@Admin has a post up under the “Exploitation Films” topic that links to it. 
https://www.grindhousedatabase.com/index.php/Deucember
No throat jumping from me. 
3 Likes
Ah, I see. Cheers, Lanky.
3 Likes
it’s the exploitation fan’s spagvemberfest 
like the kurosawa-nerd’s Japanuary. Or the horror geek’s Shocktober
2 Likes
Spagvemberfest 2023
Number 29
Turn…I’ll Kill You (Brescia / 1967)
Standard spaghetti stuff but all the better for it. Soundtrack lifted from various other westerns gives a hint to this one’s budget but Wyler is fine in the lead and Fernando Sancho doing his schtick makes the whole thing worthwhile. He has all the best moments and top of the list is his quip to a young lad he has just murdered along with his father. “You wouldn’t have liked being an orphan anyway!” Brilliant stuff.
8 Likes
Great stuff , Grinder 
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.
10 Likes
I have yet to watch one more, I will post the last review and the summary tomorrow.
you’re playing a dangerous game there, micks
3 Likes
5: Per un pugno di dollari (1964)
4: Per qualche dollaro in più (1965)
3: Giù la testa (1971)
2: Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo (1966)
1: C’era una volta il West (1968)
Sergio Leone’s five Westerns are my favorite Italian Westerns, they are among my favorite Westerns in general, and two of them – C’era una volta il West, Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo – are certainly among my fifty favorite films. I’ve watched them many, many times – in cinemas and living rooms, in kitchens and garages, on TV and VHS, on DVD and Blu-ray. They’ve stayed with me since I was a teenager. The only and of course last Leone film I saw during its original theatrical run was Once Upon a Time in America in 1984. I already knew and loved his Westerns, and I can still remember my excitement and my delight after having watched the film. I was fifteen years old, thought Once Upon a Time in America was stunning – and, needless to say, fell madly in love with Jennifer Connelly.
Forty years later, I’m no longer in love with Jennifer, but I’m still in love with Leone’s films, which have become the subject of countless academic and popular publications. Thanks to his excellent work, Christopher Frayling has managed to practically monopolize “Searcho Leoni.” Today, when you think of Leone, you think of Frayling. I would like to point out a small, little-noticed publication that is well worth reading: Christian Uva’s Sergio Leone: Cinema as Political Fable, published in English by Oxford University Press in 2020.
This year’s Fest was great, I had a blast reading all the comments and reviews and rewatching my thirty favorite Spaghetti Westerns (okay, to be honest, I didn’t manage to watch them all). To conclude, here’s a famous quotation from a conversation between Burt Kennedy and John Ford from the year 1968 (taken from Gerald Peary [ed.], John Ford: Interviews, Jackson/MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2001, p. 119).
KENNEDY: Have you seen any of these Spanish or Italian Westerns?
FORD: You’re kidding!KENNEDY: No, they have them, and a few have been popular.
FORD: What are they like?KENNEDY: No story, no scenes. Just killing—fifty or sixty killings per picture.
