Jake Remy leads a gang of outlaw cutthroats making their escape toward Mexico from a successful robbery. Barring their way is a river--crossable only by means of a ferry barge. The barge operator, Travis, refuses to be bullied into providing transport for the gang and escapes across river with most of the local populace--leaving Remy and his gang behind, desperately seeking a way across. A river-wide stand-off begins between the gang and the townspeople, both groups of which have left people on the wrong side of the river.
Acting
Van Cleef's weary stubbornness vs. Oates' sweaty desperation.
Direction
Douglas makes a river feel like a cage closing in.
Cinematography
Muddy, desperate visuals—no romantic frontier here.
Director
Gordon Douglas
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Warren Oates and Lee Van Cleef had already faced off in 'The Good Guys and the Bad Guys' (1969), making this their second standoff in a year.
Released in 1970, Barquero rode the wave of 'revisionist' Westerns questioning frontier mythology—Travis isn't a gunslinger, he's just a guy who owns a boat.
US
