Distinctive and somewhat discordant, the opening music is suitably twangy, whistly and boingy – all wonderfully spaghettiesque – so all bodes well… so far… 
A card game, with a few extra aces involved, violently introduces us to the untrustworthy partnership of our main protagonists – a phoney Mexican called Chapagua and ex yankee cavalryman Doc Harrison (George Ardisson).
Having acquired $100,000 in bars of confederate gold, which will be explained later in a flashback (but not found “at an old confederate fortress” as it says in the database synopsis), and with the civil war still in operation, our boys need to stash the loot.
This is the bit I like – they take it in turns to be blindfolded and lead each other down a canyon, full of blind turns and caves, to bury the gold – each one knowing only half of the journey and the rock formations that they’ve memorised.
After all this hokeyness, and later, with the war barely over, they meet up again to try to reclaim their bounty.
Joy of joy – Mr. Billy Black (my favourite bit-part spag-support, Ricky Boido) spur-jingley struts his way into town, black-clad and homo-erotically spoiling for trouble, and wanting to prove his alpha-maleness to his boys, he picks a fight with our 7th. Cavalryman. Now we know (but hope otherwise) where this is gonna go. I’ll say no more.
Hereabouts we meet our third protagonist, the beautifully femme-fatally, and somewhat world-wisey, Moira (Linda Veras). Besides treating Georgie-boy to a bath-time duet (albeit through a hotel wall), and with only us (as yet) to goggle her soapy legs, we realise that she is also a devious sort and has ambitions to buy up the town and possibly have a go on our hero (via another favourite minor player Piero Lulli - as the Yankee Major - whom she’s also stringing along).
I am compelled to say here, that Veras is by far and away the best actor amongst all these shenanigans and stereotypes. When she is later threatened in a potential rape scenario, she bluffs it out with acting that blows everything else away (no small feat as she’s competing against a fire-breathing mexi-bandit - I kid you not :o), in what is otherwise a traditionally what-we-would-expect-and-of-its-time-macho-stylee-spag.
Anyway – after a traditional spag-beating, and then being nursed back to health by Moira and a bottle of ether, Georgie-boy spills the beans and…
now it’s a full-on treasure hunt - to see who can pull both bits of the puzzle together first.
So… who will it be… Georgie-boy; the fake Mexican; the Major; Moira; or even the confederate or yankee army maybe? Or any combination of those mentioned?
Before we can find out, we are subjected to a wonderful bit of spag-mexi-trumpet-guitary stylee music - that I kid you not goes on for a full un-wonderful 6 minutes with not much happening, except mucho horse riding… but eventually, thankfully, we are led to the conclusion…
There’s been quite a lot of nastiness and double dealing. Everybody has proved themselves to be a cold-bloodied killer within this, and they all have their own greediness and lust for gold at heart…
So… what will it be?
A buddy movie twixt Georgie and Chapagua, or will all this untrustworthyness lead to more dodgy allegiances, or will spaghetti nihilism out.
I aint gonna spoil it for ya though.
So… the Rev’s review’s final conclusion is… it ain’t great; it’s confused; it’s hokey and poorly developed and doesn’t live up to it’s potential…
but – it has Linda Veras (and Boido) – and not only is she good to look at, :-* (as is he :P), she steals the show, Both of them, and the fake mexican, inject some subtle humour - which could be seen as a bit misguided in places - and hints at the film not quite knowing where to place itself. But, although it doesn’t quite know what to be, it certaintly isn’t overall a comedy (thankfully).
It’s a bit unthoughtout in parts, a bit lightweight - but it’s certainly worth a look. I’d like to see it again in a better format. Mine was a vid-rip. Is there a lovely version out there?
Half marks - rounded up for Veras and Boido - 3 stars.
