SPAGHETTI WESTERNS
SHERIFF WON’T SHOOT (1965)-In Spanish with English subs, After a tragic misfortune in which a gunman has killed his father, he decides to put away his guns not to use them ever again. However as he is an infallible gunman the people nominate him to be sheriff of the country. Things seem to go calmly until an outlaw band besieges the country putting it to iron and fire. The gunman will examine his conscience to decide whether he is forced to break his oath and to take up his infallible guns in order to stop the band. A lively-enough Western but at times stupidly melodramatic, it takes advantage of its one central plot device (the tragically murdered father) over and over again in repetitive and at times ill advised way. The film is ideally suited for those who appreciate beautiful action sequences. It is not a high concept film, but it is a western to see. Mickey hargitay stars and Renato polselli directs.
STRANGER MAKE THE SIGN OF THE CROSS (1967)- Charles Southwood, Jeff Cameron and Christina Penz star in this Miles Deem western. A bountyhunter want to cath the Bandit Carson because he has a lot of people in his gang who are worth a lot of money. When he comes into White City he gets his first problems with Carson's son Lucas. After this incident Carson want this man dead. They can cath him but not for a long time because he can escape with the help of Zoppo who the bountyhunter had helped a couple of days before.
$20,000 ON NUMBER 7 (1968)-Letterboxed print.Alberto Cardone directs and the Cast: Roberto Miali (as Jerry Wilson)(Jerry Kingio), Aurora Bautista (Peggy), Adriano Micantoni (as Mike Anthony)(Guy), Spartaco Conversi (as Spean Convery)(Steel), Teodoro Corrá (as Doro Corrá)(Gringo), Hector Boilleaux (Rod), Valentino Macchi. As a second unit or assistant director, Alberto Cardone (here billed as Albert Cardiff) worked on Ben Hur, Barbarella, Summertime and Carmen among others; as director he is responsible for several 'Dollar' westerns attempting to cash in, if you'll pardon the pun, on Leone's success.The title sounds expensive but it's probably more than was spent on this spaghetti western which spares every expense but achieves a kind of style through its very sparseness; unfortunately, this pared-down approach is also applied to the story which is the most basic of revenge plots. The beautiful Aurora Batista (often in Leone-like close-ups)is wasted since she is given almost no lines to deliver in the few scenes in which she appears. There's a great deal of far-fetched tricksy shooting, and equally unbelievable fistfights. Great music, though, conducted by Cipriani.
$100,000 FOR LASSITER (1966)-Beautiful widescreen copy at last! Directed by Joaquin Marchent, the film stars Claudio Undari (as Robert Hundar)(Lassiter), Pamela Tudor (Helen Ray/Sarah), Luigi Pistilli (Adam Martin), Jesus Puente, Roberto Camardiel. An evil land baron needs to be destroyed and bounty killer Lassiter is just the man to do it!
$100,000 FOR RINGO (1965)-Here’s a nice letterboxed version at last! Directed by Alberto De Martino and a killer score by Bruno Nicolai, the film stars Richard Harrison (Ward Cluster/Lee Barton/Ringo), Fernando Sancho (Chuck), Luis Induni (sheriff). A stranger named Lee Barton rides into the western town of Rainbow Valley where he's mistaken for a former resident named Ward Cluster who was believed killed in the Civil War. Barton soon finds himself in opposition to local boss Tom Cherry who used local Indians to drive off settlers and who then turned against the Indians.
DEATH ON A HIGH MOUNTAIN (1969)-Finally, a beautiful letterboxed print of this rare spaghetti western. Braddock is an influential and highly respected citizen of the town of Two Arrows. He also represents a group of Mexican outlaws led by Valiente. Braddock plans an important robbery with only two young men, Loring and Parker, standing in the way of the bandits. Peter Lee Lawrence and Luis davilia co-star.
KILL THE POKER PLAYER (1972)-One of the rarest spaghetti westerns usually only available in a crappy looking version as CREEPING DEATH. Well here’s a beautiful widescreen version in English! Robert Woods and Susan Scott star and Mario Bianchi directs. Two bandits rob a bank but they don't even have the time to celebrate their new-found wealth because the are immediately killed by two poisonous snakes, courtesy of a third accomplice. A brave Federal agent, Jonathan Pinkerton, reaches the village where the murderer is supposed to be hiding. With the co-operation of the local sheriff, Pinkerton starts to make his inquiries, coming to the conclusion that the main suspects are Clinton, a rancher, and Torres, a scientist with a passion for reptiles (...) the movie is quite enjoyable, despite its incredibly low budget, yet certain detective-movie-like atmospheres are particularly successful and seem to place the film halfway between the fading WAI genre and the highly succesfull new (back then!) Argento-inspired thrillers of the time.
