Set during the Mexican Revolution, a man only known as “The Dutchman” devises a scheme and enlists the assistance of four old acquaintances, including an old army comrade and a silent Japanese swordsman, by offering a $1000 prize if it works.
The Five Man Army is a 1969 Zapata Western film set during the Mexican Revolution.
The Five Man Army Movie trailer
Plot
Mexican rebels hire the “Dutchman” to rob a train carrying $500,000 in gold on behalf of Victoriano Huerta to finance the Mexican Revolution. The Dutchman enlists four other men to assist him: Mesito, a strong man, Luis, a circus acrobat turned outlaw, Augustus, a former army officer and explosives specialist, and a samurai warrior (only referred to only as Samurai), promising to pay each one a thousand dollars. Immediately after they assemble, their first undertaking is to save the rebel leader who hired them from being executed. After thwarting the execution and causing a riot in the village, the five men are forced to flee, along with all the civilians, in order to prevent reprisals. Nevertheless, some soldiers still manage to find the men and bring them to the local Mexican Army commandant.
They manage to escape, killing the soldiers and dynamiting the fort’s magazine. They are tracked by a large group of soldiers and are likely to be captured when they come upon a small group of rebels, who are there to cover the Five Man Army’s escape. The Dutchman and the rebels all know they will be unable to stop the soldiers, but the rebels are willing to sacrifice themselves for the Five, emphasizing the importance of the Five’s mission. The train carrying the gold is heavily defended by a cannon, machine guns, and dozens of soldiers. The Dutchman’s plan is to uncouple the car carrying the gold from the rest of the train without stopping it. The difficult robbery succeeds, despite Samurai falling off the train and Augustus dropping a key piece of equipment. When the Five return to their hideout conflict arises amongst them. Luis, Augustus, Mesito, and Samurai had all assumed they were going to take the gold for themselves, but the Dutchman is set on keeping his promise to the rebels. He disarms the other four and explains to them that his wife had been executed by soldiers since other members of her family were rebels.
The Dutchman is about to leave with the gold, but he is stopped by the arrival of many soldiers. He has no choice but to rearm the other four, who are able to ambush and quickly kill all of the soldiers. Now armed again, Augustus, Mesito, and Samurai attempt to take the gold from the Dutchman. They are stopped at gunpoint by Luis, who has decided that he will join the Revolution. At this point, hundreds of rebels arrive to retrieve their gold. They treat the Five Man Army like heroes, and it is implied that Augustus, Mesito, and Samurai have chosen to join the rebels as well. [wiki]
Images from the movie The Five Man Army
