Chamam-me Aleluia

Any film with a title as memorable and eye-catching as "Heads You Die, Tails I Kill You" has a lot to live up to. Luckily this one does.... well, for the first half at least.

The story centres around George Hilton's character named "Halleluyah" (thus the films alternative title "They Call Me Hallelujah"). He has been hired by Mexican general Ramirez (Roberto Camardiel) to steal jewels from the army, allegedly to help fund the revolution.

The beginning of the movie is very strong, as Ramirez is led to the firing line by the army, to Ciprani's fantastic score. Some onlookers are already grieving, but proceedings are intervened when Halleluyah appears with his very novel machine gun. Great stuff.

The plot has more twists and turns than, ummmmm, a very twisty turney thing! It is not just Halleluyah searching for the jewels, but a secret agent disguised as a Nun (Agata Flori), the Russian Alexei (Charles Southwood) and a gang of arms dealers led by Fortune (Paulo Gozlino).

Whilst the movie is a real roller-coaster of a ride, it does reach new levels of stupidity with the introduction of Alexei. As I said at the beginning of this write up, the film doesn't disappoint - it just (in my opinion) has one eccentric character too many. This makes the second half just a bit too farcical to me at times.

Most of the best scenes are based around Halleluyah's interaction with the gang - particularly near the beginning where disguised as monks they successfully steal the jewels (and soon face a confrontation with "Brother" Hallelujah). There is also a hilarious scene in which our hero poisons the gang's food, resulting in much belly ache and diarrhoea enforced swift exists! As far as the cast are concerned, Hilton makes a good leading man for the less serious westerns. Regular spaghetti stalwart Federico Boido is also well cast as the weasel like gang member Slocum.

I would definitely recommend this film (despite my reservations about the Russian!). It is a well plotted, good fun view, with enough double crosses and twists to keep you interested and entertained throughout.

A first rate Italian Western starring the great George Hilton and which was recently shown at Tarantino's (very own) festival of classics. His own runaway success has really brought these obscure 'Spaghetti's' into the public eye. This example is more along the lines of the fun 'Sabata', rather than (the gritty) 'A Fistful of Dollars' and showcases a vast array of unusual/inventive weaponry. Highly enjoyable and strikes a near perfect balance of comedy and action.

I bought a copy of this film from an on-line cult-movie dealer solely on the basis of its title: HEADS YOU DIE,TAILS I KILL YOU. This is one case where a spaghetti western lives up to its nifty title. Though a bit overly-plotted, this is a machinegun-paced, fun oater. More in common with the westerns of Howard Hawks and Burt Kennedy than the sweltering pasta dishes of Leone and Corbucci. Holds your interest throughout its running time. Great script.

Roberto Camardiel is running the revolution against Emperor Maximillian, but things aren't going so well. In fact, he's facing a firing squad. Fortunately the peasants, led by scalawag gun-runner George Hilton save him. But the Revolution cannot succeed without machine guns, and that calls for money, so the plan is to steal the Emperor's Crown Jewels and have Hilton convert them into Gatlings. What the Emperor Norton will say in Petaluma, no one knows.

When we think of spaghetti westerns, we think of Sergio Leone with Clint Eastwood as the Man With No Name, and this definitely qualifies. In many ways, it looks like THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY, but while that was filled with dark, sardonic humor, this one seems to take all the deaths as good, clean fun, just a boy's adventure, with Hilton outwitting and outrunning everyone else. It's fine on those terms, but lacks any depth whatsoever.

Mysterious gunfighter George Hilton totes around a sewing machine/machine gun and offers his services to a group of Mexican revolutionaries seeking a stash of jewels held by the Spanish government.

The first half of the movie is mildly interesting, thanks to a fast-pace. However, things get bogged down after awhile, with too much in-your-face direction, slapstick, and silly characters, like a Russian cossack!

Hilton is as amusing as ever, even if his character, like all the others in this movie, is a bit cardboard. The sewing machine and the scene where he removes a bullet with a corkscrew alone makes the film worth checking out.