The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982)

The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez: Directed by Robert M. Young. With Edward James Olmos, James Gammon, Tom Bower, Bruce McGill. After he is accused of murdering a lawman in 1901 Texas, a Mexican-American farmer flees and manages to elude a large posse for two weeks before he is finally captured.

“This is a heartbreaking true story of a miscarriage of justice as well as an examination of racism and prejudice in early 1900u0026#39;s Texas. Edward James Olmos is outstanding in the title role and gives one of the finest performances in this underrated actoru0026#39;s career. The film also has a fine supporting cast of Western character actors headed by Bruce McGill as a reporter following the posse, James Gammon as a dedicated sheriff and Barry Corbin as the lawyer who takes up Cortezu0026#39; case. The prison, courtroom and post-trial scenes are emotionally powerful. This is a low budget effort which probably explains the poor lighting and sometimes shaky camera work, but this largely unknown and underrated gem deserves to be discovered for its fine acting and compelling story.”