Ein Halleluja für zwei linke Brüder

Yet another comedy western from Italy, and to be honest I spent quite a lot of the running time wondering if I'd watched this particular story of two mismatched brothers after an inheritance before, or if it was just that the story was that similar to some other 'inheritance/brothers' film I'd watched in the past, before realising I had watched it before about two seconds before it ended.

Richard Harrison plays Jessie (a blonde blur on my copy), a fanny rat leaving a trail of debts and carpet monkeys all over the West. Jessie wants to open the greatest brothel the West has ever seen, but he has no money, so enter Donald O'Brian as Lester (a dark blur on my copy) – Jessie's half-brother who is a tee-total Mormon who wants to build a church who informs Jessie that they have both inherited some land from an Uncle. The rest of the film involves the brother's japes as they try to earn cash to fulfil their dreams.

And what japes! Throughout the pixelated, blurry mess, you'll half- witness the brothers continually losing money because of Lester's trust in the local banks (who are continually robbed by a blur called Poker), forced to wash dishes by Chinese bar owner George Wang (a blur with a stereotypical Chinese accent), robbed at gunpoint by the psychotic vague outline of Luciano Rossi, and just plain trying to rip off each other.

What saves all this virtual cataract experience is Richard Harrison's natural acting (much better here than in the more serious films he appears in) and Donald O'Brian's usual over the top shenanigans. There's plenty of action thrown in amongst all the painful comedy displayed by these Westerns by this point but then again if I spend my time wondering if I've seen a film before, then how memorable is it going to be to someone who couldn't give a crap?

Oh, and if you like the soundtrack it's your lucky day because it plays almost constantly throughout the film.

With the success of the two of the "Trinity" spaghetti westerns starring Terence Hill and Bud Spencer, it was inevitable that other Italian film producers would try to copy the formula, which is what "Jesse And Lester" is. Like the "Trinity" films, the two main characters are half-brothers, and to further the connection there's a town by the name of "Trinity"! I wouldn't mind this copying had this clone been funny, but it isn't. Richard Harrison and Donald O'Brien aren't exactly actors known for their comic skill, and the two of them have absolutely no chemistry put together. Not only is the movie desperately unfunny, there is no real plot to speak of - it's just one vignette after another with no real connection to each other. I usually love spaghetti westerns, so it should be real clear how bad this effort is if even I hated it.

Gunslinging whore-monger Richard Harrison and uptight Mormon Donal O'Brien are estranged brothers who inherit a ranch from their mother, only to find it inhabited by a rowdy group of strip-miners. Unfortunately, getting their land back turns out to be much easier than dealing with each other or keeping a handle on the resulting cash.

Another loosely plotted, low budget entry from the waning days of the Italian western and full of the usual comedic hijinks, this is definitely no classic. However, it is somewhat more interesting than a lot of similar movies, thanks to it's stars and slightly more restrained use of comedy.

When watching Richard Harrison in something like this or his later ninja movies, it's hard to imagine why he would allegedly turn down iconic leading roles in A Fistful Of Dollars and Django!

Slapstick and ridiculous horse comedy with crossfire , messes , assaults and brawls . The farcical , absurd misadventures of a pair of botcher underdogs who never get to keep the loot for themselves . They are two estranged half brothers similar to Trinity (Terence Hill) and Bambino (Bud Spencer) who reunite to take a valuale inheritance from their deceased mother. After inheriting a land in a dusty place called Trinity , the antagonistic half-brothers, Lester (Donald O'Brien) and Jesse (Richard Harrison) , join forces to pursue different aspirations, as Lester wants to create a Church , while Jesse dreams a brothel-saloon , only to find themselves get into trouble . Will they ever fulfill their wishes ?

