D: Sergio Leone; S: S.L., Duccio Tessari,; C: Massimo Dallamano (“Jack Dalmas”); M: Ennio Morricone (“Dan Savio”); with: Clint Eastwood, Gian Maria Volonté (“Johnny Wels”), José Calvo, Sieghardt Rupp

Public life in the little town of San Miguel is down completely, since two hostile gangs are involved in a bloody war. On one side we see the texan Baxters, led by John (Wolfgang Lukschy) and his wife (Margartia Lozano), who are big in weapon-business. On the other side there are the mexican Rojos, headed by the brothers Ramón (Gian Maria Volonté), Esteban (Sieghardt Rupp) and Miguel (Antonio Prieto), smuggling alcohol. Joe (Clint Eastwood), a gunslinger, who has run out of money, arrives in the town. He’s anxious to profit from the situation and earn some bucks muy màs rapido, than a cash cow needs to shit some dollars. First he’s hired by the Rojos. But after they’ve raided a gold transport of the mexican army, they decide to make peace with their opponents until the expected board of inquiry has left San Miguel. Joe, who needs the gang war to get rich, pits the gangs against each other with false informations. For these he gets paid by both. He succeds to find the gold of the robbery and is hired soon by the Baxters. The situation finally escalates, as Joe enables Marisol (Marianne Koch), a prisoner of Ramón Rojo, and her family to flee. The Rojos wipe out the Baxter gang, who they make responsible for the escape; Joe, suspected of being accomplice, is tortured heavily. With the help of the undertaker (Joseph Egger = “Joe Edger”) Joe escapes out of the Rojo House. In an abandoned mine he prepares for his revenge.

G/E/I 1964

The Gunslinger says:

If you consider „Once upon the Time in the West“ as queen of the SW, „A Fistful …“ surely is its forebear. The film is made on the set and with the remaining budget of another, bigger Jolly-Western. Whereas this was a flop as most of the early Eurowesterns, its dirty little brother invented a genre completely new, giving an economical push to the whole italian film industry.

Leone and his partners transferred the story of the japanese classic “Yojimbo” shortly into the Wild West and discovered gold. The film presents a West, which is neither romantic, nor honourable: Dollars and the chase for power are the “new” effective values. The protagonists are completely amoral, except minor figures, as saloon-owner Silvanito (José Calvo). Men kill without hesitating, surveyed by a camera, changing its view in close-ups between faces and guns. The shoot-out becomes a central element of the SW in contrast to the US-western, a ritualised action not for necessity, but to celebrate itself. Violence, as killing, torturing or raping is shown directly, painting a more realistic picture of the Wild West.

Music, which was only a supporting element before, gets a main role in the SW. You’ve got many flicks for example, which are completely crap, but which offer a quite entertaining score. This score by Morricone sets already standards: a guitar-whistle-theme, supported by sounds, as snapping and male voices, just articulating soundwords. Not to forget about the melancholic parts, often featuring trumpets or flutes.

Rating: $$$$$-

Bodycount: ca. 40 Mexicans, ca. 35 Gringos, 1 Woman

Explicit Brutalities:

- Chico (Mario Brega = „Richard Stuyvesant“) shoots at Marisol’s little son and beats up the father later on

- Joe beats Marisol down to bring her to the Baxters as a hostage

- Joe gets the stick by the Rojos, because these suspect him being accomplice with the Baxters

- The Rojos kill the Baxters in a bloodrush, as they try to flee their burning house

- Silvanito is beaten by Ramón Rojo to get some informations about Joe’s hideout. Later on he is hung up at his hands in front of his saloon. Ramón lets taste him one of his cigars, but the wrong way round, if you know, what I mean.

Liebe:

There’s no love around, except the love of Marisol to her little son: 4/10

Splatter: 3/10

Specials:

Joe knows, that Ramón kills by shooting his opponents into the heart. Thus he prepares a double-layer plate of iron, which he can wear under his poncho, to protect the critical zone.