#10 Salvi: Wanted Johnny Texas
-This was quite a random pick from shelf. Film that has some good music, nice different kind of role for Fernando Sancho and most notably Monica Brugger as a female lead looking stunning. Too bad the film is otherwise complete turkey, especially the sets are the most cheap looking I’ve seen in any sw. 4/10
6 Likes
DAY 11
Kicking off the second third of SpagvemberFest by drawing no.17 out of my tub, and that means quirky, weird, almost anachronistic late-cycle spag Four of the Apocalypse (Fulci, 1975) which at one time I absolutely couldn’t stand but which kind-of lodged itself into my mind until I developed a respect for it which briefly bordered on becoming a fixation. Still, I haven’t seen it in some time which is why it’s on my list this year. It needs another runout.
Tomas Milian’s strange Charles Manson-like character is woefully underused in this one, so much so that, every time I sit down to watch it, part of me hopes that the laws of time and space will bend to my will somehow and that he’ll be in the movie a lot more this time. Silly. Still, maybe this time.
8 Likes
For me 4 of the apocalypse has risen from mediocre curiosity to my top 10 favorite over the years. I just love this movie.
3 Likes
Spagvember Fest Day 11
Dos Hombres van a Morir
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Dos_hombres_van_a_morir
Rewatch. Pure fun B level filmmaking at its finest. Doesn’t add anything new or different to the table, but is well executed in plot and camera work.
Peter Martell was quite good as the hero of the film, he definitely had the potential to go far, but unfortunately life had other ideas. The standouts for me were Piero Lulli and Armando Calvo. Lulli got another rare chance to play a good guy character and doesn’t disappoint aas the witty undercover Pinkerton agent. Calvo is a great slimy bastard as Bloody Bill Anderson, the Gorilla Fighter turned ruthless outlaw.
A nice little factoid for any history buffs out there: there really was a Bloody Bill Anderson, but he was famous as a member of the Quantrill Raiders who infamously burned down Lawrence, Kansas during the Civil War. He later murdered Quantrill and took his place as leader, but was killed not longer after himself after a raid in Richmond, Missouri, so was already dead when this film takes place.
The Koch DVD I have has good audio and picture quality.
5 Likes
DAY 12:
Monta in sella, figlio di…! (1972) - Director: Tonino Ricci - 5/10
This having been made as late as 1972 and having been directed by Tonino Ricci would lead one to believe this is likely to turn out a turkey, but such is not the case. As a matter of fact, this one is not bad at all and has a decent story to boot; its primary strength dwells in its adequately delineated characters and the fact that it keeps comedy within reasonable limits, thus, at no point does it get too zany or devolve into an orgy of slapsticks like many a flick would at that period of time.
The directing by Ricci is surprisingly good for somebody with such a bad reputation; that is not to say it is anything exceptional, but the action is handled reasonably well and the slightly leisurely pacing tallies with the disposition of the narrative. This is nothing along the lines of genre’s greatest entries, but it works great as a solid mid-tier outing and I am happy to report that this is definitely no disaster. This one genuinely deserves a proper release. If fucking Django’s Cut Price Corpses can get a spanking new release, so can this little flick.
8 Likes
Day 12
Ride For a Massacre (1967)
Dove si spara di più - The Spaghetti Western Database (spaghetti-western.net)
I felt like a re-watch this morning so I went with a little PLL. Loosely based on Romeo and Juliet this is one of the more under-appreciated films in the genre. What is truly memorable about this one is the completely bizarre, out of nowhere, off the wall final scene which I absolutely love.
9 Likes
Spagvemberfest 2022
Day 11
Captain Apache (Singer / 1971)
Something else undemanding was required as this bloody flu kicked in further and apart from trying to make head or tail of the plot most of the way through this one fit the bill. And then the closing credits came and he started to sing…Oh my Lord. I’d almost forgotten the horror.
6 Likes
DAY 12
My Draw at Sundown tonight produced no.28, and that means the acrobatic, high flipping antics of Sabata (Parolini, 1969), in which everybody whom LVC shoots leaps in the air like a Chinook salmon before attempting a triple somersault with a twist. Fancy! Good job Sabata is a generally fun affair or that might start to become irritating.
8 Likes
Spagvemberfest 2022
Day 12
The Grand Duel (Santi / 1972)
Something better from the LVC canon today and looking superb on the Arrow Bluray. Great theme music lifts this one even further and Horst Frank always adds to any party. Definitely better than the past couple
10 Likes
Day 12 - Dynamite Jim (1966)
Another Balcazar film with a similar cast to “Hands of Steel”, sadly this one is the lesser film. Despite the casting of Rosalba Neri and a nice (and ridiculous) opening song, this film is too light and goofy. However there are still several nice scenes which still make this movie bearable.
