Revolution of a little over a century ago. Gilbert Roland is a commander in the service of Pancho Villa and Villa is getting rather low on funds. So he and his men which include American adventurer Rory Calhoun rob a bank and come away with a lot of gold pesos.

Roland is moved by the ideals of the revolution as is Shelley Winters an American schoolteacher. But Calhoun is looking out for number one. He's a mercenary who fights for pay and there's a lot of lucre that he and Roland have now. Winters may be a revolutionary, but Calhoun gets her mojo going.

In the end it's Calhoun and Roland against a lot of soldiers who want the gold too for various reasons.

Nice routine action film with characters we've all seen a zillion times over.

Western noir

[skoyles · 8/10 · 16 April 2008]

In 1955 or perhaps '56 I was taken to the cinema by my Mother to see "The Treasure of Pancho Villa". Having not seen this movie again until today (my thanks to the Turner Classic Movie channel!) I really have to wonder about my Mother. As a ten year old I was impressed by the machine gun, by Rory Calhoun and cannot remember much else. Now, all these decades later, I am surprised, shocked even, to realize what a dark and thoughtful film this is, with a very high body count. It has more in common with the later "The Wild Bunch" than with the cheerful Roy Rogers, Cisco Kid, and Lone Ranger of my childhood. Calhoun is very good as the "gringo" mercenary and shows an unexpected complexity and range; Shelley Winters is fine as the borderline insane teacher; and the supporting cast of Latin actors is very good. But the standout is the heroic and monomaniacal character played by Gilbert Rowland. I almost expected a plot twist in which Juan Castro was really Pancho Villa! This did not happen, and the movie is all the better for avoiding that clichéd twist. Rowland is amazing, wearing the complex character like a well-cut trench coat. This turned out to be a much better motion picture than I had remembered. Well worth a look. And with firearms appropriate ot the period, always a pleasant surprise.

"Traitors have a smell that I don't like."

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 5 July 2023]

It's a little curious why a film with the name of Pancho Villa in the title doesn't actually have the historical character Pancho Villa in the story. Instead, it's about Mexican revolutionary Juan Castro (Gilbert Roland) and his band of rebels stealing a gold train shipment in order to fund Villa's activities. At times, working with him and against him is American mercenary Tom Bryan (Rory Calhoun), who's only loyalty is to himself, and who has his sights on the gold himself, although he's willing to split it with Castro since he doesn't know the lay of the land. Of the two, Castro appears to be the more honorable man, as he's committed to his ideal of freedom and loyalty to Villa. But when push comes to shove, they have to team up to avoid capture and death from the Mexican federales chasing the stolen gold. I had to laugh when both men stacked up the gold as a defense shield against the soldiers; there were more bags than could possibly have been carried by twenty mules!

While it doesn't get very far, there's also the tease of a romance between Bryan and American school teacher Ruth Harris (Shelley Winters). They do exchange a kiss or two, but she's sent away to safety by Bryan and Castro with the man they thwarted in stealing the gold from them, Pablo Morales (Joseph Calleia). He in turn tried to deal with the Federales, but was cut down by Castro, who viewed the Mexican as a traitor. Bryan's handheld machine gun he affectionately named 'La Cucaracha' came into play at various times, but for the grand finale, Bryan set off a huge rockslide that buried the encroaching soldiers. Quite honestly, the way it was filmed, it didn't look like the landslide was anywhere near the troops.

Another reviewer got my attention by mentioning an advertising sign for Coca-Cola in the picture. I've made it a game to shout out 'Coca Cola' with my family whenever its appearance shows up in a film. Now that I've mentioned it, I bet you'll see Coke advertising in more movies than you would have ever expected.

Western saga built around the Mexican Revolution

[bux · 8/10 · 2 November 1998]

In this off-beat tale, Calhoun is an American mercenary that hires himself and his machine gun out to Villas band of revolutionary rebels. There's plenty of action, as the old west meets modern times. Story moves at a nice pace and the cast featurning Calhoun, Roland, and a pre-cellulite Winters make this a worthwhile view.

