Johnny Oro

Ringo and His Golden Pistol (1966) is a spaghetti western that I recently watched on HBOMAX. The storyline follows Johnny Ringo trying to make some money however he can, as a hired gun or in the gold business but he doesn't take the law, or much else, seriously. Meanwhile, a Mexican and some Native Americans are about to arrive in the town Ringo is in looking for revenge for the deaths of the Mexican's brothers. An epic shootout is sure to ensue.

This movie is directed by Sergio Corbucci (Django) and stars Mark Damon (House of Usher), Giulia Rubini (David and Goliath), Andrea Aureli (The Loves of Hercules), Loris Loddi (House of Gucci) and Ettore Manni (War of the Zombie).

The settings and shootouts are the best part of the movie. The shootouts are well executed and entertaining. The dialogue is okay too; although, the comedic elements were a bit cheesy. The drunken Native American cliche was blah. This just wasn't as funny as it tried to be. The storyline could have been better, and the acting is inconsistent.

Overall, this is a very average addition to the spaghetti western genre. I would score a 5.5/10 and recommend seeing it once.

Johnny is pretty materialistic. Without a piece of gold he won't move a limb. Early in the story he could have killed bad guy Perez - but without the dime no kill. Story develops into a lonely-sheriff-versus-the-bandits one where the sheriff demonstrates his iron will to maintain law and order. Added to this familiar plot there is the element of temptation: if the town dwellers deliver Johnny to the outlaws the town would be saved. Unfortunately this sideline isn't well developed. In the end we get a good portion of action with explosions etc. Score, cinematography(too many studio shots) and acting are adequate. Was made in the same year as DJANGO with very different maverick heroes.

5 / 10.

Despite being directed by the legendary Sergio Corbucci, who worked on some classic spaghetti westerns like "Companeros" and "The Great Silence", this particular foreign oater is one of his lesser efforts. It's not really a bad movie, since it's never boring, but all the same it generally feels low key and not a real grabber. The background scenery isn't all that spectacular, there isn't a lot of action (though the climatic action sequence is exciting and spectacular), and there is far too much routine and predicable talk and plot turns. The worst thing about it is the depiction of the hero, who comes across for the most part as really smug and arrogant. Still, the movie doesn't manage to overstay its welcome in part due to a fairly lean running time. So in the end, the movie is kind of a mixed bag. People who dislike westerns (spaghetti or not) will probably despise it. Those who enjoy westerns (particularly in the spaghetti style) will find it more tolerable, but even they will probably admit that it's not a movie to actively seek out.

Corbucci's fourth Spaghetti Western is likable enough, but it's still a long way from the baroque style of his subsequent example in the genre - DJANGO (1966) - much less the ultra-bleak outlook of his masterpiece, THE GREAT SILENCE (1968). Besides, star Mark Damon - made up here to look like the long-lost brother of Bob Dylan's Alias character in Sam Peckinpah's PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID (1973)! - lacks the screen presence of Franco Nero, let alone the intelligence of Jean-Louis Trintignant! He still has fond memories of the film, however, since he mentioned it during the Italian B-movie retrospective at the 2004 Venice Film Festival (which my brother and I attended)!

Apart from presenting an unusual - and perhaps unlikely - alliance against the cowboys by Mexicans and Indians, the film has a healthy sense of humor: after he's insulted in a bar, Damon orders the protracted preparation of a concoction made up of some ungodly ingredients - only to then throw it in the face of his opponent!; later, facing up to three bad men without his coveted golden pistol, he blows them all away by unceremoniously throwing a bomb in their midst!; sheriff Ettore Manni's jail has a frequent customer (to the point where he has come to consider it his home!) in a pint-sized old man - told by the former that he can't stay any longer, the latter commits "wilful damage to public property" by breaking the jail's windows as soon as he exits and, turning himself in immediately, he is thus able to keep his place in jail!

The film manages to end with a bang: Damon blowing up the main street of the town (it seems that's all we ever get to see from it in any Western!) - followed by a memorable showdown (involving Damon's gold-plated paraphernalia). Carlo Savina's title tune is catchy, too: the film was originally called JOHNNY ORO and, therefore, has no relation to the two earlier "Ringo" titles made by director Duccio Tessari and starring Giuliano Gemma!

Just when we thought cowboy movies had gone belly up, along came this operatic horse opera with a black outfit hero with a droopy mustache and a gilded side arm who goes about offing the clean cut family for the price on their heads - well they were murdering bandidos but still!

All the energy and flamboyance that the plodding dollars films lacked and concepts that belonged in Italianate literature. Mark Damon stopping off between Roger Corman and being a corporate heavy was something new in movie heroes and, after blowing up the town, there he was facing an adversary who tells him "Smile at me Ringo, for I am death." How long had this been going on?