Django - Dein Henker wartet

I recently watched Don't Wait Django...Shoot (1967) on Tubi. The storyline revolves around Django's father getting killed in a business deal gone wrong. When Django returns home, chaos ensues.

Directed by Edoardo Mulargia (Shango) and featuring Ivan Rassimov (The Humanoid), Ignazio Spalla (Sabata), Rada Rassimov (The Good, The Bad and The Ugly), and Marisa Traversi (Flashman).

The film offers a classic Django experience complemented by an excellent Italian spaghetti western soundtrack. The settings, attire, and props were meticulously chosen, creating a visually immersive experience. The shootouts and action scenes were well-executed, contributing to the film's solid appeal. While the storyline is somewhat cliché, it remains enjoyable to watch unfold.

In conclusion, Don't Wait Django...Shoot is an average to slightly above-average addition to the western genre. I would give it a 5.5/10 and strongly recommend it for fans of the Django series.

DON'T WAIT, DJANGO...SHOOT! is a lame attempt to jump onto the Django bandwagon, and it's obvious from the outset that the main character's name has merely been changed to Django in post production in order to cash in on the success of the Franco Nero movie. It's nothing like a Django film at all, the titular character doesn't even wear the trademark clothing, and is instead a standard vengeance-seeking gunslinger.

The film opens as an elderly man is gunned down by a gang of Mexican cut-throats, leaving his grown up son and daughter seeking revenge for the crime. This revenge takes an inordinately long time to play out, with the running time interspersed with routine intrigue and some very unexciting shoot-outs.

One of the most interesting things about the production, for me, is the presence of Ivan Rassimov in the leading role. Rassimov is well known for his appearances in '70s movies like DEEP RIVER SAVAGES and it's fun to watching him play against his real-life sister, Rada, but he doesn't make much of an impression in this one. Pedro Sanchez has a supporting role and plays the usual larger-than-life character. The truth is that nobody's on fire here, particularly director Edoardo Mulargia who churned out at least a dozen of these cut-price spaghetti westerns.

This film should really be called Wait Django…just wait because that's what he does for most of the film! Periodically some guys turn up to be shot but it's all about the waiting.

Y'see, Django (this time played by Ivan "I'm a man, not a fish" Rassimov) is out for revenge after some bandits double cross his dad, steal his dad's money, then steal the money from themselves, then get themselves killed by another guy who steals his dad's money, then hides in a hotel with Django outside while some other guys come to Django's house and are all like 'where's Django at?', who then get themselves killed so some other guys turn up asking "Where's those guys at who were asking where Django's at?" and so on and so forth until just about everyone ends up dead.

Ivan and Rada Rassimov really look alike, eh? Never noticed that before. This one at least tries to be different, but in a rather uneventful way that must have saved a fortune on locations –Seriously, there's like four different locations here – Django's house, Bad guy number one's house, the village where the guy hides out, and bad guy number two's ranch. That's it! Thrown in a comic drunk guy, a fat sidekick and a whole lot of doing nothing and there's your film.

Good 'nervously tapping a silver dollar on a table' action though

Here is another film which gives the name Django to the title character as an after-thought, in order to cash in on the popularity of that spaghetti western series. In this one, a gang of bandits kill a man who turns out to be Django's father which of course turns out to be pretty bad news for those criminals in the long run. And there's some missing money, or something.

This one stars Ivan Rassimov in the title role, yet he was completely unrecognisable here to me, so much so I thought there must have been a mistake in the credits here. Needless to say it turns out it was Rassimov but I guess he didn't make too much of an impression here, which is surprising given how memorable he was in some later 70's giallo flicks. I guess the western genre just wasn't too suited to him really. Much better was his sister Rada, who would also go on to appear in a prominent giallo, namely Dario Argento's Cat o' Nine Tails (1971). The reason I think I am rambling on about other movies is that this flick was so incredibly forgettable. Like many standard Italian westerns it contains nothing new or very interesting and instead just gives us more of the same. This isn't always a bad thing of course but when it's delivered in such an under par manner it gets old pretty quick. This one is strictly for die-hard fans of this sub-genre.

Django (Ivan Rassimov) returns to the family home to find his father has been robbed and murdered by bandits. Ignoring the advice and pleas of his sister Mary (played by Rassimov's real life sister Rada), Django sets off to town for revenge. But this is merely the beginning of things...

There's enough enjoyment here for the very hardcore Spaghetti Western fan, but expectations levels really should be set at low. There's plenty of the standard Spag shootings, stand-offs and posturings, moody atmosphere and the music is pretty ace (Felice Di Stefano), but the structure of the pic is off.

Directed by Edoardo Mulargia and written by Vincenzo Musolino, the creators take a gamble by having the revenge aspect played out very early in the piece, the plot then thrusts a multitude of characters involved - in one way or another - in the search for the missing money taken when Django's pa was killed. The whole piece feels like a string of sequences stacked up against each other without a flowing sense of rhyme or reason. It doesn't help that this incarnation of Django is bland and it is in fact his side-kick Barrica (played by Ignazio Spalla) that engages more on the fun and entertainment front. The low budget shows on occasions (watch out for that deja vu feeling), whilst logic jumps and daftness are never far away.

Needlessly complex in telling and structure, pic is marginally saved by the action and some colourful characters, but really it is for those die-hard Spag fans only. 5/10