Two Pistols and a Coward (1968) (orig. Il pistolero segnato da Dio) - Director: Giorgio Ferroni - 5/10.
On the minus side, the movie feels ten to twenty years older than it really is by reason of its naive premise, narrative’s simple-minded trajectory, Ferroni’s corny directing and Rustichelli’s ancient sounding score. The main hero’s part is quite interesting in that it requires some serious acting chops to convincingly portray the transformation from a coward to a hero, however, Steffen is clearly not the guy capable of handling this sort of affair and he appears quite miscast here. To be fair, he pulls his own weight just fine here even if he doesn’t capitalize on his role’s full potential, but let’s face it, in order for it to come to life, Ferroni should have picked a much more versatile performer, say Lou Castel or something along those lines. On the plus side, the overall storyline is still quite prepossessing in light of the extensive redemption arc which with a few tweaks, could have turned out even more memorable. Additionally, Richard Wyler’s charismatic performance as Steffen’s arch nemesis comes as a revelation, making one wish he had appeared in more roles of this kind, as his showing here is pretty impressive all things considered. Last but not least, the pic doesn’t overstay its welcome and progresses at a very steady pace, so what it might be short of in terms of overall panache is made up for by its decent focus and generally guileless presentation.