Spaghetti Westerns are some of my favorite films. Those of you who aren't familiar with the genre should check outThe Spaghetti Western Database. I've been trying to catch up with some of the more recent DVD releases, and today I finished watching Wild East Productions' Arizona Colt double bill.
The first film is Arizona Colt, also known as The Man From Nowhere, from 1966, directed by Michele Lupo, and starring one of the more clean-cut spaghetti stars, Giuliano Gemma. This early film is still trying to pass itself off as an American western, but shows signs of the new genre, especially the amoral "hero," the missing cache of stolen gold and the very sadistic Mexican villain, played by the brilliant Fernando Sancho. Those wanting a crash course in great genre actors are hard pressed to find a more loaded cast of familiar faces, including Roberto Camardiel as the comedy sidekick Double Whiskey, Rosalba Neri as the bad girl who is unfortunate enough to fall for Nello Pazzafini as the evil henchman Clay. The film is a tad slow moving and a bit overlong, but builds to a great final fight between Gemma and Sancho. The film has a nice sense of humor and some great action, as well as a very hummable score by Francesco DeMasi. Overall, a nice example of the early days of the genre. Except for a credit sequence and few random moments of print damage, this version has great vibrant color and very good picture quality.
The second half of the double bill is Arizona Colt: Hired Gun from 1970, starring Anthony Steffen in the title role this time. Oddly this film has almost nothing to do with the original film except the name and some of the supporting cast. This is director Sergio Martino's first spaghetti, and he displays a very unsure hand here. Arizona and his drunken pal Double Whiskey (again played by Roberto Camardiel) are enlisted by a rich landowner to kill the Mexican bandit Chico, played by the great Aldo Sambrell. He also must save the rancher's less than virginal daughter, played by Rosalba Neri, from the bandit's clutches. Or so he thinks.
This one has the more grubby, dusty look that became common by this later period. By now, comedy-westerns like They Call Me Trinity, had become popular, so this one starts out with a very light-hearted tone. the comedy is not as goofy as some films of the era, so it is tolerable, but soon the film changes tone and becomes grittier and more violent, complete with several torture scenes and long gun battles. Steffen gives one of his more bored performances here, but Sambrell is great, and Neri looks smokin' hot. Unfortunately, this late in the game, the movie stands as a typical spaghetti, not necessarily a good one, since it really doesn't offer anything that by now we haven't already seen. The film has a really goofy theme song that doesn't fit the latter half of the film, but you'll probably find yourself singing it anyway. The film is presented in a beautiful print, and looks wonderful, and it is probably perfectly acceptable entertainment if you haven't seen too many of its' ilk. it certainly isn't as bad as some people have claimed. Overall, this is an very enjoyable double bill, even if the first film is 10 times better than the second one.
It's really easy to see the drastic changes in style that have occurred in a mere four years by looking at the trailers for the two films!
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