Wings of the Hawk *** (1953, Van Heflin, Julie Adams, Abbe Lane, George Dolenz) – Classic Movie Review 7374

Director Budd Boetticher’s 1953 Wings of the Hawk is a good-quality standard Western from Universal Pictures, with the usual heroics set against a convincingly etched South American backdrop, with solid dialogue and strong bursts of action.

It is written by James E Moser and Kay Lenard, based on a novel by Gerald Drayson Adams, and stars Van Heflin, Julie Adams [Julia Adams], Abbe Lane and George Dolenz.

It is 1910, the time of the Mexican revolution, and the attempted Mexican coup by Pancho Villa’s rebels is joined by the brave American prospector Irish Gallager (Heflin), who grabs his Mexican mine back from corrupt Mexican official Colonel Paco Ruiz (Dolenz), while romancing guerrilla leader Raquel Noriega (Adams), whose life he has saved.

Wings of the Hawk is lifted by the busy and imaginative direction from the cultish director Boetticher, deploying the fine Technicolor photography by Clifford Stine that is at his disposal. It was initially released in a 3D version, and can still screen in 3D, like at the World 3D Film Expo at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood in 2013.

Also in the cast are Pedro Gonzales Gonzales, Rodolfo Acosta, Antonio Moreno, Noah Beery Jr, Mario Siletti, Rico Alaniz and Paul Fierro.

Julie Adams (born in Iowa on 17 October 1926) also starred in Boetticher’s previous film, Horizons West (1952). She is also famous as the scream queen in her iconic role as Kay in Jack Arnold’s legendary 3D monster movie Creature from the Black Lagoon. Julie Adams attended screenings of both Wings of the Hawk and Creature from the Black Lagoon at the World 3D Film Expo at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood in 2013.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7374

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