Un minuto per pregare, un istante per morire

"A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die" is a quality spaghetti western with a solid cast and an interesting storyline. It is filmed beautifully, with a relatively high production value for a film in this genre.

Alex Cord does a terrific job portraying Clay McCord, an outlaw who is suffering from increasingly debilitating seizures. He is seeking amnesty before his enemies close in on him, but is being too cocky for his own good when he asks for it. Robert Ryan delivers the best performance in the film as the governor of New Mexico. Mario Brega and Arthur Kennedy are also great here.

This movie is very good, but it doesn't stand out to me as being one of the best spaghetti westerns out there. It's lacking too much in style to be in the same league as any of the great ones. It does have some cool spaghetti overtones, but overall it's a bit too much like an American western. This is especially evident in the music score, which is OK as movies go in general, but pretty dull by euro-western standards. The soundtrack kind of reminds me of the music from "The Unforgiven." Although there is an interesting story here, it is told in a manner which is a bit too conventional for my tastes. If a spaghetti western fan and a Hollywood western fan had to watch a movie together, this one would be the perfect compromise.

All of this is not to say that anyone should avoid this film. I did enjoy watching it very much. As I said, it is a very well-done film and I recommend it to anyone who likes westerns, spaghetti or otherwise.

Pleasant and enjoyable Spaghetti Western with lots action , thrills , fights and violence . In Tuscosa, New Mexico, the Governor offers amnesty papers to all outlaws . When outlaw Clay McCord (Alex Cord) learns the Governor of New Mexico has offered a pardon to all who apply for it at the town of Tuscosa , he's intrigued but suspicious about it , but he wants his redemption . Then Clay who suffers from troubled occasional epyleptic and strange spells about his deceased father arrives in a minering village called ¨Escondido¨ with a poster captioning the following : ¨If you ain't wanted Mister , you ain't wanted¨. The village is tyrannically domineed by a ruthless villain , boss Kraut (Mario Brega) , there Clay is healed by the beautiful Laurinda (Nicoletta Machiavelli) .Later on , in Tutcosa , Clay McCord's appearance triggers a violent mayhem , as he clashes with the local sheriff , Roy Colby (Arthur Kennedy) , and other outlaws . The Governor (Robert Ryan) then arrives and attempts to calm the situation , knowing that if McCord asks for amnesty , other outlaws will follow .A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die... That's all McCord gives them! The man with the twisted hand always shoots straight to kill!

This is a good S. W. plenty of action , shootouts , fist-play and with an interesting character : an outlaw who suffers epileptic fits which plagued his father as well . An above average Spaghetti Western with usual ingredients , a violent confrontation among bandits , an amnesty and eventually a complex chain of happenings leading to a shoot-out with McCord, Colby, and the Governor on one side while a band of outlaws comprise the other . Stars Alex Cord who plays efficiently the deranged gunslinger , and , even did all of his own stunts . He sought a Hollywood a hard way to success and he found one via his equestrian skills in the early 1960s starring some TV Westerns . Steady work came to him on such established western TV series as Laramie (1959) and Branded (1965) and that extended itself into acting roles on crime action series as Route 66 (1960) and The Naked City (1958). Gaining a foothold in feature films within a relatively short time, he starred or co-starred in more than 30 feature films, including Synanon (1965), Stagecoach (1966), Stiletto (1969) and Mafia (1968). After his film career declined in the late 1970s he turned to action adventure overseas with this notorious "spaghetti western" : A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die (1967) and the British war drama The Last Grenade (1970) and later commercial interest was drawn from his title role in Grayeagle (1977). In Un minuto per pregare, un istante per morire (1967) movie appears usual support actors who took part of hundreds of Spaghetti or Paella Westerns as Italians : Mario Brega, Gianpiero Albertini , Enzo Fiermonte , Giovanni Ivan Scratuglia , Spartaco Conversi , Fortunato Arena, John Bartha, Alberto Dell'Acqua , Ottaviano Dell'Acqua , as Spaniards : Lorenzo Robledo , Antonio Molino Rojo , Aldo Sambrell , Daniel Martin , José Canalejas , Francisco Sanz and José Manuel Martin .