11 Likes
Thank You @Mickey13 ! Thanks to your exquisite reviews of the sleazy sandpit outers and flicks of the genre’s lowest stratum etc, I know now what I want for Xmas present from my wife - a new and more complete English-Swedish dictionary, since my old one has become completely worn out the last month
5 Likes
Time to recap the exciting and interesting mix of films this Fest
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Da Uomo a Uomo (1967) Dir. Giulio Petroni **** 1/2 out of *****
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Una Bara per lo Sceriffo (1965) Dir. Mario Caiano **** out of *****
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Sette Pistole per i MacGregor (1966) Dir. Franco Giraldi *** 1/2 out of *****
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All’Ultimo Sangue (1968) Dir. Paolo Moffa (as John Byrd) *** out of *****
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Duello nel Texas (1963) Dir. Ricardo Blasco (as Richard Blasco) *** out of *****
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Corri Uomo Corri (1968) Dir. Sergio Sollima **** out of *****
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Arizona Colt (1966) Dir. Michele Lupo **** out of *****
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Per il Gusto di Uccidere (1966) Dir. Tonino Valerii **** 1/2 out of *****
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Dove si Spara di Piu (1967) Gianni Puccini) **** 1/2 out of *****
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Johnny Hamlet (1968) Dir. Enzo G. Castellari ***** out of *****
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I Lunghi Giorni della Vendetta (1966) Dir. Florestano Vancini (as Stan Vance) **** 1/2 out of *****
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Gentleman Joe… Uccidi (1967) Dir. Giorgio Stegani (as George Finley) **** out of *****
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Uomo Avvisato Mezzo Ammazzato… Parola di Spirito Santo (1972) Dir. Giuliano Carnimeo (as Anthony Ascot) *** out of *****
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Jesse & Lester (1972) Dirs. Richard Harrison and Renzo Genta (both as James London *** 1/2 out of *****
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Blindman (1971) Dir. Ferdinando Baldi **** out of *****
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Pecos e Qui: Prega e Muori (1967) Dir. Maurizio Lucidi **** out of *****
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Joe… Cercati un Posto di Morire (1968) Dir. Giuliano Carnimeo (as A. Ascott) **** out of *****
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Matalo! (1970) Dir. Cesare Canevari **** out of *****
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Thompson 1880 (1966) Dir. Guido Zurli *** 1/2 out of *****
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Su le Mani Cadavere! Sei in Arresto (1971) Dir. Sergio Bergonzelli **** out of *****
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Il Mio Nome e Shanghai Joe (1973) Dir. Mario Caiano *** 1/2 out of *****
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La Morte Non Conta i Dollari (1967) Dir. Riccardo Freda (as George Lincoln) **** out of *****
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Una Pistola per Ringo (1965) Dir. Duccio Tessari ***** out of *****
9 Likes
Day 30: Matalo! (1970) D-Cesare Canevari. Starring Corrado Pani, Lou Castel, Claudia Gravy Antonio Salines, and Luis Davila. I have been wanting to watch this one, but never had a chance.
Being a fan of all things psychedelic, I became more interested when I learned that ‘Matalo’ is an acid spaghetti western. I thoroughly enjoyed the hallucinatory cinematography, and felt at times like I was under the influence of shrooms or acid.
It kind of reminded me of the motorcycle gang/outlaw movies that were big at the time. Bart (Pani), Theo/Ted (Salines), Phil (Davila) and Mary (Gravy) come across a Manson family of sorts. And it was a delightfu surprise to see Lou Castel in paisley.
Rating: 4/5
12 Likes
Vamos a matar Sartana (1971) - Directors: Mario Pinzauti, George Martin - 2/10.
This one is genuinely tough to sit through not only by reason of the paltry execution, but also in virtue of the fact that a large portion of the narrative is dedicated to the leisurely trek on foot through the mountains, so we do not even get the usual serving of horseriding with a bit of gunplay; the viewer is forced to watch Chris Huerta make an utter fool out of himself (again) and Mitchell wincing while killing mosquitos and throwing tantrums en route and well, there is not much else here to take interest in here, the movie basically reels from one half-baked scene to another and that is pretty much it. It it entirely conceivable this could have turned out legitimately solid had it been helmed by a more adept director capable of infusing the yarn with suspense and psychological tension.
Nevertheless, the end result is completely removed from any considerations of this sort. The flick is terminally vitiated by the scroungy montage, which despoils the narration of its focus, and by its cheapjack camerawork, which breaks the 180-degree rule among other things, all of which is further exacerbated by the incompetent direction, the lazy writing and the sluggish pacing compounding the said shortcomings threefold. At the end of the day though, film’s biggest drawback consists in the fact that a large chunk of the narrative basically boils down to the characters gallivanting through the countryside with little to no variation in the way the story unfolds which accounts for as many as forty minutes of the whole running time, making the outing remarkably wearisome to follow. Do yourself a favor, do not try to be original and if it is the cheap stuff you are after, simply pick a Fidani or Mauri oater instead of this useless, otiose piece of garbage, it is really no good, being obscure for a very good reason.
