Classified ‘A’ for theatrical release in 1969, as A Professional Gun, after the following cuts:
DR3 - Remove the sequence where Polack explains the meaning of the revolution, using a naked girl’s back to demonstrate his meaning.
DR4 - Remove the incident of a man being kicked in the groin.
Reduce the sequence where Papota is sentenced to be castrated.
Cut ‘A’ version reclassified ‘AA’ in 1970.
Cuts waived for ‘15’ rated Blu Ray in 2017.
Fairly lenient treatment by the BBFC there.
One of the first spaghetti westerns to be shown on UKTV. I must have seen this in the 1970s. It was shown several times on BBC I think and always under A Professional Gun title so must have been the cut UK theatrical print as I am pretty sure that naked woman scene was missing. This film, along with the Leone movies made me want me to see more of this genre. My brother, not a western fan, loved the score and recognised it immediately in Kill Bill although he hadn’t seen the A Professional Gun for decades.
I only saw A Professional Gun once on the BBC, in the Friday night late film slot circa 1981. That version was also missing the scene where Curly stuffs a primed grenade into someone’s mouth, which I’m sure the BBFC would also have cut if it had been in the version submitted to them,
As an aside, I recorded some of the film on audio cassette (the only way to get the soundtrack music in those days!), and comparing it with other versions, I find that Jack Palance has been re-voiced at some stage. He sounds more effeminate in the BBC version, though the actual script is the same. The other version is the one now widely available, so I don’t know which is the ‘original’.
That’s how I remember first seeing it … a suggestion for the difference in voice could be the PAL speed up for UK and European television, which raises the pitch, and might make him sound a tad squeakier.
@Wobble is spot on. ‘A Professional Gun’ (aka ‘The Mercenary’) premiered on BBC1 on Monday 17th May, 1976 at 21.25 on ‘The Monday Film’ strand. Although it was after ‘Fistful of Dollars’ which was first broadcast on Friday 1st August, 1975 at 21.55 on BBC1. Good old Beeb for retaining all this info for posterity.
A MINUTE TO PRAY A SECOND TO DIE (UK title: DEAD OR ALIVE) (1967)
Classified ‘X’ for theatrical release in 1968 (abridged 95m version submitted) after the following cuts:
DR1 - Considerably shorten the beat-up of a priest by two men.
DR3 - Remove the whole episode in which a man attacks McCord, has a fight with him and is killed. (NB: must be fight in house with Jose Manuel Martin)
DR4 - Remove the whole scene in which Kraut and his men beat-up McCord.
DR5 - Remove the whole episode in which Cheap Charley is tortured and drowned.
Reduce the shooting of McCord to the shot that knocks him off his horse.
Heavily abridged version submitted shorter than the 99m USA version but included the legendary extended ending! (see last cut above- MFB review from January 1969 mentions this also per below). UK cinema version only 89m after cuts which must have lasted several minutes. The MFB review mentions an opening gun fight in the church which doesn’t happen for at least 10m in the full length version.
Classified ‘X’ for theatrical release in 1967 after the following cuts (2m):
DR2 - The bullying of Nina, in which she is held down on the bar and wine is poured over her, must be reduced to an absolute minimum.
DR3A - The beating-up of Pecos must be reduced to an absolute minimum and the final kicks should be removed. The beat-up covers not only the assault in medium close shot but also what is seen through the window of the saloon and what happens after he has been thrown into the road.
DR4A - The treatment of Lola, after her father and her brother have been killed, must be removed except for the minimum action required to show that Pecos has arrived to save her.
DR5A - Considerably reduce the bullying of the doctor’s daughter; especially remove the shot in which she lies nearly naked on the floor with a man’s boot held against her neck, the talk about her having to work naked for the gang, and most of the scene in which her head is plunged several times into a basin of water.
Reduce to one the shots of Eddie’s hanging corpse.
Classified ‘A’ for theatrical release in 1976 after the following cut:
R1 - In the scene in which Jack talks to a dying man who shot at him, remove latter’s dialogue line: “You go fuck yourself” (NB: “screw yourself” substituted)
The ‘12’ rated UK DVD is the redubbed version.
I’ve never seen this with an F word in this sequence- always the re dubbed version.
Classified ‘X’ for theatrical release in 1967 (although not released until 1968 and not reviewed in the MFB until July 1970) after the following cuts (2m):
R1 - Reduce shooting-up of town and blank-range killings.
