- Shalako (film)
Infobox Film
name = Shalako
image_size = 175px
caption = original movie poster byTom Chantrell
director =Edward Dmytryk
producer =Euan Lloyd
writer =J.J. Griffith Hal Hopper
starring =Brigitte Bardot Sean Connery Stephen Boyd Jack Hawkins Honor Blackman
music =Robert Farnon
cinematography =Ted Moore
editing =John D. Guthridge
distributor =Cinerama Releasing Corporation Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors
released = 1968
runtime = 113 min.
language =
budget =
imdb_id = 0063592"Shalako" is a 1968 western film starring
Sean Connery andBrigitte Bardot .Stephen Boyd portrayed a classic western villain.Jack Hawkins played anupper class Englishman abroad in the 'new' country.Honor Blackman portrayed an Englishlady .Plot summary
A hunting party composed of European aristocrats is led into
Apache territory by their guide, Bosky Fulton (Stephen Boyd). When French Countess Irina Lazaar (Brigitte Bardot) wanders off by herself, she is confronted by Indians, only to be rescued by Shalako (Sean Connery). When the party ignores his warning to leave Indian country, the Apaches led by Chato (Woody Strode ) attack. Based on the book by Louis L'AmourProduction
Producer
Euan Lloyd was introduced toLouis L'Amour by his friendAlan Ladd . Over the years as Lloyd dreamed of becoming an independent producer he kept in touch with L'Amour with a view of filming his 1962 "Shalako". At one time Lloyd had lined upHenry Fonda andSenta Berger for the film to be made in Mexico but the reluctance of many film distributors to financially back Fonda and changes in the economic situation made filming in Mexico more expensive then planned. ["Euan Lloyd Interview" "Cinema Retro" #1]During a meeting with L'Amour, Lloyd related stories of the large queues at the cinemas in New York for the latest
James Bond film. L'Amour remarked that Sean Connery would certainly "look tall in the saddle". [ibid] Lloyd met Sean Connery who was a Western fan since childhood and was keen on doing the film as he received one million dollars out of the 5 million dollar budget. [p.123 Herzberg, Bob "From Shooting Scripts: From Pulp Western to Film" 2005 McFarland] Connery was available as he had turned down playing Bond in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". Lloyd also obtained that films planned original co-star Bardot, Bondcinematographer Ted Moore , and Bondstuntman and action scene arranger Bob Simmons.With Connery on board, many European and other film distributors were keen to finance the film that was made in Almería,
Spain . Whilst scouting locations when he was planning to film in the United States, Lloyd noticed that many real Native Americans were overweight and did not look menancing. Simmons recruited a war party of lean and mean gypsies that he trained to ride and act like vicious Apaches. ["Simmons, Bob & Passingham, Kenneth "Nobody Does It Better: My 25 Years of Stunts With James Bond and Other Stories" 1987 Blandford] Simmons also talked Connery into shaving off the droopy moustache he had grown for the role to look more "realistic". The investors perhaps rememberedGregory Peck 'smoustache in "The Gunfighter" that was believed to have made the public stay away from that film and feared the same might happen with "Shalako".Almeira had many
spaghetti western s filmed there, but at the same time as "Shalako",Harry Saltzman 'sWestern Desert war film "Play Dirty " was being filmed on the same locations. One film crew had to wipe out the tyre tracks in the sand before filming the Old West whilst the other crew had to pick up the horse droppings before they began shooting. Once the gypsy Apaches mounted on horseback made an error and attacked aLong Range Desert Group by mistake. [ibid]Lloyd gathered a strong international cast including former "Goldfinger" co-star
Honor Blackman ,Jack Hawkins ,Stephen Boyd ,Woody Strode ,Don Barry and an unsuccessful candidate for the role of Bond, Hans De Vries.notes
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