Directed by Alfio Caltabiano, this engaging tale is a variation on the plot for ‘A Few Dollars More’. Two gunfighters are after the same bandit, but for different reasons - one wants revenge, and the other the bounty…
The ever-dependable Anthony Ghidra plays the ageing gunman, with a score to settle; while the younger bounty-hunter is purely out to make a killing and a quick dollar.
All in all, this is a good, fast-paced, exciting SW, with a great score by Marcello Giombini (‘Sabata’), and plenty of action and intrigue to keep the most demanding viewer happy…
Day 16. Movie 11. Shango.
Y’know, when the best thing in a movie is the opening shot - in this case, the title character suspended from a tree in an oversized birdcage - it’s just plain rotten. The plot, I think, has something to do with the end of the Civil War and some missing gold. But it moves so… so… slowly. Even the gunfights and, especially, the few fistfights are weak. Just not for me.
It seems to only be on certain versions, and Berger is only on for 5 minutes. To me, the point of the prologue was to tie Strikes Again (which is Django on a boat in the jungle) with the the Italian films in the desert of the American west. The prologue is so awkwardly tied to the rest of the movie’s plot and overall ambience I can see why the makers of Django Strikes Again just decided to cut it (and Berger) from the film. I bought a Django/Django Strikes Again DVD Double Feature that was released by Anchor Bay Entertainment in 1999. In the cut scene, Berger is an old gunfighter. He walks into a saloon, and talks to another gunfighter (Mexican?) about Django. They leave the saloon and the saloon is blown up by a cannonball from the ship that Django is later held captive on in the jungle. It’s been a while since I watched the scene, but that was the overall gist of what happened in the prologue.
I know some fans don’t see this as a proper SW, but I love it a lot. The treasure hunt mixed in with the Western works very well in the film, and who isn’t thrilled by the idea of finding purportedly long lost treasure. That the gold is associated with Montezuma and the Aztecs is very fitting to the Western atmosphere and theme. The Wild, Wild West episode The Night of Montezuma’s Hordes is the only other time I heard anyone mention Aztec treasure.
Robert Woods’ Pecos might not be as intense as he was in the original film, but he’s still a cool and tough hombre. His entrance scene saving the wandering Mexican musicians is a nice one. His methodical elimination of the gang of villains from planting seeds to make them turn on each other to simply getting them alone works every time.
Erno Crisa is excellent as the lead baddie El Supremo, and while the Fu Manchu mixed with bull fighting pirate look seems over the top, works quite well for the character. Supremo’s plan to take over Mexico with the treasure does seem very supervillain like, but it does work in the character’s favor. The bullwhip as his weapon of choice was a nice addition.
I love the adventure aspect to this Western and is just a good old fashioned fun time. The Koch DVD looks very good.
I wouldn’t say it quite that way @aldo, I always felt Clayton got sidetracked saving Lea Messari from her captivity first, and then puts full attention on getting Jose Manuel Martin’s character.
For me, the greatest irony of the film is the part Clayton doesn’t realize he’s playing in the course of the Civil War
I don’t want to giveaway any spoilers for those who haven’t seen the film yet … but right from the outset he makes some serious errors of judgment … not to mention buying a worthless piece of desert for $4,000 … anyway, it’s just a bit of fun, and it is an entertaining movie despite the holes in the plot.
15. The Return of HallelujahWest ti va stretto, amico… è arrivato Alleluja, Il - The Spaghetti Western Database (spaghetti-western.net)
Hard to get behind this one as much as the first, though I tried to enjoy it more this time around. It is just way too much on the stupid-silly side for me, and loses a lot of what made the first one good by pushing things too far. Lincoln Tate’s Scotsman character in a kilt is a hard watch. 2 out of 5.
17. Take a Hard RideTake a hard ride - The Spaghetti Western Database (spaghetti-western.net)
I never disliked this film but I thought of it as being nothing special, now, though, I think it somewhat is. Still not something that will blow your socks off, but it does have elements to it that make it stand out. Jim Brown and Fred Williamson are really great together and Lee Van Cleef comes off a lot better in this than some of his more questionable later roles, as a sort of menacing vulture who hounds Brown and Williamson. Lots more memorable faces in Harry Carey Jr and Robert Donner, and very well directed by the stalwart Margheriti. 3 out of 5.
Back to Tubi for tonight’s selection and I decided to go with a little Brett Halsey.
Halsey plays Texas Ranger Johnny Ringo who shows up in a small town to investigate and bring down a counterfeiting ring. That is as succinctly as I can put it.
I can’t say I was particularly fond of this one. Sure, the plot was simple enough to follow and it provided us with some nice gunplay at the end but it just felt too much like an American western for my tastes. Don’t get my wrong, I love American westerns but when I sit down for a plate of spaghetti I prefer it with a side of nastiness and that is something this one definitely did not possess.
Frankly, Halsey reminded me more of the Lone Ranger (minus a mask, Silver, and Tonto) than he did a spaghetti western protagonist. To quote a line from another movie regarding a different Johnny Ringo, Halsey was “no daisy”. He was “no daisy at all”.
I am afraid I must search for something particularly nasty for tomorrow’s viewing - a glass of rot gut to wash down the milk and cookies I had this evening.
Another excellent Explosive release and another Giuliano Gemma outing. This one has Pajarito and Nieves Navarro back which gives it an air of the Ringo films. This one falls right in the middle of his unprecedented run of 14 films which took over a billion lire at the Italian box office. It actually took the least of all of them at 1.072 billion lire but was still in the top 11 domestically made films at the box office that year. The year which was probably the peak for Spaghetti Western popularity in Italy. 8 out of the top 13 domestic films that year were westerns. And two of the top three. God Forgives,I Don’t! and Day of Anger. Gemma had three of those top 13. The other was Wanted.
As an added thought on that, there is an equally strong argument to say 1966 was the peak year in terms of domestic box office. The top 5 grossing domestic films that year were all westerns. And four of those starred Gemma.
I had very bad memories of this as one of the worst SW I have ever seen.
Now after rewatching…it was not that bad as remembered but it was that boring as remembered.
Problem is that this movie does not work in any sense:
Not as a sequel to SHANGHAI JOE because the mood and the style is completely different. It also is not working as a movie in Trinity style although it has a Spencer like character, a bit comedy and a Oliver Onions like score. And there is psycho Klaus Kinski who seems to be in wrong movie…
So, even locations and cast are on good level after a few minutes you loose interest and pray that the runtime will be over soon…
The German version was cut about 9 minutes that on one hand is a good option to watch the movie but on other hand the cuts are not that clever made.
I watched the Italian DVD this time with fanmade German Dub and Subtitels and as written above it was again very boring but not that bad as in my mind.
Day 16: And the Crows Will Dig Your Grave (1971) D- Juan Bosch. Starring Craig Hill, Angel Aranda, Fernando Sancho, Maria Pita. In this paella, an epidemic proportion of post-Civil War stagecoach robberies compels the authorities out west to take action. A town’s business community and Wells Fargo decides to deputize bounty killers like Jeff Sullivan (Hill) and Pancho Corrales (Sancho) to keep the stagecoaches safe. Jeff wastes no time in going after Dan Barker (Aranda), the brother of the man who murdered his wife. There are too many personal agendas to discuss here. Everyone in the cast looked burnt out from acting in so much filone. Even the town buildings looked dilapidated and ugly. ‘Crows’ wasn’t horrible, but I’ll probably never watch it again. Rating: 1.5/5.
. Thanks, Aldo
