Quella sporca storia nel west

(1968) Johnny Hamlet/ Quella sporca storia nel west (That Dirty Story in the West) DUBBED SPAGHETTI WESTERN

Co-written and directed by Enzo G. Castellari unique adaption of William Shakespheare's Hamlet. It has Johnny (Chip Corman) being taking care of by a traveling circus troupe while he is unconscious dreaming about his dad. We find out, Johnny after shooting two men that he has just returned from serving with the confederacy three years earlier, and learns that his dad has been murdered visiting his grave site inside of a cave. Only for him to be visited by two troublemakers, Ross (Enio Girolami) and his friend, Bill/ Guild (Pedro Sanchez) who often wears green clothing as if he is celebrating St Patrick's Day including the hat and jacket. They show up to cause trouble only for them to be stopped by one his dad's best friend's,Horace/ Harris/ Horus (Gilbert Roland). He then visit's his mother, Gertry/ Gretchen/ Arlene/ Lana Hamilton (Francoise Prevost) and notices she is now mingling with his uncle, Claude Hamilton (Horst Frank) or Johnny's dad's brother making them into an item. He suspects that Claude is up to no good, except that he does not have any proof that he is in fact murdered his dad. And it was soon revealed that Johnny's dad died as a result of a robbery regarding some missing bags of gold dust. And that according to Claude, he shot the guy or bandit that supposedly to have murdered his dad we find out his name is Santana (Manuel Serrano). Except that Harris also handed him a clue that happens to be a distinctive looking crest he also finds out that the guy who Claude claimed murdered his dad is still alive. One thing leads to another that may also include johnny's former flame, Ophelia (Gabriella Grimaldi) whose dad also happens to be the sheriff, (Giorgio Sanmartin). Down the line, we then find out that in order for Johnny to find his dad's killer, he first have to find out the whereabouts of the missing sacks of gold dust and who else was seen wearing the crest.

Although I liked the idea of the grave sites inside of a cave, the rest of the movie was not that good as both johnny and his best friend or friend of his dad's Harris both had many opportunities to get rid of the two troublemakers or pests of Ross and Bill. The movie kind of drags as every revelation has become not so surprising and becomes kind of expected. A much better movie is not based on Shakespeare withe exact same principle is "The Forgotten Pistero"

First the good. The revenge story has a somewhat unique feel to it, despite being simply another revenge story, with a Hamlet storyline for the script. This makes it seem like fresher "Spaghetti." The location shooting is good, with some unique geological rocks, and more importantly caves. It is intriguing to see a cemetery located in one of these underground caverns. The soundtrack by Francesco De Masi is appropriate and good. Now the bad. Acting by anyone not named Gilbert Roland is sub par, including the wooden lead performance. The stunt work is also at fault, especially the fight scenes, which appear weak throughout. The film is totally watchable, but certainly is no classic. MERK

I'm going to rank this the 6th best Spaghetti Western of all time, behind only the five Sergio Leoni classics (because personally I find Sergio Corbucci's most renowned efforts too gothic and depressing for my taste)

Enzo Castellani has studied the SL playbook and does a great job of framing his shots to maximise the value of the scenery and uses zooms and close-ups to build tension and help mitigate the limited acting skills of some of the cast.

Most Spaghetti Westerns use generic semi-arid Spanish scenery to stand in for the West of the United States, making no attempt to match the scenic grandeur achieved by John Ford, in his use of Monument Valley as a backdrop, or Anthony Mann's use of the Rocky Mountains, and fair enough too as the genre is mainly one of B movies with small budgets. However great background scenery doesn't have to cost more money, and here they make extensive use of the picturesque rock formations of "Cuidad Encantada" near the equally picturesque town of Cuenca in Spain.

The script is decent and draws some added zest from elements borrowed from Shakespeare's famous play "Hamlet", however don't expect to carry that analogy too far, as there are not nearly enough fights and shootouts in a Shakespearian play to satisfy the intended audience of a Spaghetti Western. Castellani knows this and ensures that there is plenty of action to be found here, accompanied by thuds and whacks which even exceed the usual level of impact, with each blow sounding as if a door or wall had been demolished to provide it.

I also found the choreography of the fight scenes to be above average, with fights incorporating some imaginative use of flips, throws and tumbles to season the usual diet of punches and broken furniture.

