Smoke & Territory · 1971 · Classic
Mask Versus Mask
El Halcón vs. The Red Phantom
Sportatorium, Houston
The loser unmasks. That is the whole contract. Halcón, silver hawk, against a crimson phantom who has never shown his face north of the border. The building is too small for the noise it makes.
Program notes
Territory houses understood this match the way opera houses understand a duel. No one talks during the finish. The vault holds the color print; the unmasking still has no surviving close-up.
- El Halcón
- The Red Phantom
House historian
A late-night call of this film — why it played then, and why it still plays for whoever is on the couch.
