China 9, Liberty 37

A somewhat odd spaghetti Western. I am not familiar with this Monte Hellman, but at first I thought he was trying to be Sergio Leone. Later, I thought he was trying to outdo Leone. I am not sure if the setting is supposed to be southeast Texas, even though there are towns named China and Liberty there, but the countryside there is wooded, and even a bit swampy. Excellent photography of the arid Spanish landscapes. The sound was awful, though, with score and background noise often drowning out dialog. Fabio Testi was the wooden anti-hero, with a serious Italian accent. Warren Oates was the only really well-developed character. Jenny Agutter was oh, so beautiful. But she was alternately reserved and wanton, so it was hard to figure out her character. (You really have to see the uncut version. It is available if you search hard enough for it.) There were a few anachronisms and plot holes but not terribly so. A pet peeve of mine is people suffering grievous wounds, like gunshots and stabbings, and seemingly having no ill effects after three days. I know it moves the narrative along, but sheesh. Anyway it was OK, and just a bit better due to Agutter.

Condemned gunman Clayton Drumm (Fabio Testi) , a pistolero in a Tom Mix hat , is given a last minute by a railway company chief (Luis Prendes) for reprieve freedom on condition he kills rancher Matthew (Warren Oates) . Visiting Matthew's ranch, Clayton is really stalked by Matthew , holding out against the advancing railroad with his trusted rifle and his less than trusty Anglo-Irish spouse .Clayton is unable to bring himself to kill Matthew and leaves, but Matthew's wife, Catherine (Jenny Agutter) , believing she has murdered Matthew during an argument joins Clayton. Then , there takes place the deadliest crossroad as Matthew, still alive, and mad as hell joins Clayton's equally angered partners (Franco Interlenghi , Charly Bravo , Romano Puppo) to hunt down Clayton and wife who has escaped with him .

The plot is usual in Spaghetti Western genre : a merciless vendetta , as a killer is contracted to murder , but the assassin fails to deliver, prompting a revenger to go after him instead . It delivers an absurd parallel within the stereotyped framework of the European Western , and revealing the sheer gratuitousness of traditional roles-types and ordinary mechanisms to create an uproarious genre critique . It provides an acceptable main and support cast . Fabio Testi gives a passable acting as a condemned killer who is hired by a railroad boss to murder an uncooperative rancher . While the gorgeous Jenny Agutter shows his beauty and charming face . As always , Warren Oates , Monte Hellman's regular , steals the show as the relentless avenger hubby . Support cast is formed by notorious secondaries as director Sam Peckinpah , SidneyLassick , Isabel Mestres , and familar faces from Spaghetti or Paella Western as Luis Prendes , Charly Bravo , Luis Barboo, Rafael Albaicin , Romano Puppo , and Helga Line .

Colorful and evocative cinematography by prestigious Giuseppe Rotunno , shot on location in desert of Tabernas , Almeria , andalucia , Spain . And sensitive as well as evocative musical score by Pino Donaggio . The picture was professionally directed by Monte Hellman , though it results to be slow-moving and has several flaws and gaps . After a few years directing in summer theater, Hellman hooked up with legendary "B" movie producer Roger Corman in the late 1950s. Corman helped finance Hellman's production of "Waiting For Godot", the the first time that Samuel Beckett's play had been staged in Los Angeles . Hellman made his film directorial debut with Beast from haunted cave (1959), and directed portions of Corman's The terror (1963). Hellman has directed a few films , some of them are deemed cult movies . As Monte has made : Back door to hell (1964) , Flight to fury (1964) , The shooting (1966) , Ride in the whilwind , Two-lane blacktop (1971) , Cockfighter (1974) , The Iguana and this Clayton Drumm or Catherine or China 9 Liberty 37 , among others .

This moves at an unhurried pace, and you may feel as if you've seen much of it before, especially if you're a spaghetti western fan. But it's worth seeing for the character played by Warren Oates, a former gunfighter whose behavior swings from the sympathetic to the unforgivable and almost back again. In a modest Western like this, it's a pleasant surprise to see ambiguous characters. So that his conflict with Fabio Testi, a younger gunfighter who steals Oates' wife, is full of uncertainty. For all the familiar trappings, you're uncertain how it will end; and that should keep you watching. As the object of desire, Jenny Agutter is constrained by a mumbling Irish brogue and an under-written part. But you can see why Testi is smitten with her. Bottom line: see this for Oates, a great actor in a worthy role.

