Im Staub der Sonne

Spara Gringo Spara is a particular favorite of this spaghetti western fan in that it combines the expected Italian western bravado and action with a respectable attempt at offering unique character relationships.

While lacking the depth and intrigue of classics of the genre, such as "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly", Spara Gringo Spara (aka Shoot Gringo Shoot) does manage to avoid the confusing plot lines and over-indulging intensity that often spoils many shoot-em-up films. Westerns, at least the better ones, more often than not revolve around a simple theme of good vs. evil. And although many recently produced old-west films successfully cloud that issue ("Open Range" for one), most films of the genre are better served remaining faithful to the standard, to-the-point presentation that exemplifies the western... keep the storyline simple and punctuate it with in-your-face, gun-blazing action.

Spara Gringo Spara delivers these elements without watering down the dialog, mixing in unnecessary plot twists, or exceeding the duration required to achieve its goals.

The bottom line... Spara Gringo Spara makes no attempt to deliver anything beyond its capabilities. Sometimes, less is more, as this movie properly demonstrates. A nice addition to any spaghetti western collection.

This movie has an interesting story and plenty of gun-blazing action. The overall plot is easy to follow, but could have been smoothed out a bit more. I'm not sure if the English version was poorly edited or if the production was a bit sloppy to begin with, but it just seems like some of the events in the story need a little more background or explanation than is given.

Brian Kelly and Fabrizio Moroni give very good performances in the lead roles. Moroni seems kind of like a 19 year-old Tomas Milian in this film. The other actors are just so-so. Keenan Wynn's performance is a bit disappointing considering that he is the most well-known actor in the film.

This is not one of the most highly stylistic Euro-westerns, but it does have it's moments, especially near the end.

The best thing about this movie is the music score. In fact, it's almost too good for the film. I don't remember ever seeing the name of this composer, Sante Maria Romitelli, before. But if I ever do again, I will surely take notice.

All things considered, this is a pretty entertaining film for spaghetti western fans.

Chad (Brian Kelly in his only Italian western role) escapes from prison and needs a job to make some money. It seems like good fortune when Don Hernando Gutierrez (Folco Lulli) offers him the princely sum of 5000 dollars to bring his runaway son Fidel (Fabrizio Moroni) back from the US to Mexico. Little does Chad know how difficult his task is - and that Gutierrez doesn't want his son back for the reason of fatherly love...

Well paced and well written western from the hands of Bruno Corbucci who is otherwise only known for his comedies. Rik Battaglia appears in a guest role as an army captain while Keenan Wynn has a larger role as a renegade leader. Sante Maria Romitelli contributes a tasteful epic soundtrack. All in all a satisfying contribution to the genre.

I'm pretty picky about my Spaghetti Westerns, so it's very rare that I watch one with fair to middling ratings that I think is much better than that. This is one of those rare cases. I really don't understand all the meh-ness about it. I thought it was creative, well made and very enjoyable. It definitely has some odd touches for the genre, but I thought they worked very well and were never over the top or distracting. A solid contribution to the filone, I say!

Guess IMDb's never heard that brevity is the essence of wit. This didn't need the extra two lines, IMDb. And still not enough. Is the 10 line minimum based on something or did a programmer just make that up?

Criminal Brian Kelly escapes from prison by pretending to have leprosy. Finding himself at the wrong end of a rope, he agrees to bring home the son of a wealthy Spanish landowner, who's fallen in with fun-loving (and duck loving!) outlaw Keenan Wynn and his gang of misfits.

A sense of deja vu does hang over the proceedings. However, the action is plentiful, the scenery nice to look at, and the stars (particularly Wynn) full of roguish charm, all making this a breeze to watch, even if it's not very original. The twist at the end is cool.

Cult Euro-babe Erika Blanc is nice to look at too, even though her screen time here is as short as her dress is long (way too long, that is).

Writer/director Bruno Corbucci may not be as fondly remembered as his brother Sergio (even though he helped pen some of his best work), but his direction is quite solid too, making for a satisfying if not entirely memorable western.