8 Likes
Seminò morte… lo chiamavano il castigo di Dio (1972) - Director: Roberto Mauri - 3/10
E alla fine lo chiamarono Jerusalem l’implacabile (1972) - Director: Antonio Secchi - 2/10.
Uno, dos, tres… dispara otra vez (1973) - Director: Tulio Demicheli - 6/10.
Una pistola per cento croci (1971) - Director: Carlo Croccolo - 3/10.
El Rojo (1966) - Director: Leopoldo Savona - 4/10 → 5/10 - A re-watch. I had forgotten about having seen that one.
Una colt in pugno al diavolo (1967) - Director: Sergio Bergonzelli - 5/10.
Dos hombres van a morir (1968) - Director: Rafael Romero Marchent - 6/10.
Buckaroo (1967) - Director: Adelchi Bianchi - 3/10.
Ocaso de un pistolero (1965) - Director: Rafael Romero Marchent - 6/10.
L’uomo dalla pistola d’oro (1965) - Director: Alfonso Balcázar - 7/10.
Carambola, filotto… tutti in buca (1975) - Director: Ferdinando Baldi - 2/10.
Djurado (1966) - Director: Giovanni Narzisi - 2/10.
Uccideva a freddo (1966) - Director: Guido Celano - 5/10.
Tutti fratelli nel West… per parte di padre (1972) - Director: Sergio Grieco - 3/10.
Sapevano solo uccidere (1968) - Director: Tanio Boccia - 4/10.
I senza Dio (1972) - Director: Roberto Bianchi Montero - 6/10.
Così sia (1972) - Director: Alfio Caltabiano - 2/10.
Sangue chiama sangue (1968) - Director: Luigi Capuano - 3/10.
Reverendo Colt (1970) - Director: Marino Girolami - 3/10.
Anche nel West c’era una volta Dio (1968) - Director: Marino Girolami - 4/10.
Degueyo (1965) - Director: Giuseppe Vari - 6/10.
Kid il monello del west (1973) - Director: Tonino Ricci - 2/10.
Il magnifico texano (1967) - Director: Luigi Capuano - 4/10.
Storia di karatè, pugni e fagioli (1973) - Director: Tonino Ricci - 3/10.
Lo chiamavano Verità (1972) - Director: Luigi Perelli - 4/10.
Sentivano uno strano, eccitante, pericoloso puzzo di dollari (1973) - Director: Italo Alfaro - 1/10.
Kung Fu nel pazzo west (1973) - Director: Ban-Yee Yeo - 1/10.
I bandoleros della dodicesima ora (1972) - Director: Alfonso Balcázar - 2/10.
Allegri becchini… arriva Trinità (1973) - Director: Ferdinando Merighi - 2/10.
Un uomo chiamato Dakota (1971) - Director: Mario Sabatini - 4/10.
Vamos a matar Sartana (1971) - Directors: Mario Pinzauti, George Martin - 2/10.
The best movie of the month: L’uomo dalla pistola d’oro (1965) ;
The worst movie of the month: Sentivano uno strano, eccitante, pericoloso puzzo di dollari (1973) ;
The biggest positive surprise of the month: L’uomo dalla pistola d’oro (1965) ;
The biggest disappointment of the month: Buckaroo (1967) ;
8 Likes
- Carnimeo: I am Sartana, Your Angel of Death
-Last film of the fest. Not the best Sartana film but entertaining enough. I really like Kinski’s scenes and Frank Wolff is good as always. I think I even understood the plot this time, at least most of it. Music is rather irritating at times and the rolling camera shot is used way too often. 7/10
5 Likes
Day 30. Movie 22. The Good The Bad & The Ugly
Decided to end this great stretch with an old fave. And every time I watch I think I love it even more. Tied with The Searchers as my pick for best Western movie ever. (Not best Western ever, tho. That one still goes to Lonesome Dove.)
