Behold a Pale Horse *** (1964, Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, Omar Sharif) – Classic Movie Review 9427

Director Fred Zinnemann’s 1964 Behold a Pale Horse is a high-class, but low-involvement post-Spanish Civil War drama, afflicted by much miscasting, but with dignified acting none the less. Zinnemann was probably most interested in the film’s lengthy talky ruminations on life and death, so it is ironic that the best scenes are the action ones and that the chat all seems rather drossy.

Gregory Peck stars as Manuel Artiguez, an old Spanish bandit guerrilla leader who returns to his native Spanish village from exile in France to kill Spanish civil guard Captain Viñolas (Anthony Quinn) and visit his dying mother, Pilar (Mildred Dunnock).

In an odd mix of useful acting styles, Peck is muted, effectively so, despite being miscast as a Spanish loyalist, but of course Quinn is in full swing as usual and so is Omar Sharif as Father Francisco, a village priest with divided loyalties.

The screenplay by J P Miller is based on an Emeric Pressburger novel Killing a Mouse on Sunday and it would have been fascinating to see what Pressburger and Michael Powell could have made of it.

Unexpectedly, Jean Badal shoots in black and white.

Also in the cast are Paolo Stoppa, Daniela Rocca as Viñolas’s mistress Rosana, Raymond Pellegrin, Christian Marquand, Zia Mohyeddin, Rosalie Crutchley as Viñolas’s wife Teresa, Mollie Urquhart, Claude Berri, Martin Benson and Alain Saury.

The material was still controversial, and the film was banned in Spain, ruled by Spanish Civil War fascist leader General Franco. Zinnemann and Trauner were not allowed to film in Spain but stayed for two days at a hotel in Vitoria and gathered pictures and information about buildings and the people. Instead it was filmed in France, on location, and in the studio at Franstudio, Saint-Maurice, Val-de-Marne.

A passage from Revelations 6:8 contains the phrase Behold a Pale Horse, the first card on the opening credits.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9427

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