Remove shot of two men tied to a pole, dead.
R2 - Considerably reduce the killings in the raid on the train, amongst other things.
R3 - Remove shot of wounded wife crawling to her husband. Reduce the killings in the subsequent shoot-up.
R4 - Considerably reduce the ill-treatment of the Indian, retaining very little of the whipping and kicks and blows on his body.
R5 - Remove shot where the Indian kills Geoff with a rock. Reduce the final duel between Duncan and Indian so that each dies as quickly as possible.
A predictable large number of cuts. Surprised they didn’t reject this outright as a massive body count. Cut to 90m from 92m.
Classified ‘15’ for DVD in 2008 (uncut version submitted) after the following cuts (6s):
At 16m - Remove all sight of cockerels being goaded and fighting one another. Cut 16.01 to 16.05.
At 18m4s - Remove all sight of horses (pulling coach) being tripped in a cruel fashion. Scene may resume at any point once they are seen on the floor, but the action of falling must be removed. Cut 18.04-18.06.
2017 Blu ray cut as per DVD release (9s).
Neither of the DVD/Blu Ray cuts had been made for cinema.
Classified ‘A’ for theatrical release in 1969, as No Room To Die, after the following cuts:
DR4 - Shorten the beat-up of an old informer in Maya’s room.
Remove the blow on the face that Fargo gives Maya.
DR5 - Shorten the whole beating-up and harassing of Brandon by the gang during the first half or so of this reel.
Remove the shots of a gangster being killed by a spade driven into his body.
UK theatrical print only 88m per MFB May 1970. BBFC record receiving a 93m version. Uncut print is 97m per Blu Ray. Unclear if differences between 93m and 88m all BBFC cuts (as have not seen this).
ONE SILVER DOLLAR (released 1967, classified 1966)
Classified ‘U’ for theatrical release in 1966 after the following cuts:
R2 - Reduce the fight between O’Hara and McCory, a henchman, in particular removing kick. knee-kicks, and two-handed blow.
R3 - Reduce to a minimum the shooting of Phil, and remove shots of his body recoiling when it is hit.
R5 - In fight between O’Hara and Brad’s men, remove rabbit punches, blow on back of neck and kick to chin.
R7 - Remove virtually the whole of the attack on O’Hara and remove dialogue lines “Fill his mouth with salt” and “Nothing like a little salt on the tongue to make a man talk”.
(Note that this scene already reduced by the Italian censor to remove eye gouging, head bashing and spur scarring - see Italian censor thread)
R8 - Remove shot of Brad kicking O’Hara in the face.
R9 - Remove shot of one of the sheriff’s men after he has been shot in the face.
U certificate which is pretty low for an Italian western.
Classified ‘A’ for theatrical release in 1966 (full length 99m version submitted) after the following cuts:
R7 - Remove the shot of Sancho hitting one of his followers across the face with a bottle.
R10 - Considerably shorten the fight between Ringo and Pedro: especially remove all kicks, the use of a torch and as many as possible of the heavy blows to the face.
Remove all shots of Ringo being hit when tied up.
The MFB reviewed the ‘A’ version in November 1966 (99m) and the UK quad also has the ‘A’ rating.
Subsequently re-classified ‘U’ in 1967 after the following cuts (this doesn’t appear on the BBFC website but picked up from their internal Register of Exceptions):
R2 - After the bandits arrive at Clyde’s hacienda you should remove the shots showing a peasant trying to escape, being shot and falling into a pond.
R3 - Remove the scene in which Sancho, aiming in a mirror, shoots a hostage and then shoots a woman.
R5 - Remove the entire sequence in which Pedro tries to assault Ruby. Resuming when Ringo appears and after he has covered her with a cloak.
The fight between Ringo and Pedro should be considerably shortened.
R7 - Remove shot of Sancho hitting one of his followers across the face with a bottle. (also cut for ‘A’).
R10 - Considerably shorten the fight between Ringo and Pedro; especially remove all kicks, the use of a torch and as many as possible of the heavy blows to the face. (also cut for ‘A’).
Remove shot of Sancho kicking Ringo on the ground and all shots of Ringo being hit when tied up. (latter also cut for ‘A’).
Passed uncut for DVD in 2018 with ‘12’ rating.
Very good review from the MFB (was released in UK several months before Fistful of Dollars so must have looked very fresh) containing several points repeated by Alex Cox in his book so I reckon he saw this review.