8 Likes
As i briefly touched upon when writing about Death Rides a Horse earlier this month, sometimes revisiting favorite films of any sort may be slightly damaging to the “blown-away-factor” you felt upon first watching them. Because you know what will happen, you don’t feel quite the same emotional engagement in the unfolding story, the standout scenes may still be awesome but not as striking this time around and it may take you some time of reflection upon the film in question to truly feel the quality of it. In short, the awe remains, but the thrilling experience is gone - although that doesn’t make it any less great or entertaining. This is the case for Face to Face (Sergio Sollima, 1967) to me.
It’s been almost two years since i first watched this, and i remember the joy of finally being able to sit down and watch what is one of the most ambitiously conceived films of the entire genre. That would lead one to associate it with Leone, but while the previous Sollima classic The Big Gundown showed his influence clearly (without ever feeling like an epigone) Face to Face breathes a very unusual atmosphere which is very different from the western formula both in terms of plot and framing. It’s more of a “nature vs nurture” character study set out west than your usual lawman/revenge/gunfight/county war plot. All that being said, a western fan gets everything one could have wished for in the process (gunfights, western towns, ritualistic showdowns) and the big budget enables Sollima to carry it out tremendously. Like Gundown, the main part of what makes the west depicted in Face to Face is the commitment to the society around it. The presence of Pinkerton detectives, professors and references to other time markers in terms of clothing, values and then-common illnesses make the film not necessarily entirely historically correct, but definitely flesh out the usual genre conventions and make them seem conceivable within a historical context (again, the big budget helped realizing this). There’s little to add concerning the acting performances of the three leading men, but i think the big star of the movie really is Berger, who gives his best performance in the genre as Charley Siringo (inspired by the historic person who was only a child during or in the immediate aftermath of the civil war, when the film apparently takes place). His portrayal is cold, laconic but certainly not without a conscience, and most of my favorite sequences in the film involve him in some way.
Concerning Fletchers infamous, slightly sudden turn into villainy, well… I choose to assume there is a time jump between the two halves of the film, showing the time he’s spent with the gang has changed him. On the other hand, the rewatch made me notice that a slight change in character away from the extremely modest and repressed man we see at the opening scene is notable when Siringo first visits their hideout. Overall, i think this can be blamed on deleted scenes from the original 140-minute version, which is quite strongly suggested by the editing in some scenes, most notably in the first half.
Standout scenes include; The entrance of Charley Siringo, the Purgatory city shootout, the protagonists entering Puerto de Fuego and Zachary Shawn gathering the possee. Need i really add that Morricone’s score is awesome as usual?
8 or 9 out of 10, that’s the question… I almost considered lowering the grade to the former due to the mentioned loss of impression compared to my first view, but this is indeed one of the premier examples of Spaghetti Westerns (or maybe even westerns as a whole), and i’ve yet to figure out where those 107 minutes went, so i figure i’ll have to think that over. Hmm, maybe a review of my grading system will solve uncertainties like this.
(I’ll have to sleep now, but i will post my final review for this Spagvemberfest tomorrow)
11 Likes
It’s a 9 for me … and actually improves with repeated viewings - though I understand what you’re saying about some films losing their initial impact … there are a few classics, all time favourites which I don’t need to see again for at least a decade.
Glad you enjoyed ‘Face to Face’ so much.
4 Likes
The month’s recap
10.000 dollari per un massacro (Italy 1967 / Director: Romolo Guerrieri)
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/10.000_dollari_per_un_massacro
Per 100,000 dollari t’ammazzo (Italy 1967 / Director: Giovanni Fago)
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Per_100,000_dollari_ti_ammazzo
Mátalo (Italy · Spain 1970 / Director: Cesare Canevari).
Mátalo! - The Spaghetti Western Database!
Joe… cercati un posto per morire! (Italy 1968 / Director: Giuliano Carnimeo)
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Joe…_cercati_un_posto_per_morire!
La resa dei conti (Italy · Spain, 1967) directed by Sergio Sollima.