THE MAN WHO CAME TO KILL (1966)-Rare spaghetti western in English for the first time! Carl Mohner, Fernando sancho and Gloria Milland star. A gambler called Doc, while being chased by a bounty hunter, accidentally watches bandits killing a sherriff. Doc changes identity with the sherriff because he thinks that the bounty hunter will believe him dead now, and under the name of the sherriff he'll be safe. A case of "out of the frying pan, into the fire", because the bandits believe the sherriff survived - and no less than 50 of them come to kill him. There's only one man who's able to help Doc: his most dangerous enemy, the bounty hunter.
THE RATTLER KID (1967)-Finally a nice letterboxed version of this rare leon Klimovsky western. Richard Wyler, William Bogert and Brad Harris star. Falsely convicted and condemned to die for robbing an army treasury at Fort Jackson, Tony Garrett manages to escape and looks for the real culprits to take revenge. His new nickname is the Rattler Kid, and under this new guise he must exact revenge of the man who betrayed him
PIRATES OF THE MISSISSIPPI (1964)-Beautiful letterboxed print. Horst Frank leads a criminal conspiracy that has control of the entire Mississippi River except for one river town whose sheriff is Brad Harris. They engage in an elaborate scheme to turn the Cherokee against their Harris, who like Old Shatterhand is “the red man’s friend.” Eurowesterns often have confused geographies, but this movie places names were simply grabbed out of a hat. The Cherokee are portrayed as a plains tribes (with British Colombian cultural motifs on their tipis) living outside of Helena, Montana. Helena is placed as river town on the Mississippi River next to Vicksburg. While Pirates of the Mississippi has been routinely dismissed and overlooked, it is in fact, a rootin' tootin' old west live action comic book. It's way to violent to be considered a kiddie Western though. All the elements of a good popcorn Western are in place: Hard riding, saloon brawls, gunfights, Indian attacks, comic relief, and a dash of virginal romance. The heroes are righteous, the villains are slimy, the Indians are the usual hot-headed, easily manipulated dupes, and the townfolks are gullible dopes.
20 STEPS TO DEATH (1970)-LETTERBOXED PRINT. Excellent quality copy of this rare Spaghetti western. At the end of the Civil War, Alec Kellaway, a fighter for the South, is tricked by the brothers Clegg and Elliot into helping them to carry out the robbery of a gold cargo belonging to the Northern Army. Cast: Dean Reed (Mestizo), Alberto Farnese (as Albert Farley)(Aleck Kellaway), Patty Shepard (Deborah), Luis Induni, Maria Pia Conte (as Maria Pia Gian).
GUNMAN OF THE RIO GRANDE (1964)-Letterboxed print. For years all we had was the shit stained print from Sinister cinema, well no more, this early excellent western now exists in a beautiful letterboxed copy! Cast: Guy Madison (Wyatt Earp/Laramie), Fernando Sancho (Pancho Bogan), Madeleine LeBeau (Jennie Lee), Gérard Tichy (Zack 'Snake' Williams), directed by Tulio Demicheli. Famed marshal Wyatt Earp is sent to clean up a lawless mining town on the Mexican border. This early Italian westerns title Sfida a Rio Bravo (1965) gives away the inspiration for this movie, Howard Hawk's Rio Bravo (1959), which was very popular in Italy. Guy Madison stands in for John Wayne while Gerard Tichy plays the drunken friend on the mend.
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DYNAMITE JOE (1967)-Letterboxed print. In order to put an end to the numerous ambushes on the gold transports which are a real menace to the finances of the American government,the agent Joe Ford, called Dynamite Joe due to his liking for explosives, is entrusted with controlling the next transfer. Joe has a carriage built entirely of gold, but evil forces are told of the plan and an alliance is made with the bandit El Sol in order to get hold of the gold. Cast: Rik Van Nutter (Jon/Joe Ford/Dynamite Joe), Halina Zalewska (Betty), Mercedes Castro (as Merce Castro)(Brunetta).
THUNDER OVER EL PASO (1972)-Letterboxed print. An outlaw, El Santo, and a bounty hunter, Minnesota, are searching for Mexican bandit Corbancho, who is running the El Paso area with his men, and has also robbed the Bank of Tuscon of $400,000. The bounty hunter is after the reward, while El Santo is after vengeance. Great spaghetti western that stars Antonio Sabato, Erika Blanc and Chris Avram.
2 CROSSES AT DANGER PASS (1967)-Letterboxed print. Judy and Alex are the only two survivors of a punishment mission ordered by the rich and ruthless Moran... The girl becomes his maid and the boy is adopted by a Quaker family. Alex, in spite of the pardon philosophy taught to him, is planning a revenge. Excellent western starring Peter Martell, Anthony Freeman, and Nuccia cardinali. Directed by Rafael Romero Marchent.
