The Man Who Came to Kill / Doc, Hands of Steel / L’uomo dalla pistola d’oro / Doc, manos de plata (Alfonso Balcázar, 1965)

[scherpschutter]

@aldo

I wasn’t being entirely serious about Sancho, though I do not approve of animal cruelty … it has to be accepted that it happened and still happens - But only cowards and half wits hurt animals for amusement.

I don’t think he or anybody else did it for fun in this or that movie, but linking a character to a pig (or another animal) could have a symbolic meaning

[aldo]

@scherpschutter

I don’t think he or anybody else did it for fun in this or that movie, but linking a character to a pig (or another animal) could have a symbolic meaning

The scene I’m thinking of is definitely played for comedy, as in Sancho is obsessed with food and can’t wait to turn his prize into sausages ( Can’t remember the exact quote ) - But I do take your point about the symbolism.

[AvatarDK]

@aldo

, so perhaps picking on a pig is just there for a bit of light relief … Spanish style

Yep. The reason I mentioned at the time that Sancho might have an issue with pigs was that I had just seen him in another spaghetti western where he punched a pig repeatedly in the head. I just guess that he was somewhat of a douchebag.

[scherpschutter]

My idea as well. Pigs, especially piglets are often thought to be funny animals. They make funny noises and walk in funny way, as if they were in a comedy capers movie

[aldo]

@AvatarDK

Yep. The reason I mentioned at the time that Sancho might have an issue with pigs was that I had just seen him in another spaghetti western where he punched a pig repeatedly in the head. I just guess that he was somewhat of a douchebag.

Today a psychoanalyst would say he was acting out because of his self loathing

[Companero_M (Martin)]

As a side note to your fine review, in which you mention Warlock as a possible influence on Spanish and Italian Western directors in general and on L’uomo dalla pistola d’oro in particular: In Italy, Edward Dmytryk’s “psychological Western” was released under the title Ultima notte a Warlock in April or, more likely, September 1959 (depending on the source). At that time (September), Sergio Leone, after having worked on the chariot race sequence for William Wyler’s Ben-Hur from April to the beginning of August, was ghostdirecting the peplum Gli ultimi giorni di Pompei, whose initial director, Leone’s mentor Mario Bonnard, had fallen ill. Years later, when he was interviewed by Christopher Frayling in 1982, Leone stated, “And Warlock I liked very much.” Leone’s fondness for Dmytryk’s Western was also emphasized by screenwriter Luciano Vincenzoni, who told Frayling in 1999, “Another one [of the movies Sergio liked and that he’d memorized] was Warlock with Henry Fonda, Richard Widmark, and Anthony Quinn. That was his favorite.”
Evidently, Leone’s fascination with Warlock lay less in the film’s “psychology” than its numerous ritualized gunfights: Deputy Sheriff Thomson (Walter Coy) versus Abe McQuown (Tom Drake), Clay Blaisedell (Henry Fonda) versus Curley Burne (DeForest Kelley), Clay Blaisedell versus Billy Gannon (Frank Gorshin), Johnny Gannon (Richard Widmark) versus Abe McQuown, Clay Blaisedell versus Tom Morgan (Anthony Quinn), Clay Blaisedell versus Johnny Gannon, each staged in a highly stylized manner.
Interestingly, Balcázar’s L’uomo dalla pistola d’oro (censura: November 18, 1965; release date: December 3, 1965) actually preceded the Italian publication of Ian Fleming’s identically titled James Bond novel in 1966. (By the way, I guess the date given on the film’s database page, November 7, 1966, is the Spanish release date.)

[scherpschutter]

@Companero_M

In Italy, Edward Dmytryk’s “psychological Western” was released under the title Ultima notte a Warlock in April or, more likely, September 1959 (depending on the source). At that time (September), Sergio Leone, after having worked on the chariot race sequence for William Wyler’s Ben-Hur from April to the beginning of August, was ghostdirecting the peplum Gli ultimi giorni di Pompei , whose initial director, Leone’s mentor Mario Bonnard, had fallen ill. Years later, when he was interviewed by Christopher Frayling in 1982, Leone stated, “And Warlock I liked very much.” Leone’s fondness for Dmytryk’s Western was also emphasized by screenwriter Luciano Vincenzoni, who told Frayling in 1999, “Another one [of the movies Sergio liked and that he’d memorized] was Warlock with Henry Fonda, Richard Widmark, and Anthony Quinn. That was his favorite.”

