Per pochi dollari ancora

Giuliano Gemma (Montgomery Wood) in a restrained performance, that quite possibly is his best "Spaghetti Western." The story of a plan to raid a Union Fort by tunneling into the garrison, while it is under attack from the Confederates is terrific. Character development is among the best of any non Leone Italian Western. Technicolor-Techniscope photography yields vivid color saturation, and the Morricone musical score is wonderful. "Fort Yuma Gold". A.k.a. "For a Few Extra Dollars", is flat out an exciting, extremely well plotted, "Spaghetti Western", that is entertaining from the opening credits, till the extremely satisfying conclusion. MERK.

When Giuliano Gemma came to Bulgaria in 1970, on a working trip, he was very surprised to find out that he had already achieved some kind of a "legendary" status among the Bulgarian moviegoers. One of the reasons for that was "Per pochi dollari ancora", which had had its premiere in 1967... The plot of the movie is not typical for the most Spaghetti-Westerns. It is set in the late spring of 1865, immediately after the end of the American Civil war. A young Confederate lieutenant and POW, named Gary Diamond, is asked by the C-in-C of a Federal POW camp to accompany two of his men /capt. Lefevre and sgt. Pitt/ on a special mission - to give the commander of Fort Yuma a warning of an impending attack against it, prepared by the ex-Confederate 5th Colorado rgt., Diamond's ex-unit, commanded by major Sanders. The task is very complicated and tricky, because in the same time major Sanders has a different plan - to sneak in Fort Yuma through the so-called Red Mines, together with the gang of Nelson Riggs, an infamous villain, and steal a great sum of money. Of course Sanders's men of 5th rgt. are doomed - Fort Yuma is very well defended and their purpose is only to divert the attention of the Federal soldiers. Diamond, Lefevre and Pitt begin their dangerous mission and some new elements of the puzzle are added... The film contains a lot of action. There is one particularly good fighting sequence, when Giuliano Gemma shoots dead one of Riggs's henchmen /played superbly by Benito Stefanelli/- the sequence is very short and breath-taking, but is also perfectly executed. The cast is solid - particularly Gemma himself, Sophie Daumiers /as Connie Breastfull, the inevitable faithful and beautiful girl, who falls for Diamond/ and Nello Pazzafini as the tough sgt. Pitt. But the actors, who play the villains, are marvelous - Dan Vadis is memorable as the tough, crude and unmannerly Riggs, who nevertheless possesses certain charm. Many consider the role of major Sanders too small /and even a waste of talents/ for Jacques Sernas, but his cold and aristocratic presence is one of the key features of the movie. And not to forget the unforgettable performance of Angel del Pozo as the sly, treacherous and sarcastic capt. Lefevre. I like very much the march of 5th Colorado rgt towards Fort Yuma - it is indeed impressive and, in my opinion, catches the spirit of the historic time in which the film is set. And I should not forget to mention the wonderful soundtrack, composed by Gianni Ferrio, which is already available on CD. Anyway, this is a very interesting and entertaining western, which must be seen. It is already available on DVD, so there isn't any problem finding it. And it is definitely a must for the numerous fans of Giuliano Gemma!

"Fort Yuma Gold" offers some good entertainment for lovers of the Spaghetti Western genre, with another charismatic performance by Giuliano Gemma a.k.a. Montgomery Wood. The story & screenplay (credited to six people!) are set after the Civil War has ended, and concern Gary Hammond (Mr. Gemma), an imprisoned Confederate raider who agrees to a dangerous mission. He must inform the people at Fort Yuma that a raid on their fort - and gold reserve - is being planned. During a subplot, he also briefly accompanies a gorgeous blonde saloon singer named Connie Breastfull (!) (played by Sophie Daumier). Among the villains Gary will face: a physically imposing thug named Riggs (Dan Vadis) and the maniacal Southern major Sanders (Jacques Sernas).

"Fort Yuma Gold" delivers to its audience plenty of two-fisted action (including a major barroom brawl) and gunfire, leading to a fairly memorable finale inside a mine. The story may not be anything special, but it holds' one attention capably enough, with some diversions along the way. (Such as performances by sexy female bit players.) It pretty much paints its characters in "black & white" shades, with no doubt as to who the good guys and bad guys are. And the bad guys are pretty good antagonists for this sort of fare. (If you recognize the studly Vadis, it's because he became a regular player in Clint Eastwood movies of the 1970s and early 1980s.) Angel del Pozo is effective as the weaselly Captain Lefevre; this guy might just as well be twirling his moustache constantly. The handsome Gemma is once again a worthy genre hero, and the stunning Ms. Daumier is appealing as his love interest.

The majestic score is credited to both Gianni Ferrio and the great Ennio Morricone, although the story is that the producers borrowed some Morricone compositions from the film "Malamondo" just so they could put his name in the credits. And later, Morricone took them to court over the matter!

Well acted and well photographed, this shows SW admirers a pretty good time.

Seven out of 10.

I sensed that "Fort Yuma Gold" might have a few problems from the opening credits, since SEVEN screenwriters are credited. But I stuck with it to the end, and while this is definitely not the worst spaghetti western I've seen, it is definitely unsatisfying. There are a few good things here and there - the production values are acceptable, there is some nice scenery, there is a very good bar room brawl sequence, and the full name of the lone female character is worth a few chuckles. But for the most part, the movie feels kind of flat. Giuliano Gemma's character often feels like a secondary character instead of a heroic lead. The action apart from that bar room brawl sequence come across as ordinary and not exciting. But I think the biggest problem is that the movie, while not boring, feels really slow and lacking grit or some other effective atmosphere. Too bad, because you can see signs this could have been a knockout spaghetti western had it had more careful direction and writing. It's not awful as it is, but it is definitely disappointing.

Here's a very entertaining film: Unusual (for an SW) story-line, not a revenge, but a "savior" story, loads of familiar faces, good and vehement action, solid acting. The sets are nice, the girl's named "Breastfull" - go and see this one.