The revolution amigo, she is but a fashion parade!

[kennedya-1 · 26 June 2009]

Great film for Gilbert Roland fans. He goes the full nine yards in sartorial fetishism. The thigh-high multi- buckled leather boots, the narrow wrist thongs to emphasise his thewed hirsute forearms, the double flap-pocketed and epauletted safari shirt diagonally crossed with a bullet-laden bandoleer, the mandatory trouser belt above the matching holster belt (if the revolution succeeds, gringo, everyone in "May-he-co" will be able to dress like theece). This ensemble is topped off with the classical Gilbertian contest between his moustache and his cheroot as to which was thinner. In this period he starred in any film in which he appeared notwithstanding his actual billing which was dictated by him being Mexican rather than WASP(apart of course from his waist).

Very Good macho 50's western

[williamsd-3 · 8/10 · 9 February 2006]

Rory Calhoun leads the way as American Mercenary Tom Bryan, who is persuaded by fellow American Ruth Harris (Shelly Winters) to join Jaun Castro (Gilbert Roland - a David Niven wannabee) and his rebels in 1915 Mexico right in the middle of the revouloution. Together, they rob a Mexican train and steal its cargo of gold which they then trek across the desert to find Pancho Villa himself and deliver the gold to him, so it can fund him to buy more weapons and ammunition.

Of course there is plenty of double crosses and gunfights along the way, pushing the body-count up to around 80, but there were a few things i enjoyed quiet allot. One is the Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid esquire outnumbered showdown, but the thing which I was not suspecting was when Tom Bryan mows down several Mexicans at the start of this film with a machine gun! A frickin machine gun. I was definitely not expecting that from a 50s Western. Check it out.

Has one of the great showdown at the end!

[cforshage · 9/10 · 1 July 2003]

Growing up, I saw this movie - and parts of it have lived with me all my life. I love the concept and the shoot out at the end. I do not know why somebody does not remake this movie. I have not been able to find a copy of this movie till now, and I know parts of it will be lame - but I loved the concept!

A decent western oldie

[Ed-Shullivan · 8/10 · 24 November 2020]

Rory Calhoun and Gilbert Roland are well suited to play characters opposite of each other. I can't say I have ever been impressed with Shelley Winters acting ability and in this film she lives up to my personal opinion of her as her performance as a school teacher turned civil libertarian is dull at best.

Having said that, Rory Calhoun and Gilbert Roland carry this film on their shoulders and with their swagger to keep the film moving towards a climatic ending. There is a ton of gold coins at stake, and Rory Calhoun plays a hired (gattling) gun expert named Tom Bryan who enjoys successfully pulling off armed robberies. Gilbert Roland plays Colonel Juan Castro a principled freedom fighter for Pancho Villa who wants that government gold shipment travelling through the country not for himself, but for the libertarian cause he has been fighting for his entire life.

Both men show an interest in Shelley Winters character Ruth Harris but her acting is so plastic and her lines seem so forced and expressionless that I found it hard to understand why they inserted her in this film to play opposite not one, but two leading men. I would have much rather seen Jacqueline White, or Katy Jurado in the leading female role.

The action scenes are entertaining and the story ends on a high note if you like an unorthodox ending as I do.

It is definitely worth watching and I give it a praiseworthy 8 out 10 IMDB rating.

Taut RKO western

[searchanddestroy-1 · 4 February 2024]

Director George Sherman began his career at Republic Pictures for B - under one hour length - movies, before resuming for Universal Studios, with many westerns, thrillers, war.... He was a pretty good technician, a chain film maker though, yes, but an efficient one. This one was made for RKO pictures and the quality is really taut, sharp as a razor blade, with Rory Calhoun in one of his best role. I will never forget him using the Cucaracha, the terrific machine gun, used by Mexican revolutionaries. And Calhoun's character is absoutely unique; don't miss his line saying: "Children, what would you want me to do with them? " It is action paked, never boring, helped by a fast paced rythm. A must see. Gilbert Roland as the uusual hero's sidekick. Nearly a cliché for a movie buff.