100 Rifles

Tom Gries delivers a particularly puerile Western with 100 Rifles (1969). Shallow, derivative and dull, it serves only to remind viewers of a million better oaters - and that Raquel Welch has great knockers.

American Marshal Lyedecker (Jim Brown) shows up in Sonora, Mexico, tracking half-breed bank robber Yaqui Joe (Burt Reynolds). It turns out Joe used the money from his latest score to buy rifles for the Yaqui Indians, who are rebelling against the brutal rule of General Verdugo (Fernando Lamas), a stooge in bed with foreign businesses and mercenaries. Lyedecker initially resists Joe's attempts to draw him into the conflict, but when he falls for the beautiful Sarita (Raquel Welch), Lyedecker is "elected" General, leading the Yaqui against Verdugo's forces.

100 Rifles is a weak entry in the "Zapata Western" subgenre, a collection of films dealing with the Mexican Revolution of 1910. These films generally involve amoral Americans joining Pancho Villa's guerillas for profit, idealism or private reasons, usually with a Mexican sidekick along for the ride. While Italian Zapatas are heavy on playground political commentary (A Professional Gun), American takes focus on the action and characters (The Professionals, The Wild Bunch). Both approaches mostly use Mexico as a backdrop, the Mexicans themselves expendable pawns in increasingly graphic action scenes.

100 Rifles is indistinguishable from a million other "Zapatas," borrowing tropes like the reluctant revolutionary, the German military advisor (Eric Braeden) and the ubiquitous firing squads and machine gun battles. Leydecker even presages Sergio Leone's Duck You Sucker!, earnestly insisting "I ain't no General!" to cheering rebels. The film makes a few nods to '60s counterculture (the interracial romance, a victory celebration that plays like a hippie love-in) and features a sleazy railroad boss (Dan O'Herlihy) as a villain, but is otherwise apolitical. Revolutionary Mexico again becomes a shooting gallery for discontented gringos; who cares about Mexicans anyway?

A decent shoot-'em-up could be crafted from these familiar elements, but 100 Rifles rarely achieves competence. The plot is creaky to begin with, and loses focus altogether when our protagonists are drawn together. The characters are so thin that we don't give a damn what happens to them; even the "shocking" finale is undercut when a key death occurs off-screen. Gries piles on the action but, aside from an impressive train wreck towards the end, the battles and massacres are repetitive, uninvolving and ultimately boring. The movie uses Almerian locations familiar from a million Spaghettis, but Cecilio Paniagua's photography is flat and undistinguished. Even Jerry Goldsmith's score is merely competent.

Jim Brown, fresh off The Dirty Dozen, has strong presence but can't convincingly transition from lawman to revolutionary. Burt Reynolds steals his scenes, but is sidelined for much of the film. Raquel Welch is especially hot-to-trot, wearing skimpy peon garb, getting a near-nude interracial love scene and having a titillating public shower, but as usual her acting chops drag things down. The villains are comic-book archetypes and none of the supporting players make an impression.

Overall, 100 Rifles is a poor excuse for a Western. It's neither interesting, nor well-made, nor enjoyable even on the basic levels of action and mayhem. Unless you're really into Raquel Welch, I suggest you skip this one.