Review by dbdumonteil

Giuliano Gemma was par excellence the action film Italian actor.He had plenty of go and French users do remember his part of Nicolas Calembredaine in the "Angélique" saga;but he was also featured in peplums ("I Titani"), exotic adventures ("Sheherazade") and mainly spaghetti westerns,often credited as Montgomery Wood;he became more ambitious in the seventies with such works as Comencini's "Delitto D'Amore" and Zurlini 's "Il Deserto Dei Tartari" .

But a character actor he is not;he is better at other things and he is pretty good (and credible) as a sheriff;the villain is successfully portrayed by French Serge Marquand.The subject is borrowed from too many American westerns of the two precedent decades ,but it's made with care,with a good cinematography using the wide screen tastefully .The screenwriters display a good sense of humor: the priest,scaring the dumb Mexicans (it may pass for racism ) with Jehovah's wrath which will strike them if they don't repent.The blacksmith's trick is really a good idea the cattle thieves could take up.And the "wanted" word ,sung every ten minutes when the hero becomes the wrong man ,is typically European.

This is an action-packed movie,with never a dull moment;it does not mark a milestone in western history,but it's good Entertainment.