Valdez Is Coming (1971)

After being forced to kill an innocent man because he was misidentified by a powerful rancher (Jon Cypher), a Mexican constable (Burt Lancaster) asks for $100 to help the slain man's wife (Juanita Penalosa). Not only does the rancher refuse but he has the Mexican tied to a cross and sent into the wilderness. Eventually he kidnaps the rancher's woman (Susan Clark) and the chase is on! Based on the novel by Elmore Leonard and directed by Edwin Sherin. It's difficult to get past the film's biggest flaw which is the miscasting of Lancaster. I'm all for casting an actor in any role that he can play convincingly but Lancaster is simply not convincing as a Mexican and the tepid accent he uses is worthless. It's a pity because if cast correctly, the script is full of possibilities but without a convincing central performance to hold the movie together, the film is just another chase western. Coming from the Broadway stage where he had a great success with THE GREAT WHITE HOPE, this was Sherin's directorial film debut and he doesn't appear to have an affinity for the western and it's a fairly mediocre film visually. With Richard Jordan, Hector Elizondo and Frank Silvera.