"100 Rifles" is a pretty good western, all things considered. Although shot in Spain, as many "spaghetti westerns" of the day were, this actually isn't a cheap spaghetti western but a well-made, impressively mounted American-made "epic" with some terrific action scenes, a good story that manages to work in comments about racism and genocide, and showcases Burt Reynolds at his most charming and roguish. Jim Brown, who often comes across a bit stiff as an actor, acquits himself quite well, Fernando Lamas has a showy role as a murderous Mexican general and is very effective in it. The film's biggest flaw is Raquel Welch. She looks great, of course, but she is monumentally untalented as an actress. She uses the worst Mexican "accent" I can ever remember hearing--apparently she thinks that rolling her "R's" is all that's needed, and she doesn't even do that very well. Other than to show off her spectacular body--which you really don't get to see all that much of--there's no reason for her to be in this, and her feeble attempts at playing a fiery Indian revolutionary are more embarrassing than anything else.
Overall, though, it's a pretty good movie. As I said, the action scenes are very good, climaxed by an attack on a "federale" garrison by Reynolds' and Brown's Indian guerrillas. The movie is definitely worth a look, and is, all things considered, one of Reynolds' better pictures and probably the best western he ever made.
Overall, though, it's a pretty good movie. As I said, the action scenes are very good, climaxed by an attack on a "federale" garrison by Reynolds' and Brown's Indian guerrillas. The movie is definitely worth a look, and is, all things considered, one of Reynolds' better pictures and probably the best western he ever made.