R: Sergio Corbucci ; B: Sergio Corrucci, Massimo De Rita ; K: Alejandro Ulloa ; M: Enio Morricone ; D: Franco Nero, Tomas Milian, Jack Palance, Fernando Rey, Iris Berben, Jose Bodalo

Revolutionary times are no funny times. Even in Mexico, amigos. The peones are caught between the mexican army, demanding obedience, and Mongo (Jose Bodalo), a self-made revolutioner and coward, who only wanna earn some money. El Vasco (Tomas Milian), a shoeblack, happens to be the surrogate of Mongo and gets the order liberate the city of San Bernardino. El Vasco again happens to suceed, but because of his uncoarse manners he doesn’t make really friends with the inhabitants. At the same time swedish adventurer Yodelaf Peterson (Franco Nero) reachs town: Together with Mongo he wants to rob the safe of the San Bernardino Bank, a swedish model. Unfortunately the only person, who is able to open the safe is professor Xantos (Fernando Rey), a kind of mexican Ghandi, who is arrested in Fort Yuma, Texas. El Vasco, Mongo, Peterson and Lola (Iris Berben), a female peace activist, head for Texas to bring the professor back in his home country. To crown it all, John (Jack Palance), a former amigo of Peterson, has a bone to pick with the swede.

S/I/D 1970

The Casketnail says:

Two years after „Il Mercenario“ Corbucci realised the same story a second time. Whereas the first one was a serious and cynical response on films like “A Bullet for the General” or the Sollima-trilogy, the latter is a “Commedia dell’Arte” of the Spaghettiwestern. The film transports its contents trough the protagonists. El Vasco stands for the uneducated but proud mexican, who isn’t able to recognize, that he is exploited by everybody. He doesn’t reflect his hate and explains his violence with revolutionary bubbles. Lola represents the intelligencia, the helpless ratio. At least Peterson: a stranger, only looking for his own advantage, who gives his help only, if one pays for it. The capable actors make the development of their characters believable. Above all Milian with his manierisms and his stylistic pecularities, e.g. with his cap. Good actors for the sidekicks too: Fernando Rey as aging angel of peace and especially Jack Palance as stoned, wood-handed John are much more than just faces in the crowd. Corbucci is a capable director: nothing to complain, folx. One recognizes rising budgets since “Django” in this movie too, and the money is well invested: really good gunplay with an uncountable bodycount ;-). Furthermore we see typical and well-loved sadisms like the shooting exercises in a “William-Tell-style”. The film is supplied with an excellent score by Ennio Morricone, who described it as a melange of Mariachi, Reggae and Gregorian chorals. Well, the Reggae-influence I didn’t recognize, but the title-theme has an asskicking energy. Yeah!

Rating: $$$$+

Luv’ :

The lovestory between El Vasco and Lola finally ends in a chapel. But fortunately Corbucci isn’t the man for gloopy romantic: 3/10

Explicit Brutalities:

- El Vasco’s shooting-exercises with mexican soldiers, wearing melons on their head.

- Mongo’s shooting-exercises: Peones have to climb a stilt with a rifle on its top. Unfortunately Mongo shoots them down by aiming through a mirror.

- John connects Peterson’s neck with a gibbet ;-). Instead of standing on the usual grave cross, the swede has to keep position on a rolling barrel in the glowing sun