La vita, a volte, è molto dura, vero Provvidenza?

This is an unusual, quirky comedy western, with Tomas Milian playing an eccentric bounty hunter called Providence. There's a sometimes uneasy alliance with him and a petty criminal, played by Gregg Palmer. Certainly not a usual Eurowestern, as there's almost no gunplay at all. Entertaining enough, but very different from the films made by Leone, Corbucci, Sollima, et al. Certainly worth a look.

Weird, rat-like bounty hunter Tomas Milian repeatedly captures grungy outlaw Gregg Palmer, only to quietly help him escape jail, so he can re- capture him and claim the reward all over again. Along the way, they encounter various characters like scheming showgirl Janet Agren, pool hustlers, a crooked sheriff, and a rowdy group of drunken Confederates.

Like a live-action cartoon, only dumber, this very broad western comedy is only occasionally funny. Most of the jokes fall completely flat. With the exception of a good saloon brawl, the action doesn't fare much better.

In a career full of eccentric performances by Tomas Milian, this may be the oddest of the lot, except maybe his role in Sergio Corbucci's The White, The Yellow And The Black, where he (offensively) portrays a comedic Samurai warrior!

Also, this has a terrible score by Ennio Morricone, probably his worst in a western.

This is a very funny Italian western! The characters are very amusing especially Tomas Milian who gives us a beautiful interpretation of a funny sort of bounty killer called "Provvidenza". This movie will make you laugh a lot without be vulgar or foregone. Least but not last the nice soundtrack by Ennio Morricone will remain stamped in your mind!

(1972) Sometimes Life is Tough, Eh Providence?/ La vita, a volte, è molto dura, vero Provvidenza?

DUBBED SPAGHETTI WESTERN COMEDY

Some of it's pretentious action bits has similar inspirations to the action packed 1983 film called "Project A Part II" doesn't mean that it's better, such as the big brawl scene in a bar with the two stars chained up. And one of it's characters by the name of "Providence" may also be the inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's character Christoph Waltz as Dr. King Schultz of the film "Django Unchained". The set up is Providence (Tomas Milian) is a bounty hunter with an awesome track record, except that he often frees one of the so-called wanted men, just so he can re-capture him again before bringing him to another town to collect it's reward. This whole idea was obviously taken from Sergio Leone's "The Good The Bad And the Ugly". The wanted felon's name is Hurricane Smith (Giulio Petroni) and the movie dwells on this relationship throughout the rest of the movie, as they encounter other "wanted" men.

It is fair to say that Tomas Milan is one of the all time great Spaghetti Western stars (grasping frantically at the poncho of Eastwood, Cleef and Nero). And it is in such good faith that I got my hands on a copy of this movie.

And after watching it, it is fair to say that you could call me confused! Sometimes shockingly bad, othertimes really great fun, I couldn't make up my mind whether it had been 90 minutes well spent or an evening wasted. I think I'll opt for well spent. Just.

Certainly, it is not your average spaghetti western, with Milan a Charlie Chaplin-esq bounty hunter, with a bungling "chunky" sidekick. The character play is a passenger on the Trinity bandwagon, but with an even greater level of stupidity. The Big Gundown it certainly isn't! Nor is it in any way reminiscent of Director Petroni's classic Death Rides a Horse.

The story is not so much one story, as a number of episodes with a very loose link. Thankfully, the strong cast pulls it off, and although I nearly pressed eject several times I did see it through to the end. And was it worth it? Hmmmmm, I just can't seem to make up my mind. But I bet I watch the sequel!