'China 9, Liberty 37' is last of Monte Hellman's westerns, and his weakest attempt in that genre. The film tries to combine elements of spaghetti western with Hellman's usual existential vision. Although entertaining and thrilling at moments, the film falls into mediocrity as there isn't enough spaghetti nor existentialism.

Clayton Drumm (Fabio Testi) is a gunslinger waiting to be hanged, but is given last minute pardon when men from railroad company hire him to kill Matthew Sabinek (Warren Oates) who used to work as a hired gun for same men years ago. Sounds interesting? Clayton rides into the farm where Matthew lives with his young wife Catherine (Jenny Agutter). The younger and faster gunslinger, who has grown weary of the killing, decides not to complete his mission when he starts to like Matthew and two men become sort of friends. And then enters farmer's gorgeous looking wife.

There is the feel of growing tension in the first quarter of the film, that promises to become tense thriller, but then falls flat as generic love triangle and revenge story. Fabio Testi's lack of charisma against the talents and gravely looks of great Warren Oates becomes obstacle that doesn't allow proper chemistry to evolve between two main characters. Monte Hellman's other westerns (or western type movies) weren't always very thick and original on plot either, but they were executed with fascinating ways and ideas.

Recommended to the fans of Warren Oates and Monte Hellman, and when you do, try to get the uncut version as there are some meaty lines (an nudity) to juice things up a little bit.

Also, another great western director Sam Peckinpah treats the fans of the genre with wonderful cameo as an author Wilbur Olsen who wants to write story based on Clayton's life.

"There ain't no soft-hearted gunfighters" says Matthew Sebanek (Warren Oates) to Clayton Drumm (Fabio Testi) late in Monte Hellman's lyrical western "China 9 Liberty 37" a/k/a "Amore, piombo e furore". The English title reflects the words on a crossroad's sign shown at the start of the film.

Hellman fans will be happy to finally find this film available on DVD, as a 2005 release by Mill Creek Entertainment. Although the IBDb does not yet link to it, Amazon has it listed as "China 9 Liberty 37/Gone With the West". The second movie on the DVD, "Gone With the West" (a/k/a "Little Moon and Old Jug"), is a James Caan-Sammy Davis Jr. western best described as "The Rat Pack on LSD". It is a horrible western made even worse by the condition of the print they used to make the DVD, but it does feature one of the most intense cat-fights in cinema history.

The print for "China 9" is a bit better but suffers from a poor "pan and scan" full-screen treatment and weak audio tracks. It also has some editing glitches, which probably resulted from the need to cobble together a decent print for transfer to DVD. And I suspect the original release was longer than this 98minute version.

Hellman and Oates also collaborated on "The Shooting" and if you enjoyed that effort you should really like "China 9". In "China 9" Oates plays a retired gunfighter mining gold on land he refuses to sell to the railroad. Testi (the best of a long line of English-challenged pretty-boy European actors who worked in the western genre in the 60's and 70's) is hired by the railroad to kill Oates. But the two gunfighters hit it off and Testi refuses to complete the job. In the meantime Oates' wife Catherine (Jenny Agutter) comes on to Testi. They run off together believing she has killed Matthew, but he survives and begins to hunt them down. To add additional complications to the story, the railroad recruits a squad of gunfighters to kill both Matthew and Clayton.

Clayton Drum is good western hero. Although he drinks a lot of cocaine based tonic, he maintains his professional integrity and refuses to sell out to the wild west show promoters or the dime novelists. The world may be changing and making him irrelevant, but he sticks to his principles. "My life is not for sale".

Fans of "The Hunting Party" will find a familiar storyline, Fellini fans will find a nice homage to their favorite director, and Sam Peckinpah fans will find an actual appearance-while a small speaking part it is more than just a cameo.

The action sequences are extremely well staged, although the effects are on the cheap side. The action in the big final showdown scene is totally credible and leaves one wondering why other directors can't exercise their imaginations and come up with equally plausible shootouts. Plus there is an extremely nice twist to the story's resolution that you don't see coming. Finally, Hellman goes out on a slick "mise en scene" shot that actually advances the story a final notch.

"China 9" is an absolute must-see for fans of Jenny Agutter. Hellman liked to give his films an overexposed grainy look (as if the film stock was pushed a couple of steps in processing). Combined with minimal makeup this gave his heroines a strikingly haunting and earthy beauty, check out Millie Perkins in "The Shooting" and "Ride the Whirlwind". Like Perkins, Agutter has never looked better and is more than credible as the catalyst of this love triangle.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.