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

[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

[Diamond]

I love this movie and Carl Möhner in it.