As for the acting, it's up to the expected level for a Spaghetti Western, some memorably fruity villains, a very attractive but somewhat wooden hero and female eye candy, and a single Hollywood has been, hoping to follow in Clint Eastwood's footsteps and get a career boost. In this case it is the redoubtable Gilbert Roland, who once did a shift as the Cisco Kid in B Movies of the 1940s, and he brings his customary assured macho charisma to the role of experienced friend of the hero, who steps in to save him whenever he gets in over his head, which in this movie is pretty much constantly.

Highly recommended to fans of the genre.

Two worlds collide as Italian action master Enzo G Castellari takes on English wordsmith William Q Shakespeare in a mash-up of Hamlet and Spaghetti Westerns. It's faithful up to a point I guess. Not sure if Hamlet gets crucified in the play mind you.

Johnny Hamilton has a dream in which his father's ghost visits him and tells him he's been murdered and to head home and avenge his death. The usual stuff. Johnny's been hitching along with an acting troop who just happen to be performing Hamlet, so you get the 'to be or not to be' speech right there at the start of the film, on a beach, while another does backflips! Johnny heads home and meets his friend Horace, who seems reluctant to tell him what his mother's up to, and lo and behold, she's married Johnny's Uncle, the scheming Claude (Horst Frank, great as usual). Johnny now has to avenge his father's death, find out who really killed his father, get in many punch ups (like the play, right?), and kill loads of Danish Mexicans or something.

You see, Enzo is no fool. He's got the great source material, but he's still got to deliver an action-packed Western as well, and he manages to bring them together. Johnny is Hamlet, Horace is obviously Horatio, Ross and Gill I guess are (checks spelling) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, only with guns. Ophelia's there too but played down a bit.

You've also got a high instance of the 'Enzo Factor', which includes all his usual crazy camera angles, people appearing in mirrors, camera shots very often through objects (a chair, someone's legs, a bullet hole in a sheriff's badge), hyperactive camera shots, and the action amped up to ridiculous levels. I laughed twice - once when Mexican bandit Santana rode his horse through a glass door, and then again when Ennio Girolami shot a Chinese bartender by mistake.

This is a great because all the effort Enzo put into it is up there on the screen. It appeared on YouTube about a week ago in a great print. I don't imagine it will be there long, mind you.

Now someone upload The Return of Ringo! Also, my wife and I tried to go see Hamlet performed live in a park once, but for some reason the actors decided to perform it on the top of a hill while we were all seated at the bottom of the hill. It quickly became agony to sit on the tiny stools we rented so we left at the first interval, but also took the stools with us as compensation. The kids still use them to this day.

Take that Shakespeare!

The first 30 minutes of 'Johnny Hamlet' might be the most inspired in all of Spaghetti Western. The movie opens with a misty nightmare scene that immediately let's you feel the mindset of the war-struck antihero. He awakens by an actor reciting Shakespeare with the chosen text being very appropriate for Johnny's situation. After that we get a scene of Johnny finding his father's grave which is on a cemetery in a cave. The scene has a surreal feel to it and impresses with its moving camera. Then he comes home to his mother after having been away fighting in war for two years to find her having a jolly hot time with his uncle, Johnny's father's brother. Johnny is understandably flabbergasted learning that his father got killed and finding his mom living together with his uncle all on the same day. After that Johnny meets his old flame who got married while he was away. When asking her what she knows about the killing of his father she refuses to talk, out of fear apparently. That's when two guy shows up advising Johnny not to ask so many questions and a fistfight ensues. Johnny is saved by an old friend (and a good friend of his father's) who's a tough guy and enjoys this kind of thing.

And that's how this thing starts. Yes, it's an adaption of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'. Not only is this revenge story like made for a Spaghetti Western but the film doesn't even struggle with the complex source material. The directing is inspired and clever (in those first 30 minutes I was especially impressed by the prevailing theme of melancholy) but beyond anything else it is well-written. Instead of feeling constructed the plot development feels remarkably natural with the individual characters simply following their own interests. Nevertheless this is a Spaghetti Western through and through with everything we've come to expect from films of this subgenre, including shootouts and a fine score. A bit of Spaghetti Western routine sets in after the magnificent beginning and while the action is merely competent the film thanks to its writing nevertheless manages to stay interesting until the showdown.

It's an extremely well-working mix of low-brow and high-brow cinema, if you will, with elements that fans of only low-brow cinema would call "artsy". 'Johnny Hamlet' is not only a new Spaghetti Western favorite but even an unexpected Shakespeare adaption favorite. If you are a fan of both of those "genres" I reckon this is a must-see.