6 Likes
Spagvember Fest Day 12
El Sabor de la Venganza / I Tre Spietati
First time watch. For an early SW focusing a little more on the Randolph Scott style of Westerns, this was pretty good actually. The ending is quite lackluster, but for the most part I had a good time with the film.
Richard Harrison once again does a solid job in the lead role. While I prefer my SW leads a little more on the morally ambiguous side, Harrison gives enough complexity that he’s not too clean cut. Robert Hundar was also excellent as the bitter hate filled brother of Harrison, roles which I wish he had gotten more of. It was equally refreshing to see Fernando Sancho playing a good guy. He provides a nice amount of humor to balance the action and drama.
Herr Bruckner and his company Explosive Media do another fine job on this release, the Italian audio nice and crisp, and the picture quality was good for the most part though age was more apparent on this film’s print than the others.
7 Likes
Day 12
Los siete de Pancho Villa
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Siete_de_Pancho_Villa,_Los
Third night with a José María Elorrieta’s western. Once again recycling the same locations. Although it’s a quite different story this time. Zapata style. Slow paced. It’s alright.
6 Likes
DAY 13:
Il mio nome è Scopone e faccio sempre cappotto (1972) - Director: Juan Bosch - 3/10
Apart from featuring probably one of the most outlandish as well as synth-heavy soundtracks in the history of the genre, the flick recounts yet another tale revolving around a disputed mine and the crucible emanating from the fact that pretty much everybody wants to lay their hands on that wealth, including our stone-faced pistolero Stiffen. Albeit not nearly as funny as it is intended to be, the film boasts high-spirited Fernando Sancho who exuberantly shows off his fat ass and essays to invigorate the otherwise middling content in any way he can.
This is no masterpiece obviously and the comedy does not work all that much, but it looks like a movie more or less in virtue of its good production values and good cast; considering the latter factor though, this should have been much better and much more amusing. Nevertheless, this one is not too bad. Yeah, it’s still pretty bad, but not that bad in my view and you get to see Sancho’s ass which is a plus I guess? I must say I am rather puzzled by Bosch’s apparent fascination with Sancho’s derrière and by the number of times he is molested in the course of this film.
7 Likes
Day 13
Four Gunmen of the Holy Trinity (1971)
Quattro pistoleri di Santa Trinitá, I - The Spaghetti Western Database (spaghetti-western.net)
Peter Lee Lawrence stole Steve McQueen’s rifle! Every time PLL used his gun, I kept flashing back to old re-reruns of Wanted Dead or Alive and numerous other westerns where this sawed off rifle gimmick was used. This makes my second spaghetti for the fest, along with Stagecoach of the Condemned, that spends a great deal of time in one indoor location. Maybe in honor of @Dean I should also give Shoot the Living, Pray for the Dead a re-watch. 
I can’t say that this is one of my PLL favorites. It is just okay.
7 Likes
You speak sense. I like sense.
2 Likes
It’s Fidani time!
#11 Fidani: Django & Sartana -Showdown in the West
-One of Fidani’s best/worst -depending how you look at it. It’s a turkey for sure but a fun one. 6/10
5 Likes
Day 10 The Deserter
Day 11 Find a place to die
Day 12 Grand Duel
8 Likes
Day 9 - The Return of Ringo
Superb movie by any standards. Morricone’s soundtrack is full of emotion. Arrow delivers a stunning Blu-ray with an awesome audio commentary.
Day 10 - Sugar Colt
Much better than that I thought–comedic but not a comedy. Think “A Pistol for Ringo”. The Koch DVD is pretty good.
Day 11 - Find a Place to Die
Average western following a group of gunfighters hired by a woman who wants to rescue her trapped husband. VCI entertainment’s non-anamorphic DVD is very much a scratchy VHS.
Day 12 - A Pistol for Ringo
Also a great film, though not the mini-masterpiece that it’s “sequel” would turn out to be. Beautiful Arrow blu with another great audio commentary.
6 Likes
DAY 13
Ooh, I’m weirdly excited for this one! My girl grew no.9 today, which on my list is The Deserter (Kennedy, 1970), a movie I think I’ve only seen twice and, both times, I’ve thought it was a pretty bloody good film, but which keeps finding itself bumped back down my list of favourite westerns by other, showier titles receiving sexy new blu-ray presentations and such.
I shall be watching tonight courtesy of the crappy-but-dependable, good old Spaghetti Western 44 Movie Collection from Mill Creek. After I’ve spent an hour locating the movie in the bloody set, of course! Stupid double-sided discs with teeny-tiny writing in the middle of them which I’d struggle to see even if I was using an electron tunnelling microscope mumble grumble etc…
6 Likes