Spaghetti Western Regrets

Town Hall
#1

Sorry if this has been done before. I have searched and I couldn’t find anything so please merge with another thread if it does already exist, but this is something I really wanted to ask.

As I said last week or the week before when talking about Poker With Pistols, while I do love this genre a lot, I do wish some things that occurred or didn’t occur were different. Some of them aren’t particularly realistic based on things I’ve read, but I still can’t help but wonder “what if?”. Some of my regrets are:

  1. Vari was never given at least a modest budget for his films from at least Poker with Pistols onwards.

  2. A Genius, Two Partners and A Dupe not being closer to it’s original intention of being a black comedy, (and a really good movie in general I suppose which it easily could have been).

  3. The fact that GBU has never been given the release it deserves in English, or I think any language outside of Italian.

  4. There was never a sequel to Blindman as originally planned.

  5. Santi, Rosetti and Merolle all made more than just one spaghetti each as I’ve recently mentioned.

  6. And Face to Face not having all the footage you can tell is missing.

I have a few more but these are the biggest and the ones that nag me a bit and I was really curious if any of you feel the same way about certain elements of the genre.

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#2

Eli Wallach should have starred Duck you sucker as originally planned.

Same thing with Kinski in Stranger Returns.

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#3

It’s a shame Clint turned down the idea of him, Wallach and Van Cleef being gunned down by Bronson in Once Upon a Time in the West.

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#4

Would like to see the scenes with Nicoletta Machiavelli … she’s credited but no-where to be seen :frowning:

#5

It’s a great idea, though to kill off those three characters means that ‘Harmonica’ is totally infallible, therefore bumping off ‘Frank’ is a piece of piss, and then there’s no drama or tension.

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#6

Never knew he was going to be in the film. Personally, though, I’m glad he didn’t take the role. Tuco is my favorite Spaghetti Western character and part of the reason why I love him so much is that he only appears in one film. Juan is a very similar character so I imagine we would’ve gotten a similar performance.

#7

Agree. I would also ad Dallamano to the list! Rossetti was offered to do Johnny Hamlet but turned it down since he didn’t think much of Andrea Giordana as a Western actor. Johnny Hamlet or not, it would’ve been very interesting to see what Rossetti would have put out to follow up The Dirty Outlaws…

#8

Whew, :dizzy_face: as an aspiring filmmaker and film buff there’s a lot of stuff as I’ve felt should’ve happened and didn’t. I’ll name a couple of the really good ones, as we’d be here for days if I named 'em all :wink:

Frank Wolff would’ve been great as Ramon Rojo in FoD

That Robert Woods didn’t get to work with other SW greats like Gianni Garko, George Hilton, Franco Nero, etc.

That Chuck Connors didn’t make more SWs

The genre’s planned revival in the mid 1970’s should’ve worked

There should’ve been more lady gunfighters like Garter Colt

Lincoln Tate should’ve started his SW career a couple of years earlier

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#9

He plays a rather similar role in Ace High.

Although I can see the appeal of it, I think Eastwood was wise opting not to be gunned down at the start of Once Upon a Time in the West.

It would have somewhat undermined the mythic persona he and Leone created, having him play one amongst a gang of Frank’s unsuccessful hired assasins. In the dollars trilogy, his lethal mercenary skills were always mysteriously allied with the good.

Besides, Strode, Elam and Mulock were iconic and mesmerising in the scene.

I too regret that A Genius, Two Partners and A Dupe didn’t fair better. I quite like the film, but production difficulties and lost film stock certainly took their toll on what might have been.

Would have liked to see Jack Palance in a Leone Western - or even crazier - Clint Walker.

Perhaps I shouldn’t say it, but I regret the casting of Bronson…

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#10

I really need to see more of those Hill and Spencer westerns, never watched Ace High.

I think I agree with you there. Once Upon a Time in the West is, in my opinion, the best western ever made but I think Eastwood’s character is the greatest hero of the genre.
I also didn’t mind Bronson, but I wouldn’t be terribly upset if he was played by another actor.

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#11

He basically does the same role in A Stranger in Town. That movie is a cheap rip off of FoD but I love it lol

#12

And another original casting idea gone wrong: Lou Castel should have played the role of Scott Mary in Day of Anger. I love Gemma but I think he is a miscast here.

#13

Yes I largely agree with that. I do like Steiger but I think Wallach would have been a lot better.

Yes I’m pretty sure we would. I wouldn’t have complained though.

I’ve never seen A Stranger Returns. I watched the first one and didn’t like it so never bothered with the sequels. Is it worth giving a go? Regardless I can definitely agree that missing out on Kinski is definitely an issue.

I agree with Cox that it’s hard to imagine anybody else in the role other than Bronson, I genuinely can’t see even Eastwood playing the character.

I genuinely never knew that was a thing. I think Damon was okay in Requiescant and A Bullet for the General, but I’m much happier Gemma finally got the role. Even though Scott is different to his usual characters, I still think he was well cast.

#14

I’ve watched Face to Face four times I think, and never knew or noticed that was a thing. That’s actually blown my mind a little bit.

That’s a very good point that I never thought of.

Yep you’re right…never thought of him.

I find it interesting to think what Rosetti would have done with Johnny Hamlet, I think it would have been much more like the ‘Corbucci west’ like TDO, but ultimately it is one of my favourites so I still think it turned out well being directed by Castellari.

:rofl: Yes definitely. Totally agree with your point on Woods as well… I somehow never noticed that.

#15

It’s a stretch of the imagination, and would have been very different, but I think the man with no name reappearing with his own revenge backstory could have worked well.

#16

How about Lee Van Cleef as the Hud in The Specialists?

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#17

I rate The Stranger Returns 8/10 with the music (slightly Morricone-feeling and with 3-4 different themes) and the mood (slightly early Leone-feeling) as the strongest parts. And I prefer the actual rather good looking actor playing the bad guy since I don’t like the appearance of Kinsky so much (but he was very good in The Great Silence).
But I also liked A Stranger In Town 7/10…

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#18

I think introducing Comedy into the movies killed the Genre that is a regret I believe everyone in the Industry has or at least the Actors that were making a good living in this genre

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#19

I saw that too, I forget if it was in the IMDb trivia of the film, the Wikipedia, or in one of the many good SW books. I believe the story went Van Cleef was pitching an idea about a wandering gunslinger getting caught up in a big scheme while figuring out why his brother was killed to various directors, writers, and producers. Purportedly there were serious talks between Van Cleef and Corbucci about getting the project off the ground, but somehow Van Cleef forgot about it, and Corbucci went ahead with the idea on his own.

I think Van Cleef could’ve pulled it off, it would’ve certainly been a different type of role for him.

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#20

I totally agree there. Had they gone for more tongue-n-cheek material, or lighthearted style material, the genre would’ve gone on much longer.

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