The Professionals

1966

The Professionals (1966)

TOMATOMETER

93%

——

Critic Consensus: No consensus yet.

AUDIENCE SCORE

82%

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Movie Info

Grant (Ralph Bellamy) is a wealthy rancher who hires four mercenaries to retrieve his wife, Maria (Claudia Cardinale), from the clutches of the desperado Raza (Jack Palance) in this Western adventure set in 1917. Dolworth (Burt Lancaster) is a munitions expert who joins gunslinger Fardan (Lee Marvin), horse trainer Hans Ehrengard (Robert Ryan), and longbow master Jake (Woody Strode) when the men are offered 10,000 dollars apiece for the safe return of Grant's kidnapped wife. The cadre travels 100 miles into Mexico to retrieve the woman, whom they later discover wants to remain with Raza, but they decide to nab Maria anyway to make good on the money. Soon Fardan, Hans, and Jake are chased across the border by the enraged Raza and his equally deadly female accomplice Chiquita (Marie Gomez), while Dolworth stays behind to fight off Raza's Mexican banditos. The film received Academy Award nominations for Best Direction (Richard Brooks), Best Screenplay (Brooks again), and Best Cinematography (Conrad L. Hall). ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

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Cast

Burt Lancaster
as Bill Dolworth
Lee Marvin
as Henry "Rico" Fardan
Robert Ryan
as Hans Ehrengard
Claudia Cardinale
as Mrs. Maria Grant
Jack Palance
as Capt. Jesus Raza
Ralph Bellamy
as J.W. Grant
Woody Strode
as Jacob Sharp
Joe De Santis
as Ortega
Rafael Bertrand
as Fierro
Jorge Martinez De Hoyos
as Padilla
Marie Gomez
as Chiquita
Jose Chavez
as Revolutionary
Carlos Romero
as Revolutionary
Vaughan Taylor
as Banker
Roberto Contreras
as Bandit
David Cadiente
Don Carlos
as Bandit
Elizabeth Campbell
as Mexican Girl
John Lopez
as Mexican Servant
Darwin Lamb
as Hooper
Dirk Evans
as Man at Door
Foster Hood
John McKee
as Sheriff
Eddie Little Sky
as The Prisoner
Edward Little Sky
as The Prisoner
John R. McKee
as Sheriff
Leigh Chapman
as Lady
Phil Parslow
as Deputy Sheriff
Henry O'Brien
Jorge Marchegiant
as Eduardo Padilla
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Critic Reviews for The Professionals

All Critics (15) | Top Critics (3)

Exciting explosive sequences, good overall pacing and acting overcome a sometimes thin script.

Apr 8, 2008 | Full Review…
Variety
Top Critic

Underrated all-star western.

Apr 8, 2008 | Full Review…
Chicago Reader
Top Critic

It was comprehensively eclipsed by Peckinpah's ostensibly similar The Wild Bunch.

Jun 24, 2006 | Full Review…
Time Out
Top Critic

It's one of Brooks's more eloquent and witty films.

Apr 14, 2008 | Rating: B+ | Full Review…
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

A truly adventuresome, action-filled film that is played more for thrills than for conveying a story.

Apr 8, 2008 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…
TV Guide

Top notch western adventure laden with macho stars Lancaster, Marvin and Palance.

Jun 15, 2006 | Rating: 5/5
Dispatch-Tribune Newspapers
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Audience Reviews for The Professionals

The set-up of rough guys getting hired to free a kidnapped woman seems somewhat generic for Western films of that era, but the movie takes a few unexpected turns on the way. The action is plenty and filmed decently enough, the landscapes are absolutely gorgeous. Of course it still feels a bit dated but overall it's still a pleasant and entertaining experience from a time long gone.

Jens S.
Jens S.

Super Reviewer

This is Badass.

Jack Palance as a mexican
Lee Marvin as Lee Marvin
A mine car chase
Exploding arrows
The glorious cleavage of Claudia Cardinale

Ken Stachnik
Ken Stachnik

Super Reviewer

½

Son of the Magnificent Seven - With few exceptions, westerns tend to follow a basic formula: bad guys, good guys, horses & guns. The Professionals isn't deep or cerebral but it is entertaining. A star-studded genre classic.

Randy Tippy
Randy Tippy

Super Reviewer

½

Good cast, ordinary western.

jay nixon
jay nixon

Super Reviewer

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