Um Trem para Durango

Two rogues witness a train robbery carried out by Mexican revolutionaries. They try to offer their services to these men suggesting that they know how to break open a safe of money stolen in the raid, while at the same time they try to rescue a girl also abducted in the robbery.

A Train for Durango is a spaghetti western that also falls under that most uneven of sub-genres, namely the comedy western. I haven't seen too many of these that were worth a second look and to be honest this film is ultimately no different, even if it is a little better than most of its kind. It's still really actually quite unfunny which kind of is a problem, given that that is sort of one of its main ideas. But I would file it under forgettable as opposed to painful. The trio of main actors were pretty decent I have to say and it did in fact end on a pleasingly decent note. Actually, come to think of it, the ending was quite funny, despite what I said earlier. On the whole, it's one for spaghetti western fans mainly but it's strictly minor fare.

I recently saw a nice widescreen English language release of this DVD and really enjoyed it. First off it's a great travelogue of spaghetti western locations; I recognized locales familiar from FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE and many others, all beautifully shot for maximum effect, Spain standing in for Mexico effortlessly. Second, it's a who's who of Spanish character actors; only Frank Brana seems to be missing of the stalwarts...well, so is Fernando Sancho, but most everybody else is here. Third, the leads all do a good job. Steffen is well cast as Gringo, a down on his luck Americano looking for a break south of the border. Mark Damon puts his shark-grin handsomeness to good use as the mysterious gunman who shows up from time to time to help out our heroes. And Enrico Maria Salerno was a revelation to me as Lucas, Gringo's Mexican sidekick. After seeing his performance I could totally see him pulling off the role of Tuco in THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY; he's sly, grinning, full of life, and not entirely trustworthy. This is an early comedy western, and for once the comedy works. It has some pretty funny scenes which made me laugh aloud, comic characters who aren't just irritating, and the comedy rings true, especially the ending, which I thought was hilarious. If you haven't seen it, you're missing out.

TRAIN FOR DURANGO is a somewhat obscure spaghetti western shot in Spain with a mainly Spanish supporting cast. The director is Mario Caiano, one of the most experienced genre directors working in Italy, and his solid leads are played by Anthony Steffen and Mark Damon, two actors well acquainted with the making of Italian westerns.

This is one of those comedy adventures in which the main characters are all rogues of some sort going after greater villains. The opening train robbery gives the film its title, but for the most part this is your standard comedy adventure, packed with twists and double-crossing and hidden character motivations. There's a ton of action here but most of it is inconsequential and merely seems to be action for the sake of action; thus the characters kick, punch, and shoot their way out of endless dangerous situations.

Steffen and Damon remain good value for viewers although the rest of the cast are unmemorable and stuck in cliché type roles. As for the comedy, I found it merely adequate. The film has a long, slow middle part in which nothing much of note really happens, although it does pick up again at the end.

Two penniless adventurers (Anthony Steffen, Enrico Maria Salerno) see a possibility to steal a gold treasure from bandits after a train robbery. Too many competitors get involved, and the attempts to get hold of the gold get increasingly desperate.

A comedy with sophisticated writing which works surprisingly well with two leading actors who were not known as comedians in their other westerns. Also the rest of the cast is working fine with Mark Damon, Roberto Camardiel and Aldo Sambrell.

Steffen and Salerno play Gringo and Lucas, two adventurers on their way back to Texas from Guatemala (where Steffen was shot in the behind). They sell their horses and guns to buy tickets for the train to Durango. On board is also a safe carrying a large sum of government money. While Steffen is flirting with a French mademoiselle (Dominique Broschero) and Salerno is sneaking up on passengers to steal their food, the train is robbed by three different gangs, led by the unholy trinity of El Lobo, Heraclio and El Jefe, who have joined hands for the occasion. The safe is stolen and the mademoiselle is kidnapped, but Gringo and Lucas, the only survivors of the massacre, accidentally find the two keys of the safe, and are now the only ones who can open it. They intend to get close to the safe now in the hand of El Lobo, a bandit. At various occasions, a mysterious American (Mark Damon), who drives around in a red car, appears at the right moment to save them.

A Train for Durango is a colorful, lively, and imaginative comedy western. It's lighthearted throughout, that is only tempered by the violence - a train robbery resulting in mass murder and a bizarre 'Death Ring' scene, featuring a group of people gathered round a table, playing a Mexican variation on Russian Roulette. But that's the nature of SW; they tend to have some black humour or morbidity. It's good to see Anthony Steffen play a lighter and not so smart character instead of his usual hard man silent roles. Dominique Broschero is a hottie. With that suaveness and sly grin, Mark Damon reminded me of Face from A-Team ( Dirk Benedict) and he was really good.