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'Darkest Africa' is a curious and somewhat very creative effort of Republic Pictures. This serial - one of the first in this nostalgic and tongue-in cheek forgotten genre - mixtures a bit of jungle adventure bringing up to memory movies like 'Tarzan' and and others serials as 'The Phantom' and 'Captain Africa' and fantasy movies, with the themes of lost cities, flying bat men and others stuffs, in a time when fantasy genre was still still in its birth time was prod

For a serial realized in 1936 the special effects are really quite good especially concerning the well done conception of the bat-men. The city of Joba is a great scenario realization. But the story is a bit

repetitive, especially concerning the 'cliffhangers' proposed; more than half of the critical situation dividing chapters have some some relation with attack of lions and tigers. But Mr. Beatty is at home with that! Anyway, for serials fans as I am 'Darkest Africa' is a good example of what was going on in the Saturday matinée in the thirties and forties. It's like to wrap up a very old curtain and see another time pass by your nostalgic eyes.

This movie has an original title that resumes almost everything about its story: Los Quatro Salvajes ( or The Four Ruthless Men). You'll see why. Two miserable adventurers (Steffen and Fajardo, in his best performance) help a Mexican guy to escape an attack of fierce 'bandoleros' just to find out that this Mexican outcast has a great secret: he knows - or, better, partially knows - where a great gold treasure is hidden. Why just 'partially'? Well, because he has just a part of the map to the treasure site tattooed in his back! Because of this he must find the other guy who has the rest of the map equally tattooed in the back; this guy is now a sheriff and so the hunt begins. An interesting story that resembles me a bit the Houston's classic 'Treasure of Sierra Madre' is charmingly developed by veteran director Mario Caiano although a bit far fetched and meaningless in some scenes and situations. Fajardo is terrific and Alejandra Nilo is a gorgeous face along the way. A spaghetti western that will delight the addicts of the genre and will be a good surprise to a new public as well.

First of all, it's really necessary to point out that 'Reverendo Colt' is an Italian made western that came to the big screen when the top time of the genre was falling down. We must remember that almost all the classics had been made in 1971. Just as an example, the outstanding 'Django' directed by Sergio Corbucci was released in 1966 and the unforgettable 'Once Upon a Time in West' in 1968. In fact, the 'seventies' is not the best time to find out good spaghetti westerns. But 'Reverendo Colt' is not so bad. It's a simple but otherwise earnest little story of Miller Colt a gunfighter turned preacher that finds himself in the middle of a fight between two gangs for a would-be treasure. In this uncomfortable situation, Miller Cost is forced to return to his guns in order to defend a group of people ambushed by the outlaws in an abandoned military fort. Guy Madison, a veteran American actor, is Miller Colt; Mr. Madison gives a subdued performance but adequate to his character. Richard Harrison is a brawling and a bit dumb sheriff with almost nothing to do in the movie. Cris Huerta is the only one who gives a little touch of comedy to the story and German Cobos as Fred is the real sidekick of Miller Colt. Not a great movie but considering that 'Reverendo Colt' is a spaghetti western made in the declining years of the seventies, not so bad as it could have been.