Il pistolero dell'Ave Maria

(1969) The Forgotten Pistolero/ Gunman of Ave Maria/ Il pistolero dell'Ave Maria DUBBED SPAGHETTI WESTERN

Co-written and directed by Ferdinando Baldi very loosely based on "Oresteia" by Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus. It centers on gunman, Rafael Garcia (Peter Martell) being sidetracked by three bandits attempting to follow orders of bringing him back. He succeeds in shooting all of them as well as some others around him leaving a bandit, Francisco alive so that he can give him a message. The next scene has Rafael reaching to an isolated ranch before he falls off his horse upon pleading with the rancher, Sebastian Carrasco (Leonard Mann) for some water. It appears Sebastian does not recognize Rafael at all, and he fills him on his past history that the current lady he has just buried nearby is not her actual mother. That Sebastian's actual mother is still alive and is hanging around in a town called Oaxaca. And after hanging around with him some more, he tells him how his actual mother, Anna Carrasco (Luciana Paluzzi) shot and killed his actual father, General Juan Carrasco (José Suarez) by shooting him on the back, who was conspired with a bandit leader, Tomas (Alberto de Mendoza). And that the lady, Sebastian he had just buried was nothing more but the nanny/ housekeeper. That he also happens to have a sister, Isabelle (Pilar Velazquez) married to a store keep. This sets the stage for them to set things right as viewers find out that the hired bandits were ordered to fetch Rafael and return him back to Anna. That Rafael spent years looking for Sebastian and has finally managed to convince him to join him.

There is many twists and turns with some complicated scenarios as well as some surprising revelations gives this film a pass. The ending wasn't bad either.

Poor Mexican farmer Leonard Mann is met one day by mysterious stranger Peter Martell, who tells him that he's really the son of a wealthy landowner, murdered by his unfaithful wife and her lover. They then travel to his boyhood home to seek revenge, reclaim his birthright, and save his long-lost (and long suffering) sister from his mother's now ex-lover.

The Forgotten Pistolero, which borrows a little from Hamlet, is a well-told story, with excellent production values, and enough great western/Mexican atmosphere to go around. The imitation Ennio Morricone score by Roberto Pregado is pretty swell too.

The entire cast give really great performances, though the lack of any real bankable international star probably helped get this above-average Italian western unjustly buried. Mann and Martell are exceptional though, and they do make a great team.

The climax amidst a flaming backdrop is superb and ultimately quite satisfying.

However, there are some unanswered questions regarding Mann's apparent amnesia in regards to his childhood, or lack thereof. Is he even the same person? Did he tell the villain the truth when they first met? No answer is given.

Ferdinando Baldo needs only 85 minutes to deliver a family drama of high complexity. Rafael hates Anna Carrasco because she didn't permit him to marry her daughter. To accomplish his revenge he searches for Anna's son Sebastian who wants to avenge the murder of his father who was actually murdered by Anna. Anna back then was helped by her lover whom she replaced already by another men. I will not continue any further, I hope you've got an entry into the muddled plot. Unfortunately this isn't a Western plot which means that genre fans will be rather disappointed. Fans of serious drama will be disappointed by the high pace which never permits to get any deeper into the characters. Anna's daughter Conchita says: "I will not leave the town as long as the murderers of my father still live here". Well, I would always prefer not to live together with murderers but that quantity of logic is missing. The story as it is told often rises more questions than it answers. Acting is as good as the weak script permits, the women are really handsome. Sets and locations give the impression of being in Southern Spain and not in the American West most of the time.

The high quality German DVD is a real bargain and has an English soundtrack.

5 / 10 (**)

"Gunman of Ave Maria" ends up missing the mark. It has a good story. The male cast is fine and the female cast is dreamy but, for some reason, it doesn't really come together. It kind of plays like a Lifetime version of a spaghetti western. I guess they deserve some points for trying something different but I don't think I'll be re-watching "Gunman of Ave Maria" any time soon.

I don't think this one ever got a release in the USA. It's got a great score, good action, and kind of a soap-opera plot, but the actors do a good job and production values and sets are top notch. Leonard Mann and Peter Martell play two young gunmen who share a tragic past; childhood friends, they were separated when Mann's father was killed by his mother's lover. He was spirited away by a faithful servant while his sister (the lovely Pilar Velazquez) remained to be raised by the two murderous lovers. Rafael (a brooding Martell), childhood friend and servant also remains, but is practically a prisoner of the household until he grows up and escapes, searching for the missing Sebastian. Complications ensue. This one has a bit more heart than most spaghetti westerns, and if you are a fan of the genre, you'll enjoy it. 8/10