Borges Film – El muerto

El muerto/Cacique Bandeira
The Dead Man

1975, Argentina & Spain, 104 min.

Crew
Directed by Héctor Olivera.
Produced by Fernando Ayala and Luis Osvaldo Repetto.
Script by Héctor Olivera and Fernando Ayala, based on the story by Jorge Luis Borges.
Music by Ariel Ramirez.
Cinematography by Juan Carlos Desanzo.

Cast
Francisco Rabal — Azevedo Bandeira
Juan José Camero — Benjamín Otálora
Thelma Biral — The gringa O’railles
Antonio Iranzo — Ulpiano Suárez
José María Gutiérrrez — The Colonel

Synopsis

From the Spaghetti Western Database: Juan José Cameo is Benjamín Otálora, a young man who leaves Buenos Aires after murdering a rival. He goes to Montevideo where his cool boldness draws the attention of gang leader Azevedo Bandeira. When the old bandit becomes ill, Otálora makes a determined play to take his place. The younger man’s bold ambition is viewed cautiously by all of the henchmen of the old man and by his lover. Who will, in the end win?”

Comments

This film is based on “El muerto,” or “The Dead Man,” a short story Borges published in Sur in 1946 and collected in El Aleph. It tells the tale of Benjamín Otálora, a compadrito who joins a gang of Uruguayan outlaws lead by the caudillo Azevedo Bandeira. As Otálora grows increasingly more powerful, he hatches a plan to take control of the gang. In the end, Otálora realizes his successes have been nothing more than an elaborate trap, and is merely a “dead man.”

In 1975, Héctor Olivera and Fernando Ayala adapted “El muerto” into a feature film, shot in Uruguay in the style of a Spaghetti Western. A joint project with Spain’s Impala productions, the film was released in Spain as Cacique Bandeira.

I have yet to see El muerto, but contemporary reviews are not kind, referring to it as lackluster and unimaginative.

Additional Information

IMDB Page
The Internet Movie Database features a profile of El muerto. 

Wikipedia Page
Wikipedia hosts a brief page on El muerto. [Spanish]

Spaghetti Western Database
This enjoyable site features a small page on El muerto.

Author: Allen B. Ruch
Last Modified: 25 August 2024
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