The Professionals garnered three Academy Award nominations; two for Richard Brooks (Best Direction and Best Adapted Screenplay) and another for the esteemed Conrad Hall (Best Cinematography). The filmmakers received the same nominations the following year for the true crime classic, In Cold Blood.
 
"Real action, taut excitement, throughout."  Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
"A rock-solid piece of Western Adventure entertainment. Marvin, Lancaster & Palance!"  Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
"Top notch western adventure laden with macho stars Lancaster, Marvin and Palance."  Steve Crum, Dispatch-Tribune Newspapers
"...one of Brooks's more eloquent and witty films."  Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
"...an enjoyable Western with an all-star cast...a great movie for any fan of the genre."  Dumb Distraction
"A truly adventuresome, action-filled film..."  TV Guide's Movie Guide
"Exciting explosive sequences, good overall pacing and acting..."  Variety
 


Editor's Note

A wealthy rancher, Frank Carter (Ralph Bellamy), hires four tough gunslingers to rescue his wife (Claudia Cardinale), who is being held captive by Captain Rasa (Jack Palance), one of Pancho Villa's most desperate revolutionaries, in this dynamic and hard-hitting Western set against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution of 1917. The wild West commando team consists of a dynamite expert (Burt Lancaster), an ex-revolutionary and munitions expert (Lee Marvin), a horse specialist (Robert Ryan), and a tracker (Woody Strode). On their mission to return Carter's highly prized wife, they track the Mexican revolutionaries through rough and rugged desert terrain, determined to outsmart, outshoot, and outride anyone they come across--until they meet the the charismatic Rasa and discover that Carter's seductive wife is in love with the Mexican outlaw and has no intention of returning with the band of "professionals." Based on the novel A MULE FOR THE MARQUESA by Frank O'Rourke, this beautifully rendered Western features a star-studded cast delivering finely crafted and charismatic performances. Burt Lancaster is at his acrobatic and mercurial best as the rowdy gunslinger.


Plot Summary

When a millionaire hires a group of mercenaries to rescue his wife, Maria, from a local Mexican leader, the old soldiers discover that the kidnapper is their old ally, Raza. Once they dig around a bit deeper, they find that they've been duped--and that Maria is not Raza's captive at all: The two are actually lovers. The realization comes too late, however, for the old comrades have prepared for a final showdown.