Very well executed

Purely Joyful Movie!

People are voting emotionally.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

In the late 1800's , in the thunderous Argentina , where the boundary between Indians and Europeans was marked by "Fortines" (little forts) manned by conscripted soldiers . There is a pillbox in the middle of the Pampa surrounded by Indian tribes , this fort is commanded by a stiff commander (José Nieto) who along with his captain named Martin (Robert Taylor as the lead) decide to bring women from Buenos Aires , for not deserting soldiers . To help do this , the captain brings in a party of women to keep his soldiers happy . Meanwhile , the army captain tries to tame the open plains of Argentina which are dominated by Indians and bandits . As the movie centers on the forced transportation of a group of women (Isabel Pisano , Rosana Monteros, Laya Raki , among others) , hookers and convicted of crimes and banished to the fortines to alleviate the loneliness of the soldiers . Being attacked by Indians and cutthroats whose gang is made up of army deserters led by Padrón (Ron Randell) . Remake of 1946 Argentinian film ¨Pampa Barbara¨ (1946) with Luisa Vehil directed by Lucas Demare and Fregonese himself. The script is at times a little bit stilted , moody and dramatic , but does a good job of capturing the violent environment , including brutal killings and beheading , as well as breathtaking battles and gorgeous outdoors . It narrates in Spaghetti Western style the gradual rolling back of the native Indians of Argentina from their ancestral lands by the Europeans and their descendants as well as settlers , cattlemen and army soldiers . Savage Pampas is glossy and sleek , but somehow doesn't manage to rise to a superior quality . In spite of efforts towards authenticity , the film fails on some non-sense scenes and other disconcerting events . The veteran Robert Taylor in his last film plays a rugged army captain and his nemesis , a rebel deserter , is well played by Ron Randell . Fine acting all around, especially from the support cast that included some of the best secondaries of the period , usual in co-productions (Spaghetti Western , Peplum) like José Jaspe , Julio Peña, José María Caffarel , Angel Del Pozo , Milo Quesada , George Rigaud , Sancho Gracia , José Nieto , Enrique Avila , Barta Barry . Excellent production design by the Oscarized Gil Parrondo (Gil was an unfailingly good production designer in more than 80 movies over 50 years). Colorful and evocative cinematography in Superpanorama 70 by Manuel Berenguer . Thhrilling and atmospheric musical score by Waldo De Los Rios .The motion picture was professionally directed by Hugo Fregonese , though has numerous flaws and gaps . Direction by Fregonese maintains a steady pace and is partially as good in interiors as in outdoor action scenes . Hugo Fregonese is familiar remember the Argentine director for his Hollywood work , that began with One Way Street in 1950 and included some biggies such as Blowing Wild (1953), his biggest hit . Fregonese started in Argentina, and Pampa Bárbara , first version , is the first first film he directed he is listed as co- director with Lucas Demare . He had done his apprenticeship with Demare as assistant director in two previous films. Hugo was an Argentina director who emigrated to Hollywood, then became technical adviser on latino themes at Columbia Studios in Hollywood, and subsequently under contract at Universal from 1950 to 1952 filming ¨Man in the attic¨ with Jack Palance , ¨Blowing wild¨with Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck , ¨Decameron Nights¨with Joan Fontaine , ¨Harry Black and the tiger¨with Stewart Granger . Spent the rest of the decade in Europe directing Euro-westerns as ¨Apache's last battle¨ , this ¨Savage Pampas¨ and potboilers as "The Death Ray of Dr. Mabuse" , Terror as "Dracula vs. Frankenstein" before finishing his career back in the country of his birth . Rating : 6 , acceptable and passable . Worthwhile seeing for marvelous landscapes and breathtaking outdoors from Argentina and Spain.

An Argentinian Western and Taylor's oddest film, Savage Pampas is a remake of the 1946 Argentinian film Pampa Barbera. Taylor is the guardian of a wagon train of women heading for a lonely outpost in the interior in 1870. The plot is reminiscent of his Westward the Women (1952) with the difference that this time the women are prostitutes, intended to be morale boosters to stop the men of the outpost from deserting. Shot by Hollywood veteran Fregonese who co-scripted it with a strong emphasis on realism, the film got lost in the flood of Spaghetti Westerns.Phil Hardy

A sad and dismal almost final ending for Robert Taylor. His handsome looks faded by time, drink, and possible lung cancer, Robert Taylor presents a depressing lifeless figure in this 3rd rate South American produced Western. As a big fan of Taylor, I really don't want to remember him in this film. Of course, this is easy to do, as this movie has virtually been lost to time. It's clear that Robert Taylor didn't have his heart in the role of "Captain Martin". He looks weather beaten, tired, and just plain worn out. His build is just too thin and he appears in ill health. Even the feel of this whole movie is that of people "Beaten-Up" by the passing of time and hard living. Savage Pampas is "savage" to watch. There is little to like and it's not even a pleasant night at the movies. Savage Pampas is just a dismal footnote in the faltering career of Robert Taylor.

Savage Pampas is a film with an unusual setting for the English speaking world, the pampas plains of Argentina at the end of the 19th century. The film is based on a novel Pampa Barbera and was filmed in Argentina before.Robert Taylor is a captain in command of a garrison on the frontier, a whole lot like the American West. But he's having some big troubles. Taylor has a morale problem at the fort, the men are deserting him bit by bit because outlaw chief Ron Randell gives them an outlet for their sexual frustration, women. It's strictly stag at Taylor's post no matter how much he tries to convince the high command in Buenos Aires that his men have needs. It's also to be remembered that most of the men aren't the best quality around. They're not king and country volunteers as Clark Gable put it in Mutiny on the Bounty. In fact a whole lot of them are criminals and were given the choice of the army or prison. Finally he does convince higher ups that some women are essential for morale, so Taylor is given an assignment of escorting some prostitutes let out for that purpose. Of course all this leads up to the inevitable showdown between Taylor and Randell.Taylor in his one and only appearance in a spaghetti western covers some familiar ground. In Westward the Women he escorts some brides to be across the American west. He's the stern and rugged Taylor we've come to know in his later films, tough, but compassionate.The film was photographed in Spain and two other American actors appear in it with Taylor. Marc Lawrence is a sergeant in Taylor's command and Ty Hardin plays an anarchist newspaper editor who accompanies the prostitutes because he's been given a choice, army or jail. Hardin has some biting lines, some of the best in the film and he makes the most of them.It must have been an interesting set on Savage Pampas. On one hand we have Robert Taylor who was a friendly witness at the House Un American Activities Committee. And also Marc Lawrence who's career suffered the effects of the blacklist. I imagine things must have been tense. Other than knowing about Evita Peron and her husband, Argentina or for that matter Latin America in general, is not a history that most Americans are taught. It's still said that Argentina is a frontier country built around a capital city. This picture shows a slice of their frontier life you might not normally be exposed to.For that reason I recommend seeing Savage Pampas. For that reason and because it's one of the last films of one of Hollywood's truly great stars who in his last years was somewhat at sea due to the decline of the studio system.