User reviews

Down on his luck pilot Max Von Sydow crashes into a water tower in Mexico and the damage is considerable. But when he spots wanted fugitive Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. with girlfriend Yvette Mimieux headed out of town he reports same to police chief Gilbert Roland. That $50,000.00 muerto o vive will more than take care of his debts. Roland also sees a way out of this backwater he's been assigned to as a federale.

Roland puts together a posse which takes them into the desert before they catch up with Zimbalist and Mimieux. Made up of some of Alfonso Bedoya's bunch from Treasure Of The Sierra Madre by the look of them. Roland and Von Sydow don't tell them about the big reward and Mimieux along for the ride is also lots of distraction.

This could have been a much better film, but the pace is excruciatingly dull. A little too much philosophizing by the main characters as well, more action was required.

For fans of the principal players only.

A good cast, interesting premise and catchy direction all come to not-very-much here. Max Von Sydow and Gilbert Roland do very well in off-beat parts as a weary pilot desperate for money and a sickly Mexican Cop unwillingly heading up a rag-tag posse chasing across the desert after Ephram Zimbalest as a wanted killer. Emilio Fernandez and Henry Silva add solid support, and Yvette Mimieux is nice to look at, but as the movie goes on -- and on -- there's not much for anyone to do. Serge Bourguignon's direction has its moments, but he apparently didn't care much about keeping up the pace. The result is a film that's sometime interesting to look at but not to watch. It also has the disjointed look of a film that was chopped up rather badly before release. The print aired recently on the Fox Movie Channel also lacks subtitles, which may make the long stretches of conversation in Mexican rather tedious for viewers who don't speak Spanish.

Max van Sydow and Yvette Mimieux in a western? With Efrem Zimbalist? What were they thinking? Even the presence of Emilio Fernandez (the great Mapache from "The Wild Bunch"), Gilbert Roland, and Henry Silva can't rescue this strange re-make of "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre".

The story itself is not so bad and with different actors and a different director it might have been better. Director Serge Bourguignon is a Frenchman best known for "Sundays and Cybele" and "Two Weeks in September", not exactly the kinds of films that you think of when looking at someone to work in the Western genre.

When you think of the good westerns made in the mid 60s ("Ride the High Country", "Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", "A Fistful of Dollars". "Cheyenne Autumn", "Cat Ballou", "Shenandoah", "Sons of Katie Elder", "The Wild Bunch") this film pales in comparison.

"The Reward" was a big money loser and after seeing it, I can understand why...the pacing is glacially slow. And, this isn't helped by having so much of the film set in a desert.

When the story begins, a guy (Max von Sydow) crashes his plane in Mexico. But when he sees a man wanted in the States (Efram Zimbalest Jr.), he realizes the $50,000 reward, dead or alive, will more than take care of the plane. Soon he meets up with some Mexicans who help and eventually greed takes its toll on these new-found partners.

The problem, as I mentioned above, is the pacing. Also it just felt weird to have von Sydow, ZImbalest and Yvette Mimieux in the Mexican desert. Additionally, at least on the copy I saw, it was odd not to have the Mexicans captioned as they spoke. While my Spanish is quite rusty, I was able to follow along...but how many others will just give up? A strange film that just doesn't work.

When you saw his first movie, in France, LES DIMANCHES DE VILLE D'AVRAY, and you watch this film, it is very hard to compare and say that the director is the same. Poor man, I think this topic, this story was definitely not for him. The film had a great potential, yes, but not for such a sensitive director, no matter he is French or not, that's not the point. The directing is tasteless and could have been monitored by anyone in Hollywood. I would have preferred him to direct a true drama, or why not a film noir....Not a western....imagine Jean Luc Goddard making a peplum or a science fiction movie?

The only way to see this is a rather cropped version of Fox's movie channel, but that version does have all the Spanish language sub titled. Though that fact that "our heroes" don't know what is being said around them is also part of the plot. I assume the film had subtitles when it was released but it's possible it intentionally didn't--a bold move that might not have worked--again I don't know, the subtitles I saw on the film looked to be added for TV.

It's often fascinating to watch and beautifully shot with some striking aerial shots and complex staging. Sydow is very good though his character sometimes slips out of being the central focus of the film. the ending is rather abrupt and more like films from the 1970's than the 1960's which may have been part of what kept audiences away.

But there is real tension and a good set up for the story that develops as the group on their way for THE REWARD slowly divide into rival sectors. The sparse use of music is effective much of the music being source (a guitar and flute) played on screen. It seems to be building to a big pay off which doesn't happen and it loses steam towards the end and then ends too quickly. It is a modern day western perhaps that puts people off as well. Too bad there isn't a perfect version of it to see as it looks to be shot in a very wide Cinemascope aspect ratio, but it could prove to be an undiscovered pleasure for film fans who want to find new films to like--long after box office success of failure matter. Give it a try.

This is a great movie. Part of it was filmed at Old Tucson Studios in Tucson, AZ. I note that it wasn't mentioned. I was the Executive Production Manager for Old Tucson during the making of this film. I still have a picture I took of E. G. Marshal and Kathleen Quinlan. It was the first time (I believe) that Max Von Sydow worked in the USA. I assisted them in their Locations, hotels, etc. while they were here. We had a great time making this film. They allowed the tourist's to come on set as long as we built a line for them to be behind. They enjoyed the shooting with all the stars working right in front of them. I'm looking forward to seeing this movie again once I find it online. I just happened to think about it tonight which is why I'm writing here. Good action film that most all should enjoy.

I have seen two different versions of this "Mexican" film on the Fox Movie Channel (or its on demand version). The first time was the 1.33 version with no subtitles. While it's true that most of the Norte Americano characters (which in this case includes Von Sydow whose accent is very slight--he was reputed to have intentionally learned a mid-Atlantic version of English) have a limited or non-existent command of Spanish, you can't really understand what is going on without subtitles. The novel on which it is based notes that the Americans do not always understand what is going on but the dialog is in "English" anyway. A kind of stilted way of talking which suggests a translation. Also the Mexicans are really Indians except for the police chief who has been exiled from the big city and wants to get back. Even he might not understand what the Indians are saying among themselves. The second time I saw this film (on Fox Film channel, May 2016) it now had English subs and was letterboxed at 1.85 (though the opening title sequence clearly shows that this was a full Cinemascope frame originally!). I'd like to see this in HD (we don't get that for the Fox movie channel here) and a proper Cinemascope ratio. (TCM please) I would also recommend Michael Barrett's novel for richer detail which is hinted at in the film.

Another reviewer compared this film to "Treasure of the Sierra Madre". You could say that it falls into a certain subgenre which I call "a Mexican" like the Wild Bunch and other westerns or several film noirs that take place mostly in Mexico or a goodly number of other films and books which highlight our neighbor south as a place of danger, corruption, illicit behavior, serious crime, poverty, untold wealth, a place of refuge for those fleeing the law, etc. Mexico itself has had a first-class film industry which has had its ups and downs. Mexican noirs of the 40s and 50s are every bit as good as the Hollywood versions and laden with less censorship to boot!

I agree with another reviewer that there may have been more footage that didn't make it into the final cut which would have made elements of the story clearer. Certainly the ending is very abrupt. In any case this is a film that should be given the restoration treatment. Were it to happen it would probably have a much greater reputation. Perhaps the person who was in charge of production at the studio during the film who contributed some information in another review could tell us more about the process that led to its release. Maybe Von Sydow remembers something as well.

Worth seeing!