Sugar Colt

1866 , New Mexico territory , the Civil war has finished . The General Lee troops and Union soldiers go back home . Among them a regiment of ¨Sharp shooters¨ of the II brigade of riflemen . But the Infantry battalion has been disappeared on the road to Alamo Fat and the tracks lead to Snake Valley . Sugar Colt (Hunt Powers) is a former government agent , now retired . He works as a professor at ¨Academy for the spiritual defense of women right¨ . His previous chief Pinkerton (George Rigaud) of the famous Pinkerton's detective agency ask him for help in a dangerous mission. Samuel has to find out what happened to an army corps that has mysteriously disappeared . He therefore puts on the disguise of a doctor , including glasses and top hat , and starts investigating in a somewhat uncomfortable town . Samuel Colt goes to Snake Valley where is blackmailed by some nasties and to pay toll 25 cents . After that , at the Snake saloon he meets a beautiful girl named Josefa (Soledad Miranda) .

This is a good S.W. plenty of action , shootouts , fist-play and some touches of humor in charge of Sugar Colt character . Tom Cooper or Sugar Colt is a type of James Bond of the West , an elegant marksman and resourceful ¨Bon vivant¨ who is stunningly played by Hunt Powers . It's a Spanish-Italian co-production and , of course , shot on location in Almeria that is well photographed by cameraman Alejandro Ulloa (Horror Express) . In the movie appears usual support actors as Spanish : Frank Braña , Jose Canalejas , Luis Barboo , Victor Israel as Italian : Erno Crisa , Fortunato Arena , Nazzareno Zamperla and Ricardo Pizzuti (customary in Terence Hill and Spencer movies). Special mention for Soledad Miranda (Jess Frank's muse ) as an attractive and rogue young woman ; a bit later on , she unfortunately died by car crash . Original musical score by Luis Enriquez Bacalov and Ennio Morricone , this is one of the best soundtrack of the Spaghetti genre . The motion picture was professionally directed by Franco Giraldi . This Italian writer/filmmaker (and Sergio Leone 's assistant director) so consistently mixed the good with the mediocre that it became quite impossible to know what to expect from him next . He directed four Westerns with abundant touches of humor (Seven guns for the MacGregor -1966- , 7 women for the MacGregor -1967- ) and one serious and violent (A minute to pray , a second to day -1968- ). Rating : acceptable and passable movie that will appeal to Spaghetti Western buffs .

An army corps has mysteriously disappeared. They are actually hostages near a place called Snake Valley. A gunslinger, Rocco, is visited by a friend who tells him about this. The man's dying wish is for Rocco to find out what happened to the army corps. Rocco goes to the town near where the soldiers are held captive, posed undercover as a doctor. Cult star Soledad Miranda plays Josefa, a flirtatious barmaid at the saloon hotel where he stays. Rocco starts investigating the disappearance of the soldiers in hopes to rescue them. This flick has catchy music and the presence of the beautiful Soledad Miranda, along with star Hunt Powers, makes it an entertaining flick.

Near the end of the American Civil War, an entire unit of one hundred Union sharpshooters vanish into thin air in a rugged, mountainous region. To shed light on their mysterious disappearance, Sugar Colt, a former special agent, superb marksman, and director of a shooting academy, rides into the dusty town of Snake Valley, posing as Doctor Tom Cooper. But, newcomers, especially the brazen ones, are rarely treated with respect in the God-forsaken hamlet. Now, Tom will have to put his skills to good use, as guns have the final say. Will Sugar Colt get to the bottom of what happened to the missing U. S. Cavalry officers?

Sugar Colt is a fairly offbeat western-spy mix featuring a crack shot gunman going undercover as a weakling doctor in order to find the missing soldiers. He gets pushed around for the first half, which is comedic, but that tone changes to the usual gunplay when Sugar Colt reveals himself fifty minutes in. That didn't really make sense. Why disguise yourself if you are going to reveal yourself, especially with the fact he hadn't learnt anything. Still, it's a fun film and the depiction of the town and its townsfolk is quite well done, has this claustrophobic atmosphere. The action is very good, the sense energy is there. Just that the execution of certain parts like the investigation elements could've been done better.

„Sugar Colt" is an excellent movie that belongs in a list of the top 20 Italian westerns for me. Definitely the best role Hunt Powers ever got in Europe and this genre, as he went on to make Django flicks with Fidani, but "Sugar Colt" is memorable also for its unusual script about criminal investigators in the wild west, which makes "Sugar Colt" a comedy in the first half and a serious brutal western in the second half - which is absolutely making sense because the main character is totally changing when he gives up his disguise as doctor Cooper and becomes the gunman Sugar Colt. Composer Luis E Bacalov ("Django") uses two different themes here to illustrate this: the "Sugar Colt" leitmotif, and the soldiers' theme with the trumpet. Spanish photographer Alejandro Ulloa who also shot Corbucci's "Mercenario" and Castellari's "Ammazzali tutti e torna solo" achieves the perfect western look near Almeria, partly at the same locations "For A Few Dollars More" was shot at. Together with the skill of director Giraldi ("Seven Guns for the MacGregors") and the legendary Soledad Miranda in her best western role, this is a must have for a "Western all'italiana" collection even if currently harder to find than many others. I've got an Italian language DVD with French subtitles in well restored picture quality.

The main theme to Sugar Colt reminds me of Ennio Morricone's theme for My Name is Nobody made seven or so years later. Luis Bacalov provides the score and Hunt Powers (aka Jack Betts) provides the charisma for this serio-comic quasi-secret-agent spaghetti western with the renowned Sugar Colt (Powers) going undercover to the town of Snake Valley to investigate the disappearance of a regiment of Union sharpshooters at the end of the Civil War. Most of the humor comes from his posing as Dr. Tom Cooper, mild mannered yet accomplished at boxing and fooling the henchmen of the kidnapper. But the film turns more serious once he reveals himself as Sugar Colt, and the recovery of the regiment takes on a tragic air as supporting characters start to drop. Powers is good in this, as he was in most of his starring efforts in Italy; one wonders why he now acts in small parts under his true name Jack Betts. Perhaps, like Nicholetta Machiavelli and some others, fame did not rest lightly on his shoulders...or perhaps he just hated the name Hunt Powers (it does remind one of Dash Riprock) and having had his minutes of fame in Europe, is content being a journeyman actor. Three stars out of four, and fans of Euro-Westerns will like it better than others. Fans of Soledad Miranda will be delighted by her appearance here.