The Professionals is a 1966 American western starring Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, Woody Strode, and Claudia Cardinale. The supporting cast includes Jack Palance and Ralph Bellamy and the film was written and directed by Richard Brooks, whose screenplay was based upon the novel A Mule for the Marquesa by Frank O'Rourke. However, once they get across the border they discover that all is not at it seems to be.