Thanks. I knew i had read somewhere about the popularaity of the movie among Italian western directors and Leone in particular, but couldn’t remember where and when. I thought first that the Italian title of Warlock was L’uomo dalle pistole d’oro, but that turned out not to be true. I mixed things up, it was - as said - th_e french_ title that had golden pistols in it

[Companero_M (Martin)]

Ah, yes, the sources: for the biographical data concerning Leone, see Christopher Frayling, Sergio Leone: Something to Do with Death, London: Faber and Faber, 2000, p. 72; both quotations (Leone’s and Vincenzoni’s statements) are taken from Christopher Frayling, Sergio Leone: Once Upon a Time in Italy, London: Thames & Hudson, 2008 (2005), p. 86 and p. 141.
Do you think we should change the release date on the database page? If yes, the film will move from the 1966 to the 1965 category. Could someone confirm the Italian release date, December 3, 1965? Maybe @Carlos or @JonathanCorbett?

[Carlos]

Well anica has: censura: 46019 del 18-11-1965 so that release date seems about right. When @JonathanCorbett surfaces he can probably confirm.

[stanton]

The Bruckner book also has the release date 3.12.65. I changed it.

[Companero_M (Martin)]

Efficient!

[JonathanCorbett]

@Carlos

When @JonathanCorbett surfaces he can probably confirm.

Yes, November '65 is right.

The rating was VM14, confirmed on appeal ‘‘per le numerose scene di esasperata violenza e per la insistenza compiaciuta con cui si mettono in evidenza atti di estrema crudeltà e di gravi sevizie’’.

[The_Man_With_a_Name]

Decided to re-watch this after falling asleep the last time and really enjoyed it. I can see this had the potential to be an even better film with but overall, it’s worth a watch. I have a widescreen TV print if anybody is interested in a trade. It’s better than the official DVD.

[JonathanCorbett]

@Companero_M

In Italy, Edward Dmytryk’s “psychological Western” was released under the title Ultima notte a Warlock in April or, more likely, September 1959 (depending on the source)

IMDb is right about the Italian release date of Warlock: public showing was authorized on April 15, 1959 (film length 3328 metres).

[Companero_M (Martin)]

Grazie, JonathanCorbett.

[jackie]

Is this the movie where he says
“Bad men live on that hill. The badder you are the higher you live. I live on the tippy tippy top”

[Admin (Sebastian)]

Last one for today… This film’s database page has been updated to the new layout. Please help us improve it by contributing information or material.

[gladdenf (Michael)]

Credits page has been created for L’ Uomo dalla pistola d’oro (Doc, Hands of Steel)

[Mickey13]

Copied from the Spagvemberfest 2023 thread:

@Mickey13

Contrary to the popular opinion, I fail to sense much in the way of an American feel and I find the entirety of it to be unapologetically Italian in its overall disposition, style and atmosphere. Though the trajectory of the narrative oftentimes proves somewhat tortuous and might appear a tad disjointed at times, the story is effectively bound together by the gripping premise: in order to evade the law, the main hero assumes the identity of a dead man who unbeknown to him, was some kind of renowned gunfighter. In spite of being a common crook, the protagonist eventually ends up living up to the reputation of the deceased man also by reason of him beginning to identify with his newly adopted role. Some of the auxiliary plotlines unfold in bizarre directions, but this trait actually comes to work to film’s advantage in that it conduces to storyline’s unpredictability, which does not manifest in the way the work ends, but rather in the way it arrives at the tale’s conclusion.

Hence, the principal narrative strand relating to the protagonist ensures cohesion, whereas secondary motifs introduce novelty and vigor into the equation. Sancho puts on possibly his funniest and most spirited performance out of all his appearances in Italian oaters; in spite of the hilarity of his acting exploits here, his part is far removed from the comic relief character trope and it might be one of the most cruel depictions of a Mexican bandit he ever enacted. Lastly, Balzacar’s direction turns out surprisingly solid in that numerous scenes visually exhibit a certain cinematic depth, whereas action sequences display much energy and vim in the way they are staged and cut; the storytelling, barring a couple of unnecessary jitters, is entirely satisfactory and moves at a gratifyingly expeditious pace. All in all, far and away Balzacar’s finest contribution to the genre and one of the best Italian westerns to come out of Italy in 1965 in my humble estimation.

[Diamond]

Wow, what a great surprise. A hidden gem. I really liked this one. Already the awesome catchy title song gives you an idea this is going to be something out of ordinary.

Carl Möhner as the protagonist gives as stoic performance as it gets (or wooden, you decide) and is overshadowed by excellent Louis Dávila who is super cool here.

The movie is nicely directed and I read in the review it was co-directed by Guerrieri and it makes perfect sense considering how well directed some scenes are. There are also scenes with these thrilling musical effects that Guierrieri later used so much in Johnny Yuma to a great effect.

4/5