José María Elorrieta’s Los siete de Pancho Villa, released in 3 AL, isn’t a Western, rather an adventure film set during the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920). Played by Ricardo Palacios, Pancho Villa appears only briefly at the beginning. He is depicted in a very unflattering way, as are his men, probably in keeping with the political agendas and views of dictator Francisco Franco’s right-wing regime. Villa was a revolutionary, after all.
Ricardo Palacios as Pancho Villa
Scherpschutter’s review of Los siete de Pancho Villa hits the mark. As Elorrieta’s two preceding Westerns, El hombre de la diligencia and Fuerte perdido, his Pancho Villa film lacks in narrative coherence, timing, dramaturgy and character development. In other words, it’s a boring affair. Of the three Elorrieta-directed films I’ve watched so far, Fuerte perdido is probably the best one. I already miss the Ro-Ma bros.