Wings of the Hawk

1953 film by Budd Boetticher

Wings of the Hawk

Directed by| Budd Boetticher
Written by| Kay Lenard
(adaptation)
Screenplay by| James E. Moser
Based on| Gerald Drayson Adams
(novel)
Produced by| Aaron Rosenberg
Starring| Van Heflin
Julie Adams
Cinematography| Clifford Stine
Edited by| Russell Schoengarth
Music by| Frank Skinner
Color process| Technicolor

Production
company

Universal International Pictures

Distributed by| Universal Pictures

Release date

* August 26, 1953 (1953-08-26) (New York)

Running time

| 81 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English

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]

## Plot

[edit]

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

[edit]

* Van Heflin as Irish Gallagher
* Julie Adams as Raquel Noriega (as Julia Adams)
* Abbe Lane as Elena Noriega
* George Dolenz as Col. Paco Ruiz
* Noah Beery Jr. as Pasquel Orozco (as Noah Berry)
* Rodolfo Acosta as Arturo Torres
* Antonio Moreno as Father Perez
* Pedro Gonzalez as Tomas
* Paul Fierro as Carlos
* Mario Siletti as Marco
* Rico Alaniz as Capt. Gomez

## Reception

[edit]

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

[edit]

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.

## External links

[edit]

* Wings of the Hawk at the TCM Movie Database
* Wings of the Hawk at IMDb
* Wings of the Hawk at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Budd Boetticher

* One Mysterious Night (1944)
* The Missing Juror (1944)
* Youth on Trial (1945)
* A Guy, a Gal and a Pal (1945)
* Escape in the Fog (1945)
* Assigned to Danger (1948)
* Behind Locked Doors (1948)
* Black Midnight (1949)
* The Wolf Hunters (1949)
* Killer Shark (1950)
* Blades of the Musketeers (filmed 1950, 1953)
* Bullfighter and the Lady (1951)
* The Cimarron Kid (1952)
* Bronco Buster (1952)
* Red Ball Express (1952)
* Horizons West (1952)
* City Beneath the Sea (1953)
* Seminole (1953)
* The Man from the Alamo (1953)
* Wings of the Hawk (1953)
* East of Sumatra (1953)
* The Magnificent Matador (1955)
* The Killer Is Loose (1956)
* Seven Men from Now (1956)
* The Tall T (1957)
* Decision at Sundown (1957)
* Buchanan Rides Alone (1958)
* Westbound (1959)
* Ride Lonesome (1959)
* The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond (1960)
* Comanche Station (1960)
* A Time for Dying (1969)
* Arruza (1972)
* My Kingdom For... (1985)

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