The Professionals

In the final years of the Mexican Revolution, American rancher J.W. Grant (Ralph Bellamy) hires four men, who are all experts in their respective fields, to rescue his kidnapped wife, Maria (Claudia Cardinale), from Jesus Raza (Jack Palance), a former revolutionary leader-turned-bandit. Grant has withdrawn $100,000 in gold coins from his local bank. Henry "Rico" Fardan (Lee Marvin) is a weapons specialist, Bill Dolworth (Burt Lancaster) is an explosives expert, Hans Ehrengard (Robert Ryan) is the horse wrangler, and Jake Sharp (Woody Strode) is a traditional Apache scout, skilled with a bow and arrow. Grant gathers the Rico, Hans and Sharp on his private train and explains that a week ago Raza kidnapped his wife. Grant says that Raza is the bloodiest cut-throat in Mexico. Raza has kept Maria in the middle of the desert in his fortress. The fortress (situated in the Painted Mountains in Mexico) is covered by the desert for 100 miles in every direction, and it would take a battalion a month just to find him. Raza's men know every geological detail of the terrain. Raza has 150 soldiers. Grant offers $1000 per person in advance and $9000 per person if they bring Maria back. Grant says that he has arranged the ransom money of $100,000, but still is not sure if he will get Maria back alive. Rico says that he needs a weapons specialist for the mission and suggests Bill. Bill is in jail for being an adulterer with married women and Rico bails him out for $700. Fardan and Dolworth, having both fought under the command of Pancho Villa, have a high regard for Raza as a soldier. But as cynical professionals, they have no qualms about killing him. They cannot believe that Raza would kidnap a woman, but Grant has the ransom note to prove it. Grant married Maria 4 years ago. A few days ago, she went riding across the border, as she was from Mexico and perhaps missed it. By the time she was found missing, the ransom note arrived. After entering Mexico, the professional track a group of Mexican bandits who confront them in a narrow mountain canyon the next day. The bandits open fire, but Rico was well prepared and had already asked Sharp and Hans to take positions in the surrounding cliffs. They easily dispatch the bandits and take their supplies. Bill wants to shoot the horses as they don't have food and water to feed them, but Hans argues to set them free instead. Bill tells Rico that they are 3 days ride away from Coyote pass, where the Mexican rebels buried 2 million dollars in Spanish Gold. Bill wants Rico to abandon their quest and to go for the gold, but Rico refuses. Rico sends Bill ahead to scout for dangers and he follows with Hans and Sharp. Bill is captured by 3 bandits who rob him and hang him upside down. Rico reaches the location and through signals (an upside down cross) he determines that Bill is in danger. These bandits were colleagues of the ones killed earlier and had found the riderless horses. The bandits prepare to kill Bill, but Rico intervenes. The bandits are killed, and Bill rescued. They realize that this narrow canyon between the mountain, where Bill was captured, is a perfect escape route for them on their way to the US. They know that Raza will take the same route and decide to rig it with explosives. Close to Raza's fortress, the professionals witness soldiers on a government train being massacred by Raza's small army. Raza's men sabotage the rails to stop the train. After a brutal fight, they kill all the surviving Government soldiers and reinstall the rails. The officers of the government are hanged and lynched. Bill explains that the soldiers on the train were Colorados, expert marksmen and expert at torture. A few years ago, they burned and looted a town with 3000 people. When they were done, only 40 were left. Rico's wife was one of the lucky 40. She was stripped naked and made to run through the cactus till her skin peeled off and she died. They follow the captured train to the end of the line. After the bandits leave, they take the train before moving on to the camp, where they observe Raza and his followers - including a female soldier, Chiquita (Maria Gomez) (who had once been in a relationship with Dolworth). They find that the camp has milk, supplied by the goat-keeper. Grant's 2nd in command Ortega (Joe De Santis) had told them that the goat-keeper Eduardo Padillia is a friend and will do anything to help. Eduardo recognizes Oretga's medallion presented by Rico and agrees to help. Eduardo confirms the location of Maria inside the camp. Rico plans an elaborate attack on the camp to provide an escape route with Maria. He hopes to convince Raza and his troops that they are being attacked by the Mexican government, and as they take defensive positions, Rico will escape with Maria. At nightfall, Fardan infiltrates the camp, but he is stopped from killing Raza in his quarters; after witnessing the beautiful Maria, Grant's kidnapped wife, about to willingly make love with Raza, Dolworth is forced to conclude that they have been duped. After bringing Maria back to the train, a shootout starts because it has been retaken by the bandits. These bandits are colleagues of the ones killed earlier by the Professionals. They had taken Hans hostage. The bandits surrender when Rico realizes that they are afraid to hit Maria. Rico drives the train away. Pursued by Raza and his men, the professionals are forced to take refuge in nearby canyon lands. That night, Maria reveals that they haven't rescued Grant's "kidnapped wife" but rather, Raza's lover - that Grant had bought her in an arranged marriage (when Grant bought her father's ranch in Mexico), from which she escaped at the earliest opportunity to return to her true love in Mexico. The following day, Maria hops on a horse and rides off through the narrow canyons to rejoin Raza, but Dolworth sets off explosives he had planted in the canyon walls, which collapse and close off the canyon, preventing her escape. That night Maria tries to seduce Bill to allow her to escape, but he refuses. She appeals to Rico and Bill saying that they served the revolution for 6 years loyally and that Raza speaks very highly of them. Yet, Rico says that he is bound by his promise to Grant. As Raza and his remaining men close in, Dolworth volunteers to stay behind to allow the other professionals to escape with Maria. In the ensuing fight, Raza is wounded and captured, and Dolworth is almost killed by a dying Chiquita, whose pistol has run out of bullets. Bill and Raza catch up with Rico just before the US border. Grant and his men meet the professionals (with Raza and Maria) at the US border. The wealthy rancher tells Fardan that their contract has been satisfactorily concluded. He then orders one of his men to kill the wounded Raza. But before he can fire, Dolworth shoots the guns from his hand. The other professionals step in to protect Maria and Raza. They collect the wounded Raza, laying him on the back of a horse-drawn wagon with Maria at the reins, and send both back to Mexico. Grant angrily turns to Fardan and declares him to be a dishonorable man. Rico retorts that while Rico was born that way, but Grant became that way all by himself. The professionals then ride off, following the wagon across the border to Mexico.