It contains an original musical score by Carlo Rustichelli , it is sensitive and rousing as well , this is one of the best soundtracks of the genre . Likewise, a colorful and evocative cinematography by Aiace Parolin, shot on location in Desierto de Tabernas, Almería, Andalucía, Spain and De Laurentiis Studio, Rome, Italy . The motion picture was professionally directed by Franco Giraldi . This Italian writer/filmmaker (and Sergio Leone 's assistant director) so consistently mixed the good with the mediocre that it became quite impossible to know what to expect from him next . He directed four Westerns with abundant touches of humor (Seven guns for the MacGregor -1966- , 7 women for the MacGregor -1967- ) and one serious and violent (A minute to pray , a second to day -1968- ) . Rating : 7/10 , acceptable and decent movie that will appeal to Spaghetti Western buffs .

Alex Cord stars in this beautifully-photographed Spaghetti Western about a gunfighter with an arm that goes into epileptic fits under pressure. After a local town decides to give amnesty and $50 to gunfighters that give themselves up, Cord strongly considers giving up his run-n-gun lifestyle. But of course there's bounty hunters, bandits and lawmen who don't exactly take a liking to that so Cord is gonna' need a lot of bullets. The action sequences are average for a Spaghetti (good guy shoots a bunch of times, bad guys throw their arms straight into the air and spin around) but the direction is quite good and the storyline is intriguing. Robert Ryan shows up to kick some ass and add some class to the proceedings. 7.5 out of 10

The cast alone tells you this will be a notch above the usual Italian western. Veteran actors Robert Ryan and Arthur Kennedy team up with Alex Cord who, at the time, seemed on the verge of stardom. The result is a movie that's both off-beat and down-beat and yet it'll satisfy those who seek more from a western than just gunplay. Especially interesting here is the character played by Alex Cord. One expects the "hero" in these westerns to be taciturn and introspective, but "Clay McCord" is an extreme example and, surprisingly enough, he's often shone in a passive, even weak position. Much is made of the fact that he fears falling prey to the epileptic fits which immobilized his father, and in these moments of helplessness he's either at the mercy of those who wish to harm him or those who wish to help him. To emphasize his passivity, Clay McCord -- don't you love that name? -- is often shone stripped to the waist as if he were little more than an attractive plaything being put on display. There's even a strong masochistic streak in his nature, most in evidence when he's used as a punching bag by his enemies and then suspended by his wrists and left hanging above the middle of a street. Not only does he often fail to protect himself, but McCord is equally ineffective in protecting those around him. Nearly everyone who helps him is killed.

While "A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die" is far from being a complete success, it has a depth and a tone which sets it apart and causes it to linger in the memory. It's also a good showcase for Alex Cord whose career tended to decline after this point following a few promising years in the mid-1960s. He must have been about 34 years old when he filmed this -- in his physical prime -- and the scene of him hanging by his wrists, bare-chested and sweaty, is a memorable piece of cinematic "beefcake."

I caught this for the first time a few nights ago on television. I expected to only tune in for a few minutes, but found myself intrigued by the movie. I ended up watching it all and found it surprisingly compelling. The acting by the three American leads was quite good, especially that of Alex Cord. He plays a gunslinger with quite a degree of vulnerability. Very different from how most of them are portrayed in westerns. He ended up in several situations where he was at the mercy of the bounty hunters. The final shootout between the three leads and the bad guys was very good, as was the scene where the doctor digs a bullet out of Clay McCord. Somewhat gruesome, but realistic. I must admit that, despite my initial misgivings at watching a "spaghetti western", I ended up enjoying this film quite a bit. I would recommend it to anyone who likes westerns.