Un shérif à abattre

After proving himself quite resourceful during an attempted robbery of a gold shipment, newly appointed sheriff Giuliano Gemma finds himself framed for murder by ruthless cattle-rustlers that want someone a little more friendly in his place. Escaping jail, he fights the rustlers and the new sheriff to clear his name.

Wanted is pretty straight-forward and unpretentious and star Gemma is one of the great spaghetti western stars. There's also some good pulp-western atmosphere, with none of the silly humor and gimmicks that seemed to take over the genre in the years following this one's release.

On the other hand, there really isn't anything new here this time around and although it's decent enough entertainment, it's ultimately not very memorable.

Although "Wanted" is not a classic of its genre - the spaghetti western - it does provide enough good stuff to be a perfectly good example. For starters, there is a good gritty feeling here. There is some good background scenery, for starters. A lot of the movie was obviously filmed during the winter, and the cold, mud, and visible breath of the actors gets to your bones. Actor Giuliano Gemma makes for a good hero, one that you'll hope gets to clear his name by the end. In fact, there are some tense moments that will make you wonder if indeed he'll be able to. And if you are looking for action, this spaghetti western delivers it in spades - lots of gun battles and fist fights are on display.

This is not a perfect spaghetti western. For starters, it's oddly paced. It takes over a half an hour for the protagonist to find himself in his dangerous predicament. And at one hundred minutes in length, the movie is overlong; it could have been cut by ten to fifteen minutes. But if you are a spaghetti western fan like myself, the positive attributes of the movie more than make up for its shortcomings.

As a teenager growing up in Somalia, my father brought me to see this movie (Wanted) for a treat. It was an open-air cinema, the Southern Cross was above us and as Padre Carmello gave refuge to Gary Ryan, the moon eclipsed. I was torn between looking at the screen and looking at the sky for I didn't want to miss the actions in the movie and the spectacular phenomenon of the eclipse.

I am now in my late forties and my wife purchased the video from Cinecity in Netherlands on the Internet for my birthday. I couldn't believe my luck at being able to see this great movie again.

The only difference is that this time is in English with Greek subtitles when before I watched it in Italian.

In short, Gary Ryan, the new Sheriff of Greenfield falls for a trap and finds himself locked up under false testimony by Cheryl, the woman who owns the biggest hotel in Greenfield. Eventually he finds a way out to struggle against all odds for justice

The other fascinating things about the movie are the names of the locations such as New Face Rock, Devils Cliff etc, inspired by nature.

Here are some impressive lines: "What I think doesn't mean much unfortunately, proof and testimony are the only languages that the law recognizes" by Judge Anderson of Greenfield "Unreasonably risking your neck is against Gods law" by Padre Carmello. "He could be almost anywhere looking for some place to hide, alone hunted by the law and society-Wanted" by Martin Heywood (the Professional Gambler. "Pray your last, coward" by Fred Lloyd.

Exciting story line, beautiful scenery, good camera works, especially the angles and moreover, the score is not short of Ennio Morricone. I would recommend to any Spaghetti fan.

Giuliano Gemma was par excellence the action film Italian actor.He had plenty of go and French users do remember his part of Nicolas Calembredaine in the "Angélique" saga;but he was also featured in peplums ("I Titani"), exotic adventures ("Sheherazade") and mainly spaghetti westerns,often credited as Montgomery Wood;he became more ambitious in the seventies with such works as Comencini's "Delitto D'Amore" and Zurlini 's "Il Deserto Dei Tartari" .

But a character actor he is not;he is better at other things and he is pretty good (and credible) as a sheriff;the villain is successfully portrayed by French Serge Marquand.The subject is borrowed from too many American westerns of the two precedent decades ,but it's made with care,with a good cinematography using the wide screen tastefully .The screenwriters display a good sense of humor: the priest,scaring the dumb Mexicans (it may pass for racism ) with Jehovah's wrath which will strike them if they don't repent.The blacksmith's trick is really a good idea the cattle thieves could take up.And the "wanted" word ,sung every ten minutes when the hero becomes the wrong man ,is typically European.

This is an action-packed movie,with never a dull moment;it does not mark a milestone in western history,but it's good Entertainment.

It seems you can't go wrong with a Giuliano Gemma movie. This western, like all of the others I have seen him in, is a fine example of the spaghetti western genre.

It has a great score with a haunting title track that recurs at several points in the film. The score leaves no doubt that you are watching a eurowestern from the late 60's, and to me that is a very good thing.

The action scenes are very well done, and they really draw you in. I especially enjoyed the first one, in which Gemma's character and two deputies are in a wagon hauling gold, and they have to fend off an army of about 100 bandits.

This is a very compelling story that holds your interest from start to finish. I highly recommend this film to anyone who enjoys a good spaghetti western.