Wings of the Hawk

Wings of the Hawk
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 Pictures
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	August 26, 1953;
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[]

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[]

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[]

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.^[2]

References[]

^ Budd Boetticher: The Last Interview Wheeler, Winston Dixon. Film Criticism; Meadville Vol. 26, Iss. 3, (Spring 2002): 52-0_3.
^ "Universal Puts 'Wings' Into 2-D, Too". Variety. September 23, 1953. p. 10. Retrieved October 10, 2019 – via Archive.org.

External links[]

Wings of the Hawk at the TCM Movie Database
Wings of the Hawk at IMDb
Wings of the Hawk at the American Film Institute Catalog

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[budd-1] Budd Boetticher: The Last Interview Wheeler, Winston Dixon. Film Criticism; Meadville Vol. 26, Iss. 3, (Spring 2002): 52-0_3.

[2] "Universal Puts 'Wings' Into 2-D, Too". Variety. September 23, 1953. p. 10. Retrieved October 10, 2019 – via Archive.org.

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