Un pistolet pour Ringo

"A Pistol for Ringo" is an above-average Spaghetti Western. The anti-hero (Gemma) and villain (Sancho) are both very charismatic, and each has a good sense of humor. The basic plot situation is interesting: Fleeing from a bank hold-up in which their leader was wounded, a gang of bandits takes refuge at a farm. Although the farm is surrounded, the posse cannot attack because of the hostages. The anti-hero is highly paid to infiltrate and destroy the gang, and recover the money. The film has some unusual twists; for example, the bandits are executing two hostages per day, even after the anti-hero joins the gang, and he makes no effort to halt the executions. There is an interesting contrast between the behavior of the anti-hero (Gemma) and the sheriff (Martin) who behaves like a traditional Western hero. The film has a nice music score by Ennio Morricone. But somehow, this film failed to fully satisfy this viewer. The heroine is dull and bland, too much of the film takes place at the farm, and the anti-hero kills the villain in an absurd manner. There are also some gaps of logic-why didn't the bandits lock the sheriff in his jail? In any event, the film was such a financial success that the seven principal actors were reunited in "The Return of Ringo" (a sequel in name only, since all characters were different). This review of "A Pistol for Ringo" is based on the (poorly) English-dubbed home video version, titled "Ballad of Death Valley." The video suffers greatly from lack of widescreen; for example, the first shootout has Ringo against four opponents at once, but all you can see on the TV screen is Ringo and one of the opponents, so you don't even know who drew first. If you want to see this film, try to see it in widescreen.

This is one of the better Spaghetti Westerns I've watched but whose reputation – despite the popularity of the title character – seems to me to be relatively underrated (and the film itself criminally unavailable in an affordable DVD edition; the same thing goes for its follow-up, THE RETURN OF RINGO [1965]).

While pretty straightforward in comparison to later efforts in the genre (often politically-motivated and thus heavy-going), just because it's unpretentious the film emerges as more readily enjoyable than most of its type – benefiting from the presence of Giuliano Gemma (certainly one of the more likable Italian stars in spite of a somewhat limited range), a typically fine score by Ennio Morricone, but also the unusual time-frame of the plot (it's set largely inside a hacienda under siege over the Christmas period!). Besides, there are agreeable (though not over-emphasized) touches of humor throughout to counter the exciting action sequences, some surprisingly good dialogue (director Tessari also wrote the script) and, equally unexpected for such an early Spaghetti Western, interesting characterizations. In fact, the milksop hero is an opportunist who's extremely resourceful at outwitting burly villain Fernando Sancho; the latter's woman – played by Nieves Navarro, better known as Susan Scott, and the wife of the film's co-producer Luciano Ercoli – is an elegant and seductive Mexican who wins the affections of the aristocratic owner of the remote mansion where the gang is holed in; while the old man's daughter, fiancée of the sheriff but who gradually falls for Gemma, is coveted by one of Sancho's lecherous cronies.

Most of the cast and crew were re-assembled soon after for THE RETURN OF RINGO which is superior to the original (mainly because the Homeric inspiration of that film's narrative adds some much-needed depth to the protagonist) but, starting off with Gemma coming home from the Civil War, is actually a prequel to it: his military duty is mentioned in passing in A PISTOL FOR RINGO, though not the fact that he had been married (the latter is possibly an added element to the second film – so that Gemma could finally get together with leading lady Lorella Di Luca, billed as Hally Hammond).

Una pistola per Ringo (A Pistol for Ringo) is directed and predominantly written by Duccio Tessari. It stars Giuliano Gemma, Fernando Sancho, Lorella De Luca, Nieves Navarro and Antonio Casas. Music is by Ennio Morricone and cinematography by Francisco Marin.

When a gang of bandit bank robbers hole up at a rich family's hacienda - taking all who reside there as hostages - the authorities free the gunman known as "Angel Face" from prison to ingratiate himself into the bandit horde. His mission is to destroy from within and free the innocent...

Filmed in Technicolor/Techniscope out of the familiar Spaghetti Western stomping grounds of Almeria in Spain, A Pistol for Ringo is a very enjoyable piece of pasta. From the quirky sight that greets us at pic's beginning, where our anti-hero gunman with the baby face plays hopscotch with children - then quickly dispatching four enemies enemies in the blink of an eye - to the wholly satisfying finale, it's quirky yet dramatic entertainment.

Set at Xmas time, Duccio enjoys dallying with the season's motifs as part of the narrative, and even Morricone gets in on the act, imbuing his varied score with seasonal strains (the Silent Night section simply wonderful). Gemma is very likable in the lead role, helped enormously by a screenplay that introduces a character that uses cunning whiles that are as deadly as his pistol skills. He is also very athletic (no doubt boosted by the calcium from all the milk he drinks), which brings some energy to the narrative. What action there is is brisk and zippy, with heaps of horse and stuntman felling going on, and little stabs of humorous violence (the bell shot oh my) induce smiles. Add in a couple of verbally jousting babes (Luca and Navarro) and Sancho as a bulky and moody bastardo, and yer good to go for one of the better Spags of the time. 7/10

1965: the year when Italian westerns were busily developing a style of their own after the success of "A Fistful of Dollars" - while the influence of the American classics was still visible. "A Gun For Ringo" is a good example for this search of new ways. On one hand, we have a cynical hero seemingly only motivated by money: after a bank robbery, Ringo only agrees to help and free the hostages after his demand of a 30 per cent share of the stolen money is accepted, and he's not ashamed to ask the bandits whether they would offer more? On the other hand, we see a sheriff (George Martin) in love with one of the hostages (Lorella de Luca) and a land owner who keeps up the traditional values of hospitality, courtesy and honor even under the most difficult circumstances, recalling the 1950s.

"A Gun For Ringo" is a lively movie created in the middle of a small revolution, the beginning of a successful European western wave, and the makers seem to have had a feeling "we've got our hands on something here!", a certain excitement that hasn't faded away. Great fun to watch, and both the youthful Giuliano Gemma (Ringo) and the charismatic Fernando Sancho (Sancho, leader of the bandits) went on to play similar roles in many movies of the following years.

This spaghetti western was apparently a big hit when it was released, enough to get a sequel ("The Return of Ringo") made. Watching it, I couldn't help but wonder why audiences flocked to it. Don't get me wrong, I usually like spaghetti westerns, but I found this particular one to be largely boring. Most of the movie takes place in one location, and there is a lot of scheming but very little advance in the plot. When there is gunplay, it often comes across as kind of disturbing, with little regard for life by those who fire their guns (even the hero is guilty of this on more than one occasion.) And the Ennio Morricone score is far from his best. Fernando Sancho does well as the villain, the production values are acceptable, and the climatic action sequence does have some excitement, so the movie is not without merit. But even with this stuff, this is one drab western.