John Wayne, wearing one of his iconic pink shirts, plays Jake Cutter, a captain in the Texas Rangers who has been dispatched to arrest Paul Regret (Stuart Whitman) for a murder committed in a duel in Louisiana. The love-hate relationship between the two men ultimately grows into a bond as they seek out the Comancheros, a gang of desperadoes who sell guns to the Indians and get them all riled up. Lee Marvin, in an all-too-short role, is one of the few actors who can go head to head with Duke and make you think he might come out on top. As usual, Wayne's revolving troupe of supporting players here include some of the best in the business: Bruce Cabot, Edgar Buchanan, Nehemiah Persoff, Jack Elam, Michael Ansara, and a hilarious turn by Guinn “Big Boy” Williams as a not-quite-repentant gunrunner.
Featured actors: John Wayne, Stuart Whitman, Ina Balin, Nehemiah Persoff, Lee Marvin, Michael Ansara, Pat Wayne (Patrick Wayne), Bruce Cabot, Joan O’Brien, Jack Elam, Edgar Buchanan, Henry Daniell, and Richard Devon
Screenplay by James Edward Grant and Clair Huffaker
Based on a novel by Paul I. Wellman
Directed by Michael Curtiz
Produced and distributed by Twentieth Century-Fox
Release date: November 1, 1961
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