After deliberately avoiding Lola Colt. Faccia a faccia con El Diablo for a long time – leery of musicals in general and Western musicals in particular – I’ve only recently watched it because Lee Broughton discusses it at length in The Euro-Western. True, from an academic viewpoint Siro Marcellini’s film is an outstanding Western, featuring Lola Falana as a self-assured, strong black protagonist acting on her own authority, years before American Westerns – and Hollywood in general – would allot such a leading role to an African-American actress. On the downside, Lola Colt tells a simplistic story – villainous autocrat versus oppressed townsfolk – employing modest filmic means: hence its entertainment value might not bear comparison with its film-historical and sociocultural value. Reportedly, scenes depicting interracial romantic interaction were cut from the English version:
An interracial romance between Lola and Martell, as well as a kiss between Lola and El Diablo appear to have been scrubbed from the English language version.
Those omissions would be indicative of Lola Colt’s transgressiveness.