THE 13TH IS ALWAYS A JUDAS (1971)-Letterboxed print. Wedding guests awaiting the arrival of the bride suddenly become nervous when they notice that the table has been laid for 13... an ominous number. Their worries are confirmed when the bridal carriage pulls up outside bearing the lifeless bride and the corpses of three other guests. The suspicions rise between the thirteen guests, and the identity of the murderer is a shocking surprise. Director: Guiseppe Vari. Cast: Donald o’Brien, Maurice Poli, Dino Strano.
A MAN CALLED AMEN (1968)-Letterboxed print. Rare Spaghetti western with Giorgio Ardisson, Akim Tamiroff, and Isarco ravioli, directed by Guido Zurli. Amen is hired to find a stolen cache of $1,000,000 in gold coins while all the while he seems protected by a ghost. This little-known Spaghetti Western turned out to be a routine effort all round, but one that is mildly enjoyable nevertheless. It features a nice score and is enlivened by the intermittent appearances of a 'phantom gunman' figure (curiously, also to be found in MATALO! [1970]) and the numerous plot twists at the end. The most renowned actor in the cast is, of course, Akim Tamiroff - playing a tramp/town drunk called Pigsty (although his Italian moniker is literally "Stench"); actually, many of the characters have been given colorful names: Amen, Solitaire, Dean Light, Johnny Siringo, etc. Comedy relief is also present in the form of some over-the-top hard-boiled dialogue (one character is referred to as "mountain of filth", for instance) and the antics (usually subservient but, on occasion, assertive) of the chief villain's meek and long-suffering barber.
JOHN THE BASTARD (1967)-For the first time, a Letterboxed print. Director: Armando Crispino. Cast: John Richardson, Claudio Camaso, Martine Beswick, Claudio Gora, Gordon Mitchell. Before he made superior gialli, Crispino tried this first outing in the then-popular western genre. And came up with a winner. In between parody and serious bloodshed, this is an adaptation of the Don Juan mythos featuring interesting ideas, like the subplot about mormons persecuted in the US. The cast is very good - strong actor direction being one of Crispino's forte - and the script keeps things lively. The ending, turning the whole movie into a flash-back, dwells in supernatural territory. With gems like this to be discovered, on might wonder why Italian westerns have such bad press nowadays. Don't miss.
SHOOT JOE AND SHOOT AGAIN (1972)-Letterboxed print. Cast: Richard Harrison (Joe Dakota), José Torres (Jack), Franca Polesello (Rosy). Ted and his gang rob a bank and he hides the loot from his companions. They corner him and fatally wound him, but he manages to slip the map of the hidden money to his rescuer, Joe. The gang catches up with Joe, torture him and introduce him to sexy Rosy, who is to use her undeniable feminine charms on him. A nice touch is the nudity that is a rarity in the Italian western genre!
WANTED JOHNNY TEXAS (1967)-Finally letterboxed print of this offbeat spaghetti western. Johnny Texas is recruited by the U.S. Army to find a safe passage for a wagon train and impatient settlers to the West. Johnny figures his best bet is to pay off the local band of desperadoes helmed by a psychotic outlaw. When that doesn't work, Colonel Stewart orders Johnny to attack a fortress and detonate a secret stash of dynamite. Stars james Newman, Rosalba neri and Fernando Sancho.
WATCH OUT GRINGO…SABATA WILL RETURN (1972)-Widescreen print. George Martin Rosalba neri, and Fernando Sancho star. Corrupt lieutenant kills his men for a gold shipment they are transporting. Not long before Fernando Sancho steals the gold, but runs into a spot of trouble. A couple of more men find out about the gold, who eventually team up with Sancho.
BANDITO MALPELO (1971)-In Spanish with English subs. Diego Medina, a young idealist, joins the Mexican Revolution. He has stolen some important military documents that he intends to deliver to Pancho Villa. The Federales will try to stop him with the help of a bandit named Juan Cisneros 'Malpelo". However, Diego Medina convinces Malpelo to take him to Pancho Villa's troops in exchange for a reward. When Captain Orozco finds out, he hires a deadly tracker named Blas Fuentes to hunt Diego and Malpelo. Directed by Giuseppe maria Scotese and starring Eduardo Fajardo and Jose Nieto. A very rare Spaghetti Western!
DYNAMITE JIM (1966)-Letterboxed print. Director: Alfonso Balcázar Cast: Luis Dávila, Fernando Sancho, Rosalba Neri, Aldo Sambrell, Maria Pia Conte. Civil War union soldiers purchase a shipment of gold from a Mexican banker. They need to get the gold to its destination. However along the way, a gang of crooks, the unethical banker & his gang, and Dynamite Jim all decide that they want to get their hands on the gold also.