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Resa_dei_conti,_La
Il segno del Coyote (Italy · Spain 1963 / Director: Mario Caiano)
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Segno_del_coyote,_Il
Cuatro balazos (Spain · Italy · France 1964 / Director: Agustín Navarro)
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Cuatro_balazos
Corri uomo corri (Italy 1968) directed by Sergio Sollima.
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Corri,_uomo,_corri
I cinque della vendetta (Italy · Spain 1966 / Director: Aldo Florio)
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Cinque_della_vendetta,_I
Minnesota Clay (Italy · Spain · France 1964 / Director: Sergio Corbucci)
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Minnesota_Clay
La diligencia de los condenados (Spain · Italy 1970 / Director: Juan Bosch)
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Diligencia_de_los_condenados,_La
Il pistolero dell’Ave Maria (Italy · Spain 1969 / Director: Ferdinando Baldi)
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Pistolero_dell’Ave_Maria,_Il
Django spara per primo (Italy 1966 / Director: Alberto De Martino)
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Django_spara_per_primo
Arriva Sabata… (Spain · Italy 1970 / Director: Tulio Demicheli)
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Arriva_Sabata!
Anda muchacho, spara! (Italy · Spain 1971 / Director: Aldo Florio)
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Anda_muchacho,_spara!
Rimase uno solo e fú la morte per tutti (Italy 1971 / Director: Edoardo Mulargia)
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Rimase_uno_solo_e_fu_la_morte_per_tutti!
Uccidete Johnny Ringo (Italy 1966 / Director: Gianfranco Baldanello)
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Uccidete_Johnny_Ringo
Sangue chiama sangue (Italy 1968 / Director: Luigi Capuano)
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Sangue_chiama_sangue
Une corde un colt… (France · Italy 1969) directed by Robert Hossein
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Une_corde,_un_Colt
Gli Specialisti (Italy · France · Germany 1969 / Director: Sergio Corbucci)
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Specialisti,_Gli
Non aspettare Django spara (Italy 1967 / Director: Edoardo Mulargia)
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Non_aspettare_Django,_spara
Plomo sobre Dallas (Spain · Italy 1970 / Director: José María Zabalza)
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Plomo_sobre_Dallas
Oggi a me… domani a te! (Italy 1968 / Director: Tonino Cervi)
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Oggi_a_me…_domani_a_te!
Preparati la bara! (Italy 1968 / Director: Ferdinando Baldi)
Preparati la bara! - The Spaghetti Western Database!
A bullet for sandoval (Italy · Spain 1969 / Director: Julio Buchs)
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Quei_disperati_che_puzzano_di_sudore_e_di_morteb
Testa o croce (Italy 1969 / Director: Piero Pierotti)
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Testa_o_croce
La notte dei serpenti (Italy 1969 / Director: Giulio Petroni)
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Notte_dei_serpenti,_La
E Dio disse a Caino… (Italy · West Germany 1969 / Director: Antonio Margheriti)
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/E_Dio_disse_a_Caino
Uno straniero a Sacramento (Italy 1965 / Director: Sergio Bergonzelli)
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Straniero_a_Sacramento,_Uno
Las siete magníficas (Spain · Italy · Austria 1966 / Director: Rudolf Zehetgruber)
https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Frauen,_die_durch_die_Hölle_gehen
7 Likes
Film 24 - Sam Cooper’s Gold aka The Ruthless Four (1968)
8.5/10
This one has style, substance, and rarest ingredient in late spaghetti westerns–suspense.
Filled with tension and some fine acting, especially by the star Van Heflin, I encourage anyone who hasn’t seen this one to give it a watch. If you like Corbucci’s cynical take on the west, this is for you.
What really impresses me is that it managed to incorporate so much from “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” but never feel remotely close to a copycat or comedic send up of that classic. There’s a search for gold, untrustworthy partners with halves of the gold’s location, and even an unloaded pistol. But this one has it’s own flavor entirely. And so I end Spagvember with a severely underrated classic.
10 Likes