Allegri becchini… arriva Trinità (1973) - Director: Ferdinando Merighi - 2/10.
While I do have a soft spot for these sleazy sandpit oaters, the work at hand does not really deliver much in terms of action or original ideas: although the latter is not very surprising, the former aspect is more problematic in that the lackluster development of the storyline combined with film’s overreliance on its seedy Cave Studios interiors comes to exert a dashing impact on the already tenuous composition. Most of the time, the characters simply loaf around the seamy sets, blabbering about peripheral things, which usually culminates in fisticuffs, presumably to gloss over this thoroughgoing aimlessness; whenever the action takes place in the open, the fisticuffs and pointless dialogues are displaced by horse riding filler, staying true to the convention of these productions.
The narrative turns out immensely protracted and languid and this is not redressed by the inexplicably inane situations which arise in the course of some scenes, though their ineptitude may occasion a chuckle or two given how uncalled for and absurd they are. Dino Strano seems reconciled to the inevitably abject nature of the project and thus, goes along with the overarching preposterousness, hamming it up a lot more than usual. In a lot of ways, the movie is reminiscent of Fidani’s Giù la testa… hombre in that apart from maxxing out the stupidity, it displays the same degree of technical deficiency and cheapness whilst still forbearing descending onto genre’s lowest stratum inhabited by Crea and the likes; the deviants seeking out these Z-grade productions may cherish film’s unabashed squalor and its grimy, earthy, auburn appearance, as these flicks admittedly have their own distinct charm, look and feel to them, though there is no denying too much of it simply turns out feckless and monotonous.
Un uomo chiamato Dakota (1971) - Director: Mario Sabatini - 4/10.
All in all, it is somewhat tough to piece the narrative together inasmuch as large chunks of the movie seem to be missing, though on the whole, the motion picture does not really seem all that bad and the remaining bits offer some promise. With that being said, there is no disguising the fact that the flick belongs to the earlier stages of the genre’s development in that it blends some nasty violence with the rather formulaic, corny storyline relating the vicissitudes of the townsfolk grappling with the surge of violence inflicted by Gordon Mitchell and his henchmen. There is an undercover federal agent trying to get to the bottom of things which results in some tedious exchanges and tepid drama.
The movie considerably picks up in the second half the moment it desists from the lackluster dramatics and proceeds to pivot around the carnage and havoc wreaked by Mitchell and his men. The central role furnishes Mitchell with an opportunity to act which he does not fritter away, though his performance does not really coruscate and does not really diverge from what he customarily turns in, with that being said, he makes for a compelling enough antagonist. All things considered, there is nothing out of the ordinary here and a large portion of it may very well qualify as pedestrian, especially what with the rather middling direction, nevertheless, I believe some viewers could still get their kicks from the flick providing that it were presented in a properly restored version in the first place.