Wings of the Hawk is a 1953 3-D American Western film directed by Budd Boetticher and starring Van Heflin and Julie Adams. It is set during the Mexican Revolution.[1]

Wings of the Hawk
Directed byBudd Boetticher
Written byKay Lenard
(adaptation)
Screenplay byJames E. Moser
Based onGerald Drayson Adams
(novel)
Produced byAaron Rosenberg
StarringVan Heflin
Julie Adams
CinematographyClifford Stine
Edited byRussell Schoengarth
Music byFrank Skinner
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Universal International Pictures
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • August 26, 1953 (1953-08-26) (New York)
Running time
81 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

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Mexico, 1911: An expatriate American known as "Irish" Gallagher joins up with Mexican revolutionaries when the mine where he and partner Marco have just struck gold is seized by Colonel Paco Ruiz, a corrupt official who rules the province. Marco is killed by Ruiz.

A band of rebels saves Irish from certain death, with a particularly brave one, a woman, Raquel Noriega, being wounded by gunfire. The rebels aren't sure about Irish so they take him back to their leader, Arturo Torres. As they talk, Raquel faints from her injury, and Irish offers to remove the bullet.

Raquel is engaged to marry Arturo. Her sister Elena has been kidnapped. When they go search for the sister, Raquel and Irish are taken prisoner by Ruiz and locked in a cell. Elena is not a captive after all and says she intends to marry Ruiz. She mistakenly trusts the villainous Ruiz, who coldly executes the mother of one of Arturo's loyal rebels, Tomas.

Irish and Raquel are broken out of jail by the rebels, but Arturo is killed. Irish, realizing how much Ruiz values the gold in the mine, booby-traps it with dynamite and sets off the explosions while Tomas kills Ruiz to avenge his mother's death. When asked by Raquel why he destroyed his own mine, Irish says there is something he loves more, and they kiss.

Cast

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Reception

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The film opened August 26, 1953 at Loew's State Theatre in New York City.[2]

Although initially released in 3-D, due to waning popularity of the process, the film was offered in 2-D as well after just one month of release.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Budd Boetticher: The Last Interview Wheeler, Winston Dixon. Film Criticism; Meadville Vol. 26, Iss. 3, (Spring 2002): 52-0_3.
  2. ^ "B'way Still Big; 'Jury' Wham $42,000, 'Rose' Rich 26G, 'Worlds' Hep 33G, 2d, 'Eternity' 155G, , 3d, 'Moon' $32,200, 7th". Variety. August 26, 1953. p. 11. Retrieved March 14, 2024 – via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ "Universal Puts 'Wings' Into 2-D, Too". Variety. September 23, 1953. p. 10. Retrieved October 10, 2019 – via Archive.org.
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