Arizona Colt

This is the eighth Spaghetti Western I've watched starring Giuliano Gemma - the others had been A PISTOL FOR RINGO (1965), THE RETURN OF RINGO (1965), FORT YUMA GOLD (1966), DAY OF ANGER (1967), A SKY FULL OF STARS FOR A ROOF (1968), THE PRICE OF POWER (1969) and SILVER SADDLE (1978). All of them are superior to THE MAN FROM NOWHERE - which turned out to be a sub-standard example of the genre and, though not an intentional parody, is so clichéd as to seem that way! Incidentally, the U.S. title is quite stupid since the main character (named Arizona Colt - also the film's original title) explicitly states he is named after the state he hails from!!

Fernando Sancho (again) is the trigger-happy chief villain; among his ragged outlaw gang is a drunkard Mickey Shaughnessy type who, unsurprisingly, befriends the hero - while favorite Euro-Cult starlet Rosalba Neri appears as a saloon-hostess, though she's killed off almost immediately! The film is stretched to a length of almost two hours for no very good reason which, with a none-too-exciting plot line at its centre (concocted by the ubiquitous Ernesto Gastaldi), quickly becomes tedious; even so, it does work its way to a good climax (with the hero utilizing a fake pair of hands to divert his adversary's attention, followed by a shoot-out in semi-darkness inside a funeral parlor).

The Wild East DVD I watched was extremely poor, which certainly didn't help my involvement in the film any: first off, the English dubbing is horrendous (Gemma's character is saddled with a ludicrous Southern accent); the muddy print - presented in a masked 1.85:1 ratio so as to simulate the original 2.35:1 Techniscope format! - features a number of jarring jump-cuts (indicating missing or damaged frames and suggesting, somewhat distressingly, that the film's supposed to be even longer than it already is) and, during one early instance, even falls several generations below the already unsatisfying standard on display. For the record, THE MAN FROM NOWHERE had a follow-up in ARIZONA COLT, HIRED GUN (1970) - with a different actor in the lead (Anthony Steffen), it's mainly notable for being Sergio Martino's debut film.

Released on DVD here in the states as "The Man From Nowhere", this entry into the Western All'Italiana oeuvre features pretty boy Guiliano Gemma as the good, veteran character actor Fernando Sancho as the bad, and a disappointing script as the ugly.

Arizona Colt can never quite figure out what it's trying to be. As a Hollywood western there would have been a few too many deaths and too strong a focus on destruction. As an Italian Western it takes itself too seriously and leans too heavily on wide tracking shots of the ol' west.

There is some good humor, and the reveal how Arizona is going to take on a town full of baddies is very slick, but this movie is a series of good moments and an overall weak effort when considered as a whole.

Rating: 16/40

Gordon (Fernando Sancho) and his bandits attack a prison to free all the inmates, because they need more men to rob a bank. One of the ex-prisoners declines the job offer, though. Arizona Colt (Giuliano Gemma) chases a murderer (Nello Pazzafini) for a reward of 500 dollars - and a night with the daughter of the saloon keeper!

"Arizona Colt" proves once again that the spaghetti western heroes were not bound by morality. The protagonist is only into money and women, but somehow he remains sympathetic. Classic moment of cynicism: Gordon tells how his father many years ago said: "Son, when I'm dead, my golden watch will belong to you", and 5 seconds later, the watch did belong to Gordon! Fernando Sancho is perfect as always to play the leader of the bandits. Gemma is a different type of actor than the stone-faced Clint Eastwood imitators of the genre, thus his movies are usually more enjoyable and original. The music is quite close to the rather epic style of the Ringo films, but written by Francesco de Masi this time.

Torrez Gordon needs new blood for his gang of outlaws, so he breaks into a prison to brand the inmates with the 'S' of the Scorpion gang. You gotta love the way these Italian stunt men spin around when they are shot. Some of them even got their horses doing it! Only one man refuses to join Gordon's gang: a clean cut dandy who calls himself Arizona Colt, after the state and the pistol.

This is not your usual Spaghetti Western. The man with no name never cared about his appearance. Arizona however, hides in his underwear, hanging upside down from a tree to take another outlaw's outfit, all to keep his precious suit clean! The score is also more American in nature than usual: very brassy and with the occasional comic banjo thrown in for good measure.

Colt is off to Blackstone Hill where we are introduced to a lot of supporting characters that have little to add to the picture. Dolores, who work in a bar full of men, is killed by a drunk in the barn before the audience gets a change to care about her. When her father asks Arizona to go after the killer, he not only demands money in return but the other daughter, Jane too (so he isn't a total fruitcake after all). Jane does not object either, since this is the only guy in town who knows what a bathtub looks like. He's so clean his teeth shine in the dark.

It gets even sillier when the Scorpion gang stumbles upon a gang of singing cowboys. The scene starts of quite amusing, with Gordon's right hand man Big Whiskey smelling out each person's valuables. But when the gang leader pulls out his golden pocket watch (don't they always?) and starts shooting all of these Gene Autry's in the back, Whiskey is not amused. He eventually teams up with Arizona, who has failed his mission in order to learn the usual lesion in humility.

While he is recuperating in an abandoned church, Jane comes begging for his help again. It seems Gordon is now holding the entire town hostage. Luckily Whiskey is an explosives expert and the two of them decide to take on all the Scorpions. Ever the showoff, Arizona kills each one of them in a different way, making use of household objects like rocking chairs and of course his acrobatics. In the sequel, "Arizona si scatenò... e li fece fuori tutti" (1970), the much dirtier Anthony Steffen took over the lead from Giuliano Gemma.

5 out of 10

After spending time in prison, bounty hunter, Arizona Colt (Giuliano Gemma) escapes after the Sidewinder gang massacres the guards and releases the prisoners whom all take off with Gordo (Fernando Sancho) and his men. Pressuring him into joining them, Arizona refuses to join the gang and leaves after humiliating Gordon and his men and heads to Blackstone Hill. There, the daughter (Rosalba Neri) of the saloon owner is murdered by one of Gordo's men. Arizona makes an uneasy deal with the townspeople that he'll bring back the killer for a reward in addition to marrying the bar owner's other daughter, Jane. After a brush with death, Arizona Colt must save the entire town now taken over by Gordo and the Sidewinders.

Giuliano Gemma flashes his pearly white teeth and twirls his sixgun as Arizona Colt who isn't too far from his "Ringo" persona. Matter of fact, there's a scene which nods towards Ringo when Colt asks for milk but then orders beer instead. It's a handsome looking western with great cinematography, a hummable score and title song, and some nifty action. Not as strong as Gemma's Ringo films but it's still a solid western that is well made and has a strong plot. Nice shootout finale between Arizona and Gordo - quite apt that it takes place in a shack full of empty coffins!! Maybe the runtime is a little long, though.