Le Dernier des salauds

Moving and dramatic Macaroni/Paella Western about a violent feud among sons , mother and her lover . Spanish-Italian co-production with Spaghetti-heroes as Leonard Mann , Peter Martell against Luciana Paluzzi and Albert De Mendoza . An Italian-Spanish co-production full of action , exaggerated characters, gun-play and lots of violence . In the beginning of the movie returning from Civil War , general Jose Carrasco (Jose Suarez) is double-crossed and takes place an ambush, in which is killed by his unscrupulous spouse Anna (Luciana Paluzzi) and her lover named Tomas (Alberto De Mendoza) . The sole survivor named Sebastian of a slaughter seeks vendetta . Years later, grown-up Sebastian (Leonard Mann) has become a magnificent and fast-hand gunman. One day Rafael (Prieto Martellanz or Peter Martell) goes back to Texas , where Sebastian resides , and brings back the terrible records of Sebastian's infancy . Rafael, who is the lover of Sebastian's sister Isabel (Pilar Velazquez), insistently chased by Anna Carrasco's hoodlums (Jose Riesgo, Piero Lulli), and Sebastian agrees to join him back to his mother's estate in order to rescue his sister from their mommy and to avenge his daddy's death . After suffering atrocity , both of whom execute a single-handedly revenge , they hit , ravage and kill each person involved in the massacre . Follows the exploits of Sebastian Carrasco and Rafael Garcia in SW usual theme, 'revenge' . For pleasure, for avenge, don't care why they kills or how . They are relentless in their vendetta , deadly in his violence . The conflict is simple one between two avengers and a Baron land with his hoodlums , oppressors, nasty bandits .

It's an exciting western with breathtaking showdown between the protagonists Leonard Mann , Peter Martell and the enemy , Alberto De Mendoza, and his underlings . Leonard Mann is fine, he ravages the screen, he shoots , hits and run and ultimately takes the law on his own hands . Alberto De Mendoza as a cruelly baddie role is terrific, subsequently he would play similar characters in various oaters . Furthermore, appears usual secondary actors from Italian/Spanish Western as Jose Suarez , Jose Riesgo ,Franco Pesce , Jose Luis Martin , Luciano Rossi ,Enzo Fiermonte , and several others. Brief appearance of future Spahetti secondary myth , Piero Lulli . The film blends violence, blood, tension, family drama , high body-count and it's fast moving and quite entertaining . There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing a shootout or stunt every few minutes . This is a good Spaghetti Western with some moments genuinely entertaining if you can avoid thinking too much . The musician Roberto Pregadio composes a vibrant soundtrack in Morricone style and well conducted ; including a catching leitmotif and considered to be one of the best . Atmospheric scenario with barren outdoors, dirty landscapes under a glimmer sun and a fine sets with striking cinematography in Eastmancolor with negative regularly processed , being necessary a right remastering . Interior filmed in Elios Studios (Rome) and outdoor sequences filmed on location in Lacio (Rome) along with Almeria, where in the 60s and 70s were shot innumerable Spaghetti.

It's a Western freely based on famous Orestes myth . According to Pindar, the young Orestes (here played by Leonard Mann) was saved by his nurse Arsinoe or his sister Electra (here Pilar Velazquez) , who conveyed him out of the country when Clytemnestra (Luciana Paluzzi) wished to kill him. In the familiar theme of the hero's early eclipse and exile, he then escaped to Mount Parnassus . In his twentieth year, he was urged by Electra to return home and avenge his father's death. He returned home along with his friend Pylades (Peter Martell) . The same myth is told differently by Sophocles and Euripides in their Electra plays. Other Spaghetti based on known and classic novels and plays , are the following : ¨Johnny Hamlet¨(1968) by Enzo G Castellari ; ¨The return of Ringo¨ by Duccio Tessari inspired on the ¨Odyssey¨, ¨John Il Bastardo¨(1967) based on books from Zorrilla and Moliere ; ¨Fury of Johnny Kid¨by Gianni Puccini based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and ¨Anche Nel West Céra una Volta Dio ¨ (1968) by Marino Girolami¨based on ¨Island of treasure¨ by Robert Stevenson. The motion picture was compellingly directed by Ferdinando Baldi . Baldi was a craftsman who directed all kind genres but especially Western such as "Carambola's Philosophy: In the Right Pocket" , "Django, Prepare a Coffin" , ¨Adios Texas¨ , ¨Rita in the West¨ and of course this ¨Il Pistolero dell'Ave Maria" or USA original title) "Forgotten Pistolero".

