Otero Junior College Chinook

Majestyk Times

Hear the name La Junta, and the Spanish phrase “The Junction;” may come to mind; however, La Junta was once dubbed “Edna”–as it was in a 1973 Hollywood film “Mr. Majestyk.” This well know film portrays our home town of La Junta as well as the towns of Canyon City and Manzanola. The filming began on September 17th 1973, and ended on October 18th, 1973. The township of La Junta was only mentioned once during the film–otherwise our junction was only known as Edna. The cast and crew stayed at the Capri Hotel which is now the La Junta Suite Inn. This coming fall will mark the thirty–fifth anniversary of the filming–a majestic time in our town.

The film’s plot is that of a melon farmer, Vince Majestyk, whose friend Larry Mendoza, has hired a bus load of migrant field workers, and agreed to transport them to the melon farmer’s field. When they arrive at his 160 acre field, they discover that a different group of white migrant workers has taken their place. Enter one of the bad guys: Bobby Kopas, who tries to manipulate Majestyk into buying out his crew for more money. Threats begin to fly and eventually Majestyk lands in jail. While in jail, a little foreshadowing occurs when a relatively flat character, an inmate, forewarns Majestyk about a mafia hit-man, Frank Renda, who resides in the same prison. While the inmates are being transferred to another jail, some members of Renda’s gang try to help him escape. Initially, the attempt is foiled; but later, Renda breaks out only to be recaptured by Majestyk who kidnaps him—and takes him to a remote hunting cabin. Renda tries to get away, but Majestyk handcuffs him to the bed all the while Renda manipulating Majestyk into a $25,000 crop pay-off. Ultimately Majestyk denies his bribe; and eventually all the bad guys are killed, with the exception of Wiley and Bobby Kopas. Renda meets his death at a mountain lodge, in Canyon City, Where Majestyk dramatically leaps through a ground level lodge window and slaughters Renda with a shot gun. However, before Renda and his bad crew are they managed to destroy Majestyk’s 160 acres of melon crop; annihilating thousands of these fruits of his labor with pistols and machine guns. This scene was shot in a back shed behind Bauserman Farm Market. The film’s theme deals with the issues of racism. Around the time the film was shot, the United …