The Wonderful Country

"A Face...A Man...A Motion Picture as Proud and Violent as Tom Lea's Bold and Powerful Novel!"

1959 1h 38m EN

😐

6.1

MID

★6.1TMDB · 72

Western

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Having fled to Mexico from the U.S. many years ago for killing his father's murderer, Martin Brady travels to Texas to broker an arms deal for his Mexican boss, strongman Governor Cipriano Castro. Brady breaks a leg and while recuperating in Texas the gun shipment is stolen. Complicating matters further the wife of local army major Colton has designs on him, and the local Texas Ranger captain makes him a generous offer to come back to the states and join his outfit. After killing a man in self-defense, Brady slips back over the border and confronts Castro who is not only unhappy that Brady has lost his gun shipment but is about to join forces with Colton to battle the local raiding Apache Indians.

“A Face...A Man...A Motion Picture as Proud and Violent as Tom Lea's Bold and Powerful Novel!”

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Cast

Robert Mitchum
Martin Brady
Julie London
Helen Colton
Gary Merrill
Major Colton
Albert Dekker
Cap. Rucker (Texas Ranger)
Pedro Armendáriz
Cipriano Castro
Jack Oakie
Travis Hyle
Charles McGraw
Dr. Stovall
Anthony Caruso
Santiago Santos

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Robert Parrish
Writers: Walter Bernstein, Robert Ardrey
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

67 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Robert Parrish, shot by Floyd Crosby. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Alex North. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Michael Luciano shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Robert Mitchum and Julie London and Gary Merrill carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A Face...A Man...A Motion Picture as Proud and Violent as Tom Lea's Bold and Powerful Novel!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0053453 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 72 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Robert Parrish directs. Floyd Crosby behind the camera. Alex North scores. Michael Luciano cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

167 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by Robert Parrish, shot by Floyd Crosby. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Alex North. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Michael Luciano shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Robert Mitchum and Julie London and Gary Merrill carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "A Face...A Man...A Motion Picture as Proud and Violent as Tom Lea's Bold and Powerful Novel!".
7IMDB entry: tt0053453 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 72 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Floyd Crosby
Original score: Alex North
Editing: Michael Luciano
Production design: Harry Horner
Costume design: Mary Wills
Runtime: 98 min · 1h 38m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Wonderful Country (1959)

Also by

Robert Parrish

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2021-12-26
★ 6/10
Robert Mitchum caught between Mexico and America A man from Missouri now living in Mexico and working for shady officials breaks his leg while conducting business in a West Texas town across the river. He has time to consider his future options, which include maybe joining the Texas Rangers and possibly hooking up with the unsatisfied wife of a straitlaced officer (Julie London & Gary Merrill). Meanwhile his bosses in Mexico blame him for a lost shipment of firearms. “The Wonderful Country” (1959) is similar in tone (not plot) to “Vera Cruz” (1954) and “One-Eyed Jacks” (1961), but lacks their compelling stories to make it great. This is still a worthwhile Western. It’s realistic and weighty with a few meaty dialogues and gems to mine, not to mention it’s nice to see a black character in an old Western (Leroy 'Satchel' Paige). It just needed a more focused script to tie everything together for a more absorbing experience. The film runs 1 hour, 37 minutes, and was shot entirely in Mexico (Chihuahua, Sonora and Durango). GRADE: B-
CinemaSerf2024-11-26
★ 6/10
This is really just a film for Robert Mitchum fans. He is "Brady", a hard-nosed drifter who manages to get embroiled in some gun-running on the US/Mexican border, then to break his leg, then to have to fight off the designs of Julie London's "Helen" (who happens to be married to a Yankee captain - Gary Merrill). The film is certainly not dull - aside from some gently smouldering scenes from Miss London, poor old "Brady" is constantly jumping ships with aplomb - trying to stay just one step ahead each time. The dialogue is sometimes quite pithy, and there are plenty of action scenes. Mitchum brings some charisma to the screen, but London should have stuck to singing, her acting never had very much depth to it. The rest of the film is just a little bit too busy - too many characters, too many complications and by the end I wasn't sure if I was really so very bothered.