marthahunter
Anthony Steffen, William Berger, Mario Brega: Steffen plays a Union officer (Davy Flanagan) who was shot by a POW camp commander (later revealed to by William Berger) who pretends to be his friend, Sam Kellogg. Due to this head wound, Davy lost all memory of his past. Davy discovers that he is considered a deserter and has a high bounty ($10,000!) on his head. While seeking his beautiful wife, Liza, (Ida Galli aka Evelyn Stewart) who had since become the common law wife to Clay Hackett (Claudio Undari aka Robert Hundar). Liza spends most of her days drinking bottles of liquor and passing out.Dragging Kellogg around, Davy fights off bandit gangs (one led by "Jack", Raf Baldarassarre) and kills them all. Dirty (Mario Brega) is a bandit leader want-to-be, who gets dispatched as well. In the final showdown with Hackett's gang and Kellogg, Davy destroys them all with nitro and flying bullets. After Kellogg hits Davy in the head, his memories return, and Kellogg is shot dead and falls into a horse trough. At the end, Liza and Davy are reunited hand in hand.Although Kellogg says that he has an account to settle with Davy, there is no sense in that motive. How would a man who shot an enemy soldier and then masqueraded as a Union soldier by wearing his uniform, have such a hate agenda for man that never did anything to him? Obviously, this paper thin motivational character trope turns up all the time in SW's. Overall, the amnesia plot with Steffen works well here, and we can enjoy plenty of action and a rare romantic happy ending.
ma-cortes
This is an exciting film , plenty action , thrills , fights , and starked outdoors from El Lacio , Rome . This violent Western is set on dirty outdoors and dark interiors , the star is a mysterious revenger, ¨a man without name¨ , who comes to avenge against nasty villainous . It deals with an avenger named Davy Flanagan (Anthony Steffen), a war veteran and nowadays a Northern defector . Without memory , he gone back from a dark past to revenge his own death . He hasn't records and arrives in a small town , a location dominated by violent gangs and nasty gunfighters as Dirty (Mario Petri) . In that place there is a dangerous band led by a bandit called Crazy Joe (Fortunato Arena) and his hoodlums . There he meets a judge (William Berger) who tells him his unknown wife Liza (Ida Galli as Evelyn Stewart) is newly married a tough gunslinger named Clay Hackett (Robert Hundar) . Flanagan is wanted , as posters publicize : reward ¨10000 dollars , Dead or Alive¨ . As Davy being pursued and chased by bounty hunters , as he is detained but he get escaped .Offbeat Western follows the Sergio Leone wake , as it is proceeded in Spaghetti models . It's a moving western with breathtaking gunfight between the protagonist Anthony Steffen against the heartless Mario Petri and Fortunato Arena , in addition a stirring ending fight in the saloon and town square . This movie is a lot of fun to watch . It's an entertaining story with a touch of peculiarity , some great roles , and an amazing music score . The picture is a tale of justice and revenge , as a tough man seeks vendetta and his objective results to be a bloody revenge . The basic plot is typical spaghetti western fare , but what makes this movie stand out is its style . Steffen is appropriate in his usual character , he ravages the screen , shoots , hit and run and kills . The picture is well starred by Anthony Steffen . Acceptable action sequences with rousing attacks and spectacularly realistic battles . Charismatic performance for whole casting . The notorious Spaghetti actor , Anthony Steffen is good as Flanagan . Anthony Steffen may be a name best remembered by Spaghetti Western aficionados, but in his day, from the mid-'60s to the early '70s, Steffen was one of the most popular actors of the genre — at the time cheap B movies, now revered cult classics . The handsome, Italian-born — actually at the Brazilian embassy in Rome — Antonio Luiz de Teffè von Hoonholtz began working in films as a studio messenger for Vittorio De Sica . From there, Steffen began acting in sword-and-sandal epics, later moving onto the Western genre , where he found his niche . Unlike fellow Spaghetti star Clint Eastwood, however, Steffen never became a top international box-office attraction .His acting is often accused of being wooden, but in many manners is ideally suited to playing the steely-faced gunslinger synonymous with the genre . His others successes include features as ¨Seven Dollars to Kill¨, ¨The last Mohican¨, ¨Train for Durango¨, ¨Gentleman Jo¨ , ¨Four dollars for Django¨, ¨Shango¨, ¨Arizona colt¨, ¨Apocalypse Joe¨ and several others . Although Steffen's performance in the movie is a bit wooden for the role of such an interesting character . There appears as secondaries the habitual in Italian Western and Peplum , such as Robert Hundar , Raf Baldassarre , Luis Barboo , Eleonora Vargas , Alberto Dell'Acqua , Jean Louis , among others .There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing some shoot'em up or stunts every few minutes . There is a very odd implementation of shots in the camera work during some particular scenes as the film approaches its climax , such as in the final gunfights . The movie gets the usual Western issues , as avengers antiheroes , violent facing off , exaggerated baddies and spectacular duels , excessive zooms , among them . Good production design creating an atmospheric but poor scenario , and fine though rotten sets . The musician Robby Poitevin composes a nice soundtrack in Morricole style and well conducted , this turns out to be one of the most memorable parts of the movie; as it's full of enjoyable sounds and haunting musical background . The soundtrack contributes tremendously to the atmosphere of the film, including an emotive leitmotif, the music score is perhaps the best part of this film . Striking cinematography by Enzo Barboni ; however , being necessary a correct remastering .Mario Caiano's direction is well crafted, here he's less cynical and humorous and more inclined toward violence and packs too much action , but especially this thrilling Western contains long shot'em up and violence . He directed this decent western , genre in which he would not only excel but one where he would spent much of the rest of his career , as he directed several Spaghetti : ¨Brandy¨, ¨Avenger of California¨ , ¨Ringo, face of revenge¨ , ¨Bullets don't argue¨, ¨Lone and angry man¨, ¨A train to Durango¨. Caiano is a craftsman who has directed all kind of genres as Peplum as ¨Ulisse vs Ercole¨, ¨I due Gladiatori¨, ¨Maciste Gadiatori di Sparta¨ and Terror : ¨Nightmare castle¨, ¨ Eye in the labyrinth¨ and even Pornonazi as ¨Nazi love camp 27¨. Although Caiano couldn't be deemed an "A"-list director, his movies had a professionalism and a verve that many of those made by his fellow B directors lacked . This is a passable though muddle and uneven Western but will appeal to Spaghetti aficionados . Rating : 6 , riotous Western in which there's too much violence , action and enough excitement