Silly slapstick euro-western and low-brow comedy in Terence Hill-Bud Spencer style with two anti-heroes forming a peculiar buddy-movie couple who get into all sorts of trouble while attempting to claim an inheritance. As highlight of the movie is the wildly contrasting of the mismatched duo and following their footloose , embarrassing adventures . The movie is filled with action , twists , fun , brawls , shootouts , surprise-filled entertainment and with a couple of frankly bemusement moments , but being an inferior spoof-Spaghetti . It does eventually outstay its welcome , and there are a surprising amount of fights and laughter . The movie is running out of ideas a lot ; however , being still good enough to be fun .Amusingly starred by Richard Harrison and Donald O'Brien , it is plenty of action , shootouts , tongue-firmly in cheek , fights with lots of punches , kick-ass , bounds , leaps , twists and loads of shots . The movie takes parts from Enzo Barboni movies such as ¨Trinity is my name¨ and ¨Trinity is still my name¨. Although , it packs some entertaining sketches and hilarious incidents , nevertheless , it seems to get worse and worse as it goes on . This is a lousy , some cheap and irritating Faglioli-Spaghetti Western in Trinity and Bambino style and that's why there is a cult to idiocy surrealism , silliness , dirtiness with an appropriately goofy tone , customary issue in this sub-genre . The violence isn't crude but suits the light-weight fun comedy and silly slapstick , like the Trinity series , as this movie efforts to copy known scenes of other Spaghetti westerns . It certainly has an enthusiastic cast , plenty of familiar secondaries , some very impressive gymnastics , especially in the massive fight sequences , and particularly in Richard Harrison acting and his gym skills , a minor Spaghetti Western , though both protagonists also starred major Spaghetti Westerns . This stirring Ravioli Western packs thrills , shootouts , noisy action , humor with tongue-in-cheek and riding pursuits . Italian production filmed in Lazio , Rome , full of familiar faces , assaults , exaggerated characters , gun-down , lots of shots and fights .

Worthwhile watching for a demonstration of the agreeable and hilarious confrontation between the half-brothers Richard Harrison and Donald O'Brien with some looks that say it all , including a thrilling ending at the town with full of shootings . Here starring Richard Harrison is nice as the likable, charming , blithely amoral and roguish Jesse Smith . Richard is pretty nice , he ravages the screen , he jokes, jumps, leaps and bounds , hits and runs . Strong and robust Richard Harrison was a magnificent muscle-man . Harrison played in Hollywood some minor roles as ¨Kronos¨, ¨South Pacific¨ and ¨Master of world . Then , Harrison jumped at the chance when offered the first character in 1961 ,¨The Invincible Gladiator¨ , which was filming in Europe . He wound up settling in Italy for the next two decades . To avoid being penned in too much as a muscle man , he sought characters in routine spaghetti westerns as ¨Texas the Red¨, ¨Gringo¨, ¨Reverendo Colt¨ , ¨Joe Dakota¨ , even the main role from ¨For a fistful of dollars¨ was offered to Richard Harrison , but he turned down and explaining : Maybe my greatest contribution to cinema was not doing Fistful of Dollars, and recommending Clint Eastwood for the part . He's well accompanied by Donald O'Brien as a peaceful, devout Mormon giving an enjoyable acting . Donald also starred a number of Westerns such as : Keoma , Mannaja , ¡Corre, Cuchillo... corre! , Lo sceriffo di Rockspring , God is my Colt 45 , Paid in Blood , The Judgment of God , Six Bounty Killers for a massacre . Support cast is frankly good with plenty of familar faces . Along with the two sympathetic protagonists appearing ordinary secondary actors who are habitual in Italian Western and Peplum genre , such as : Rick Boyd or Federico Boyd , Emisio Mesina , John Bartha , Fernando Cerulli , Goffredo Unger ,Salvatore Baccaro , Luciano Rossi among others . This bewildering picture was regularly directed by Renzo Genta and uncrdited Richard Harrison. Rating 5/10. So-so Pasta Western , only for hardcore aficionates and completists.

