Director: Giovanni Fago
Year: 1967
A deep organ. Desert scene. Trumpets. A western that, if not great, comes quite close.
Though the credits give made-up American names to most of the actors and the director (who is billed as Sidney Lean), the cast on this one is strictly European, staring the great Gianni Garko as Johnny Forrest and Claudio Comaso as his evil brother Clint. Comaso, it must be said, plays an excellent villain, and there is something about him that is truly repulsive. Though not as famous as his brother Gian Maria Volontà, this actor is almost as interesting.
There is lots of great scenery, sweat dripping from faces and plenty of guns going off—as well as some really beautiful horses. Another interesting feature is how dirty Garko appears throughout the film. His jacket is always covered in dust and in the final scene his face is completely covered with sweat, dirt and blood as a strong wind whips hay around what I guess is supposed to be Albuquerque.
The score on this one is really striking, though I am not exactly sure who is responsible for it.
Giovanni Fago has not done all that much as a director, but from what I have seen of his work, he is quite remarkable. This film and the really odd O’ Cangaçeiro make him worthy of a great deal of respect.
Highly recommended.
