Behold a Pale Horse (1964): Zinnemann’s Political Melodrama of Spanish Civil War, Starring Gregory Peck

Fred Zinnemann’s Behold a Pale Horse, a Spanish Civil War drama, is loosely based on the life of Spanish anarchist guerrilla, Francesc Sabate Llopart.

Grade: C+ (** out of *****)

Behold a Pale Horse
Original theatrical poster

Adapted from the novel by Emeric Pressburger (who’s better known as a director), “Killing a Mouse on Sunday,” the movie stars Gregory Peck as Manuel Artiguez, an aging, stubbornly committed war veteran, who continues to wage a one-man offensive, decades after the hostilities had officially ceased.

Exiled to France, Artiguez is lured back to Spain by a vengeful police officer, Captain Vinolas (Anthony Quinn).

Father Francisco (Omar Sharif) advises him that he’s tricked, but Peck is determined to return to Spain to bid farewell to his dying mother (Mildred Dunnock).

Halfway through, the film bogs down into ponderous preachifying and moralizing, but overall the film is worth a glance.

In 1966, Behold a Pale Horse was scheduled to be telecast on a major network, but it was cancelled at the last minute, at the request of the Spanish government.