... you start purposefully seeking out material like JESSE & LESTER, former matinée idol Richard Harrison's rarely seen attempt to make a "Trinity" type slapstick comedy western. Everybody who was anybody had to try making one of these after 1971 and you have to give the guy credit for taking the chance even if he came up empty. Harrison got busy and corralled writer Renzo Genta -- who had already secured his place in history for having penned the marvelous DAY OF ANGER -- to be his fall guy director, conned eventual Euro horror legend Donald O'Brien into wearing a ridiculous fake Dunkin Munchkins beard to be the straight man, and cast himself as a foppish, lovable rogue philandering and fist-fighting his way across the old west in search of a crummy $1500 to build a whorehouse. You know your spaghetti western's ambitions are severely challenged when it's hero can't even come up with an interesting goal. Like blowing Luigi Pistilli's head off, for instance.

The film can be politely described of as an ungainly if harmless mess. Comedy should always be left to either comedians or those with a gift for comic timing, and there are all sorts of examples of spaghetti western comedies that "work" even when bypassing the Trinity formula. Check out Anthony Steffen and Daniel Martin in TOO MUCH GOLD FOR ONE GRINGO to see what I mean. That film's hilarity lies within it's attention to understatement, timing, and panache, where JESSE & LESTER is all about gonzo Euro supporting actors running around in silly costumes, waving their arms, and jabbering excitedly. Between so-called comic encounters there are fistfights, shootings, jokes involving ladies' bloomers, and Richard Harrison in his long underwear. As another reviewer points out, if you aren't really into this stuff it gets tiresome.

The film does have a few saving graces to recommend it to fans of the genre: A musical score by Carlo Savina announces the funny parts with lots of "wahh-wahhh!" muted trumpets, but when it relaxes provides some nice themes, which is what one should expect from Carlo Savina. There's some interesting supporting work done by George Wang in particular (another one of those actors like Steffen who just happens to have a sense for comic timing), Rick Boyd gets to show off his bleached blond hair as a dubiously talented gunslinger, and familiar faces like Fortunato Arena, Claudio Ruffini, and good old John P. Dulaney of ROBOWAR fame rumble it up as assorted desperadoes, con-artists, and unfortunates who's fate leads them into Jesse & Lester's path. Pretty Anna Zinnemann gets to look pretty as Harrison's would-be romantic interest (he generously supplied himself with several, actually). And there are some inappropriate touches of brutality that ingeniously work to undermine the film's comic intentions, including a big, sprawling shootout at the end that seems to go on and on and on ...

Obviously I am not the person to be reviewing this film, and I will offer one concession. Actually, two: The fullscreen pan/scan formatted version of the film that I saw makes it impossible to evaluate in terms of characteristics of form, and the movie may very well play out better in the original Italian. Hence the neutral rating of 5/10. Comedy spaghetti's are an acquired taste but in addition to the original Trinity films & TOO MUCH GOLD -- as well as pretty much anything with Eli Wallach, who is hilarious even just eating a plate of stew -- there are a few which have caught my fancy. Like BEN & CHARLIE, which this film took a lot of it's cues from, Enzo Castellari's ONE DOLLAR TOO MANY, Bud Spencer's life-affirming CAN BE DONE, AMIGO!, and the sly, kitschy surrealism of CAPTAIN APACHE which works even when Lee Van Cleef is singing rather than shooting people. He's not bad, actually. To say that one would be better off going with any of those would miss a point, however, which is that films like JESSE & LESTER make them look epic by comparison. To truly appreciate greatness one must experience a certain amount of mediocrity, and one can only sit through BAD MAN'S RIVER so many times.

While watching the movie one thought did keep coming to mind, which was the question of just WHO was this movie made for? It's too violent for kids and not funny enough for general audiences. The answer is so obvious it should go without saying: People who are dangerously addicted to Italian made westerns and will sit through anything just to watch a bunch of Italians dress up like cowboys and ride around in Almeria. Chances are that if you're reading this review you are among that sect, and must seek this movie out immediately lest you miss the chance of being the first kid on the block who can blather on about how genuinely awful it was. Hurry.

5/10