Die Todesminen von Canyon City

Mediocre Paella/Spaghetti/Butifarra Western co-produced by Spain/Italy , with the unforgettable Fernando Sancho as a Mexican bandit . The film packs Western action , comical elements thanks to Fernando Sancho role , thrills , shoot'em up , brawls , and results to be quite entertaining . It's a middle-budget film with ordinary actors , technicians , decent production values and average results . Two prisoners called Red (Luis Davila) and Carrancho (the braggart Fernando Sancho who would played same role in ¨Five Thousand Dollars on One¨ as a secondary and this sequel as starring and acting lots of occasions in similar character) go chained , escorted troughout the sunny desert and then they getaway . After escaping from prison reach the border to Mexico . Along the way they meet several dangerous situations and confrontation . Later on , they fight against some ruthless hoodlums (Antonio Molino Rojo and Renato Baldini) who are under orders a powerful employer and rich silver mine owner named Morton (Robert Woods) . Disgusted by the latter's brutality , especially against the local peones they are hired by Morton to find out his wrongs . The two support a revolt organized with the aid of Mrs . Morton called Viviane (Loredana Nusciak of Django) , spouse of the nasty tyrant . After that , the swanky Carrancho robs a military uniform and posing as a Mexican General assaults the Morton's mine .

This moving tortilla/Ravioli Western packs thrills , shootouts , hilarious situations , riding pursuits and several other things . There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing some shoot'em up or stunts every few minutes . Furthermore , there are also the ordinary brawls , punches , hits , slaps and kick-asses . Italian-Spanish co-production filmed in Catalunya , full of familiar faces , action , exaggerated characters , crossfire and lots of shots and fights . Charismatic performance for the whole casting , giving special thanks to the boastful Fernando Sancho , playing an illiterate as well as humorous Mexican outlaw , whose role would play lots of times ,as he starred multitude ¨Tortilla¨ or ¨Pipperone¨ Westerns interpreting the quarrelsome , swanky Mexican outlaw , such as : ¨A pistol for Ringo¨, ¨Return of Ringo¨, "Requiem for a Gringo" , "Four Dollars for Vengeance¨ , "Dakota Joe" , ¨Winchester Bill¨ , "One Hundred Thousand Dollars for Ringo" , "The Man Who Came to Kill" , ¨Five Thousand Dollars on One Ace" or ¨Pistoleros De Arizona¨ and several others . Here Fernando Sancho in an unusual main role , he is pretty nice , he ravages the screen , he shoots , kills , jokes , boasts and many other things . Co-stars Luis Dávila who gives a serviceable swift-shooting hero in his role , he starred during the sixties and seventies several action films as well as Chorizo or Paella Western such as : ¨Relevo para pistolero¨, "Doc, Hands of Steel" , ¨Viva Carrancho¨, ¨Tumba para Forajido¨ and "Pancho Villa" , some of them directed by Alfonso Balcazar . While the Spaghetti ordinary protagonist , Robert Woods , here holds a secondary character : a ruthless tyrant who enslaves unfortunate Mexican people . Robert starred several Tortilla/Ravioli Western such as : "Seven Guns for the MacGregors" , ¨Black Jack¨, ¨El Puro¨, "Gatling Gun" , among others . Worthwhile watching for a demonstration of the confrontation between Fernando Sancho , Luis Davila and Robert Woods with some looks that say it all , including a thrilling ending shotdown at the mine and the mansión . Support cast is frankly well with the regular familiar faces from Tortilla/Ravioli Western such as : Francisco Sanz , Carlos Otero , Renato Baldini , Loredana Nusciak , Antonio Molino Rojo , Gérard Tichy , Cesar Ojinaga , Gaspar Indio Gonzalez , José Luis Martin and several others . It's a two country co-production : Spain/Italy , but is clearly dominated by the Spanish contingent and the traditional leanings of the Spanish producers of the time have their stamp on the entire proceedings . The Spanish westerns of this era were far more likely to try and emulate their American source material than cultivate a distinctive style of their own the way the Italians were doing their product , though this one has penchant for hilarious happenings and roles . If you like Chorizo , Paella , Butifarra or Spaghetti westerns , this remains lightly watchable .

This picture " Viva Carrancho¨ or ¨Man from Canyon City¨ (United States) or ¨L'homme qui venait de Canyon-City¨ (France) or ¨Django - Die Todesminen von Canyon City¨ (Germany) being well photographed by Alfio Contini and Scavarda in Eastmancolor , Techniscope . As well as atmospheric , climatic and evocative musical score by Angelo Francesco Lavagnino . Mostly filmed in atmospheric scenarios on location in Fraga , (Huesca) , similar to Almeria , and a Western village located in ¨Splugues De Llobregat¨ built by producers/directors brothers : Alfonso Balcázar , Francisco Balcázar , Juan Jose Balcazar though this Balcazar family went to bankrupt and had to sell the terrains , including the usual General supplies , Saloon , livery stable , wall paper merchandise , dressmaker , billiard parlor , barber shop , undertaker , General store , and other shops and buildings ; it resulted to be the locations where were shot lots of Westerns produced and directed by Catalan people as Alfonso Balcazar , J.J. Balcazar , Jose Antonio De La Loma , Juan Bosch , Xavier Marchal , Jose Maria Zabalza , Manuel Esteba , Ignacio F. Iquino , and Julio Buchs , among others , because Almeria was too far and the Fraga landscapes bear remarkable resemblance . There are also fine technicians , and writers as filmmaker/screenwriterJosé Antonio De La Loma , Film Editing by Teresa Alcocer , nice assistant direction and adequate production design by the usual Juan Alberto Soler , the latter creates an acceptable scenario .

This motion picture was middlingly directed by Alfonso Balcazar , and with no originality ; he managed to make a fluid and filled with punches , shots as well as fighting Western , though average . This Italian & Spanish co-production qualifies as a low-budget, mid-brow western, a level before the seminal Spaghetti westerns . Alfonso alongside his brothers Juan Jose Balcazar and Francisco Balcázar produced and directed a lot of Chorizo or Butifarra Western , most of them starred by Jorge Martin or George Martin , Luis Davila , Daniel Martin or Robert Woods ; such as : 1972 The return of Clint , 1972 Judas... ¡Toma Monedas! , 1968 Sartana no Perdone or Sonora , 1967 With Death on Your Back, 1966 Dinamita Jim , 1965 Doc , Manos De Plata , 1965 Viva Carrancho , 1965 Five Thousand Dollars on One Ace . Rating : 5/10 . Average , regular and ordinary Spaghetti western .