Poor Mexican farmer Leonard Mann is met one day by mysterious stranger Peter Martell, who tells him that he's really the son of a wealthy landowner, murdered by his unfaithful wife and her lover. They then travel to his boyhood home to seek revenge, reclaim his birthright, and save his long-lost (and long suffering) sister from his mother's now ex-lover.

The Forgotten Pistolero, which borrows a little from Hamlet, is a well-told story, with excellent production values, and enough great western/Mexican atmosphere to go around. The imitation Ennio Morricone score by Roberto Pregado is pretty swell too.

The entire cast give really great performances, though the lack of any real bankable international star probably helped get this above-average Italian western unjustly buried. Mann and Martell are exceptional though, and they do make a great team.

The climax amidst a flaming backdrop is superb and ultimately quite satisfying.

However, there are some unanswered questions regarding Mann's apparent amnesia in regards to his childhood, or lack thereof. Is he even the same person? Did he tell the villain the truth when they first met? No answer is given.

The DVD I've ordered features the film (Il Pistolero dell'Ave Maria) in its original Italian language. Some aspects of the story may have been changed in the English language version.

I will tell you just the very beginning of the story. I only want to give you a taste of the film. There will be no real spoilers (I think).

A lone rider going through a canyon. Up on the cliffs horsemen watching him. Close-ups of their faces, hands ready for action. The scene is enhanced by a hauntingly beautiful score.

The rider is Rafael (Pietro Martellanza). As a boy he had worked in a hacienda in Mexico. The owner of the hacienda was absent fighting against the french. For those that have no knowledge of the history of Mexico, very simplistically told, the french had invaded Mexico in 1861 and installed Maximilian of Habsburg in power. He became the emperor of Mexico! The french rule lasted until 1867, when the Mexicans led by Benito Juarez, expelled the french and shot the Emperor. Crazy, ain't it?

Coming back to the film, Rafael worked in this hacienda that belonged to the Carrasco Family. The patriarch and owner of the hacienda, General Juan Carrasco, was absent fighting against the french. Rafael was the best friend of his (the general's) son Sebastian (Leonard Mann), and loved and was loved by Sebastian's sister, Isabella (Pilar Velazquez). Children, the three of them. But while General Carrasco was away fighting the french, his wife Ana (Luciana Paluzzi) was having an affair with the hacienda's foreman, Tomas (Alberto de Mendoza). After the french had been defeated, General Carrasco returns home and is received in high style by everyone in the hacienda. A party is held to commemorate his return. Suddenly... betrayal and tragedy.

The characters are scattered to the four winds. Years pass and the dust seems to have settled down, but a chance meeting will rekindle old memories. The day of reckoning has arrived.

This story almost seems a Mexican melodrama, but it's filmed with a grandeur and style that's unique. The party that is held in homage to General Carrasco, when he returns from the war, with its dancing, singing and eating, is flamboyantly portrayed. The same holds true for the scene in which a character enters a small Mexican village where a celebration is taking place in the streets ... firecrackers, people laughing, singing ... Then the saloon, with wild and beautiful women dancing barefoot on the counter... Ferdinando Baldi is very skilled in telling a story by way of images - editing, framing, close-ups, music ... everything adds up to create the right atmosphere and the proper emotion. It's true that sometimes he goes overboard, as he proved with the completely over-the-top film's ending, that's so operatic, so melodramatic, as to put even the wildest Mexican melodramas to shame.

A good, well-told story featuring beautiful women (Luciana Paluzzi, Pilar Velazques and many others), sunny, dry landscapes, and a wonderful soundtrack. I didn't like so much the ending, though, with its fire and brimstones conclusion, but this is a matter of taste. Highly recommended if you like your spaghetti hot and wild.

I don't think this one ever got a release in the USA. It's got a great score, good action, and kind of a soap-opera plot, but the actors do a good job and production values and sets are top notch. Leonard Mann and Peter Martell play two young gunmen who share a tragic past; childhood friends, they were separated when Mann's father was killed by his mother's lover. He was spirited away by a faithful servant while his sister (the lovely Pilar Velazquez) remained to be raised by the two murderous lovers. Rafael (a brooding Martell), childhood friend and servant also remains, but is practically a prisoner of the household until he grows up and escapes, searching for the missing Sebastian. Complications ensue. This one has a bit more heart than most spaghetti westerns, and if you are a fan of the genre, you'll enjoy it. 8/10

Ferdinando Baldi's "Il Pistolero Dell' