Una colt en la mano del diablo

The action opens in a hard labour camp, a prisoner is saved by a fellow inmate from a violent guard and the latter dies after being flogged for this action. And so after being released, the other man travels to the home town of his deceased saviour in order to pay off a debt for the dead man.

Colt in the Hand of the Devil was for me one of the better latter day spaghetti westerns I have seen. Its story involving revenge and its stock list of characters are all fairly run of the mill. But what set it apart was the mystery element to the story where we progressively discover just what secret from the past that our loner hero is trying to put right. I thought that this almost amateur sleuth aspect helped keep things more interesting than they might otherwise have been. The result was a pretty entertaining Italian western.

Robert Woods is breaking rocks in prison. He is almost killed by a guard, but Attilio Dottesio kills the guard, and is staked out for his trouble. He tells Woods to take a pearl cufflink and go to a small town when he is released. Woods does so, and discovers a complicated story about how Dottesio was framed into prison. In his efforts to clear Dottesio's name, people wind up dead.

It's a well plotted but sloppily directed spaghetti western from director-cowriter Gianfranco Baldanello. It's a sloppiness that the contemporary audience likely did not recognize, but the spaghetti western was growing sloppy, expanding its definitions and falling into its own tropes. We don't know why Woods was in prison; he's brutal when the occasion suits him, but we know he'll get the girl, Fiorella Mannoia, in the end, even as the ladies engage in some gunplay themselves.

The movie begins at a prison camp in the desert. Jeremy Scott saves Roy Koster (Robert Woods) from the bullet of an angry warden. Scott dies soon afterwards, but with his last dying breath, he reveals the name of the place he came from: Silvertown. Koster, after his release from the camp, decides to visit Silvertown and see the family of Scott. However, he finds the town to be rather hostile, even the relatives of the deceased. Nobody wants to speak to him, the only one who does is hanged and Koster begins to suspect that Scott was innocent, thus the truth about the deed he was sentenced for is still hidden. The town is ruled by Warner (George Wang) and his gunmen, and when Koster starts investigating, he quickly makes a lot of enemies...

"Una colt in mano al diavolo" is quite a clever little movie. Obviously made on a shoestring budget, it manages to combine western with a crime investigation story, and the result surely is entertaining. Until a flashback explains what's going on after 30 minutes, the audience gets only few clues, and the mystery makes it interesting. William Berger got a good role as a saloon owner, even if the only thing he has got to do in the first half is stand around and look enigmatic. George Wang rides the same horse that Robert Woods was riding before (black with a white spot), apparently the producers couldn't afford another horse - go figure. My Italian DVD has a runtime of only 72 minutes, but it states that is the complete original version (as per censor rating 1972). The movie exceeded my expectations, I voted 6 of 10.

Una colt in mano al diavolo (Colt in the Hands of the Devil) finds Robert Wood as Roy Koster, an ex-convict who upon release travels to Silvertown to enact a favour for the man who saved his life in prison.

Standard stuff here with no innovation in production to lift it above average. Story is simple but solid enough, with a nice mystery element keeping one interested as Koster tries to get to the bottom of why his prison saviour, Jeremy Scott (Attilio Dottesio), was imprisoned and why he is so reviled by the townsfolk - including his family! Action is passable, though the finale is weak, while an array of quirky characters flit in and out of proceedings. Some enjoyable names as well, Sulking Jerry, Limping Jerry...

Much of a muchness in the grand scheme of Spaghetti Westerns, it is mostly harmless fare - that is except for one piece of raging misogyny where naturally if you slap a woman around and force yourself on her - she will melt in your arms... 5/10

"Colt in the Hand of the Devil" is a so-so Spaghetti Western following the Sergio Leone wake , including close-ups , decent camera work , shootouts , fast moving , choreographic duels with high body-count and that's why being proceeded in Italian style . It deals with a prisoner called Roy Koster (Robert Woods) sentenced to years of hard labor at the quarry belonging to a Territorial Prison where the treatment of inmates is harsh. Whilst in prison the sadistic guard intentionally targets Roy but he is saved from the warden's bullet by fellow prisoner Jeremy Scott (Attilio Dottesio) who as he lays dying asks Roy to head to Silvertown where he came from to prove his innocence . While Roy planning a prison break , but escaping is no easy task . Later on , Roy Koster is released from jail , as he fulfils the promise to visit a town run by a gang of nasty gunmen led by cutthroat Warner (George Wang) . And on arriving in Silvertown Roy doing so he makes a lot of enemies . Quickly realises it is a perilous place run by a villain and no one happy to see a stranger in town especially one asking questions with even Scott's family less than welcoming . Roy starts to suspect that Jeremy may have been set up for a murder he didn't commit with those who know the truth willing to kill to keep it hidden .

This obscure Spaghetti Western with a pretty straight-forward storyline turns out to be a moving Macarroni western that contains a story full of violence , skill dramatic pace and stirring direction , approaching increasingly Sergio Leone's Italian manners , and keeping some details that make it special in this particular genre . It's a thrilling western with spectacular scenes in which our starring is incarcerated in a State Penitentiary , there Roy doesn't bear the mistreats and humiliations , later on , he attempts to find out the truth about a wrongly condemned person and along the way executes a single-handedly revenge , as he murders each person involved in the plot . A typical storyline in which Roy Koster arriving in Silvertown , seeking vendetta against nasties and ending up dealing with the bad elements who control the place and who were behind imprisonment of the unfortunate Jeremy Scott . There's a breathtaking confrontation between protagonist Robert Woods and heartless enemy George Wang , resulting in an unexpected twist . It's a middle-budget Italian film with usual actors , professional technicians , so-so production values and uneven results . Charismatic interpretation from Spaghetti's customary actors . Stars the American actor Robert Woods who is passable in his usual tough role , here as Roy , an ex-inmate , a drifter desperately wanting justice , attempting to solve Jeremy's wrongful incarceration by facing off a ruthless outlaw , George Wang , on his trail . Robert Woods starred films in all kinds of genres , thriller , action , Giallo , Erotic and especially Spaghetti Western . As Woods played a lot of Spaghetti Westerns , some of them passable , others lousy ones , these are as follows : "A Dollar and a Grave¨ , ¨Gatlin Gun¨ , ¨Colt in the Hand of the Devil¨, ¨The Belle Star Story¨ , ¨A Colt for 4 Candles¨ , ¨Black Jack¨ , ¨My Name is Pecos¨ , ¨Pecos Cleans Up¨ and ¨Seven Guns for the MacGregors¨. And his is greatest hit was ¨Pecos¨ . The acting isn't bad but in "Colt in the Hand of the Devil" the actors can't make ordinary roles become memorable. There are also some familiar faces in the support cast , the Austrain and genre regular William Berger , Attilio Dottesio , Benito Pacifico , George Wang , among others .

Nice soundtrack by Piero Piccioni , it is catching enough to make it attractive , including an enjoyable leitmotif . Colorful and evocative cinematography by Alvaro Manzoni , shot in the unappropriate Italian exteriors , no Almeria . The motion picture was regularly directed by Gianfranco Baldanello , who often used pseudonym Frank G. Carroll , providing a bit bland and forgettable realization. He was assistant director and subsequently directed some films . Gianfranco made several Spaghettis , such as ¨Uccidete Johnny Ringo¨ , ¨This man cant die¨ , ¨Son of Zorro¨ , ¨The Cry of the Wolf¨, ¨Black Jack¨ and ¨Blood River¨. And ¨Colt in the Hand of the Devil¨ isn't a bad spaghetti western, it's just an ordinary one with no great soundtrack or camera work to make it stand out like the ordinary spaghetti westerns do . Rating : 5.5/10. Acceptable and passable but never anything more than regular at best.