Aug. 14, 1964 - Opening today is “Behold a Pale Horse,” a drama directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Gregory Peck, Omar Sharif, and Anthony Quinn. The film is based on the 1961 novel “Killing a Mouse on Sunday” by Emeric Pressburger, which loosely details the life of the Spanish anarchist guerrilla Francesc Sabaté Llopart.
The film’s title refers to a verse from the Book of Revelation 6:8: “And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.”
In the film’s story, famous Spanish bandit Artiguez (Peck) returns to his native Spanish village after 20 years in French exile, but Spanish policeman Viñolas (Quinn) sets a trap for him.
Filming began on June 13, 1963, and continued for more than 100 days, running nearly a month over schedule. After Columbia previewed the film for American audiences, the studio added an introductory sequence to provide background relating to the Spanish Civil War; clips from the documentary “To Die in Madrid” were interspersed with dialogue explaining the conflict.
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