In The Professionals, Lee Marvin plays Henry Fardan, known as 'Rico' to his friends.

I saw it first run, in 1966, and it's still one of the few movies I watch every year or so.The cast also includes Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, Woody Strode, Jack Palance, and Claudia Cardinale, and they do very good work in support.

Suffice it to say that the movie takes place along the Mexican border during the Mexican Revolution, and there's enough gunplay, sex, and general hoorah in it to satisfy any Western film buff. Besides, where else besides "The Wild Bunch" are you going to see a great Western film where they use a machine gun? {A Lewis gun, in this case.}

But there is enough subtle emotional and philosophical things at work here that it is far more than your standard Western shoot-em-up.
The interplay between Lee and Burt is especially wonderful; some oft-quoted lines between my best friend and myself
derive from their exchanges.

The reason that my alias in cowboy action shooting is Henry Fardan,
where I'm also known as 'Rico' to my friends,
is that Lee Marvin has always reminded me of my maternal grandfather,
and never more so than in this film.
Top of page

Back to Their Last Resting Place

If you get lost, consult the map of this site

Back to the Old West Library page