I did some research and compiled a small list of almost unknown westerns, not available in English. There’s no discussion topic on any of these, as far as I can tell. I assume that part of the reason for their obscurity is the lack of an English version. Or maybe they were considered failures and not worth releasing in English?
Anyway, feel free to comment. I’d like to know your thoughts on these titles. Did you see any of them? Is there something on that list that’s worth hunting down? Are there any more obscure non-English titles you’d wish to add?
Alberto De Martino (1965) Heroes of Fort Worth = Eroi di Fort Worth, Gli
Alfonso Balcázar (1965) Man from Canyon City = L’ Uomo che viene da Canyon City
Alfonso Balcázar (1966) The Man Who Came to Kill = Uomo dalla pistola d’oro, L’
Gianfranco Baldanello (1972) Colt in the Hand of the Devil = Colt in mano del diavolo
Giovanni Narzisi (1969) Djurado
Ignacio F. Iquino (1967) 5 dollars for Ringo = Cinco pistolas de Texas
José María Elorrieta (1965) Massacre at Fort Grant = Fuerte perdido
José María Elorrieta (1975) If You Shoot… You Live! = Si quieres vivir… dispara
Juan Xiol (1966) Seven Pistols for a Gringo = Río maldito (Spanish)
Paolo Bianchini (1971) Hey Amigo! A Toast to Your Death = Ehi amigo… sei morto!
Rafael Romero Marchent (1981) Lobo negro, El
Romolo Guerrieri (1966) 7 Guns for Timothy = Sette magnifiche pistole
(btw I took the liberty to copy these titles from a list found elsewhere)
That one made its way to the Danish cinemas at the time. Can’t imagine it being shown in anything but an English language version so a dub must have existed for that one.
[quote=“Durango, post:1, topic:1733”]Are there any more obscure non-English titles you’d wish to add?[/quote]I think Mauri’s Spirito Santo films were never released in english.
Do you propose that an English language version was shown at Italian cinemas at the time? Italians have always had a very strong dubbing culture so not making an Italian language track to an Italian film sounds very, very strange.
There are dozens of more western not released or at least available in English. Almost all Italian/Spanish westersns from 50s and very early 60s, all but one films by Ramon Torrado, 70s regional release stuff, 80s Spanish no-budget westerns…
I’m not saying it hasn’t been made in Italian. It is after all an Italian film. But I find it strange that I never encountered an Italian language version of the film, not even a vhs.
You are all right, of course. However, let me clear up things a bit. I’m not looking for a complete overview of what’s not out in English. I’m not interested in pre-1964 westerns or comedy westerns.
And let me reiterate that I’m looking at movies that are both obscure AND not in English, not movies like O’Cangaceiro or Johnny Hamlet which are well-known and out on DVD.
I’m aiming at a small list of titles that are somewhat intruiging, because they have some familiar actors in the cast, a well-known director that made at least one good spaghetti, things like that. I just thought it would be a good idea to share some opinions on them, and maybe see if we can shed some light on them.
At least a couple of the ones I mentioned were dubbed in English (Hey Amigo, Man from Canyon City, and apparantly The Man Who Came To Kill and 7 Pistols for Timothy too), but these dubs are currently not available to the general public.
As to the availability of Italian dubs to the Italians themselves. Apparantly they too can have difficulty finding their own productions in Italian. I saw an Italian TV version of Lenzi’s Desert Commandos, dubbed in English, with Italian subtitles
This topic reminds of “post-1977 spaghettis” topic where every second western got rejected from the list because someone thought that they were not “proper” spaghetti westerns. With all these restrictions (no pre-1964 westerns, no comedies, no films available in Italian w/ English subs, no films that are not “somewhat intruiging”) the list isn’t going to make any sense, at least not to me. What makes R.B. Montero’s Arriva Durango, paga o muori an interesting film (which, btw, is called “Here’s Django, Pay Or Die!” in English… I think the Durango title is just a literal translation.) It’s worthless and boring low-budget effort with Brad Harris and Jose Torres as it’s biggest “stars”. See my point? No offense, I just don’t see the point in making a list and then leaving a big number of films out.
@ Bad Lieutenant: Ok, I misunderstood you. I think there is a good number of SWs available in English but not in Italian. Kult Video for example often sells English dubbed VHS & DVDs of Italian films since no Italian dubbed version has ever been released. SWs only shown from Italian TV are another thing. For example, no tape exists of Hey amigo, sei morto! as far as I know. Or any of Mauri’s Spirito Santo films.
Ok, can only speak for myself in regards of the post-1977 list (as it was me who did it), it´s in many way a pure completist thing. I´m interested in all the italian/spanish westerns (good or boring), but want to limit it to that and not all the White fang flicks, films made by Brittish and French directors, films taking place in South America, films imitating Indiana Jones etc. Why? Because, to me, these are just not (spaghetti) westerns (they might very well be good films and worth watching anyway though!).
Speaking of this topic, to me personally a list with spaghettis not released officially in English dub or sub on dvd/vhs would be very interesting. Some time ago i started collecting German tapes of the spaghettis i thought did not exist in English, but sometimes it was hard to tell if it was worth grabbing or not…
Could also be interesting with a list with those where English prints exists as dvdrs but not officially released. Can´t be off much help myslef, but i do like lists…
No offense taken. And I don’t see your point, so we just happen to differ on this subject. I win, because it’s my topic and I stand by my previous attempts at limiting the possible titles, exactly because we could sum up hundreds of titles otherwise. I still think most of the people on the board aren’t all that interested in 1950s b&w spanish westerns or Franco & Ciccio westerns etc. I’d rather talk about a Guerrieri or Bianchini western.
I don’t mind people coming up with other specific titles. By all means, that was part of the intention when starting this topic. And what intrigues me may be not interesting to you or someone else at all, or vice versa. But don’t change the entire setup. If you disagree, that’s fine but you could just decide not to post here then, or start your own topic, or whatever
You describe Arriva Durango as ‘worthless and boring’. I have never seen this film so I can’t comment. That’s exactly the reason why I chose to include it. Now, at least I know that not everyone thinks it’s worthwhile.
And yes, I do want to leave out films available with English subs. Those can be understood by everyone who understands English, even though we may prefer a dub.
Indeed. There are three, I believe. None of them in English. I think I saw the first one. I remember it had its moments, but it was surely a low-budget affair throughout, and not very inspired filmmaking.
Then again, maybe with these low-budget, obscure movies it’s even more important to view them in English in order to get more involved in the story.
Hey Amigo Rest In Peace has an English audio.A solid SW entry worth locating.
All the rest of the titles I’ve seen in Italian,Spanish,German & French audio all
good SW films.Though I didn’t think El Lobo Negro is a SW,more of an adventure film set in the West.
The best chance of any English would be via the subbers who have
been working on Euro Crime & Giallos over the past 18 months.Wrath Of God though
has surfaced with a subs.A top 50 SW.Yankee has had an English audio now while
this is a top 25 SW.
and I stand by my previous attempts at limiting the possible titles, exactly because we could sum up hundreds of titles otherwise. I still think most of the people on the board aren’t all that interested in 1950s b&w spanish westerns or Franco & Ciccio westerns etc. I’d rather talk about a Guerrieri or Bianchini western.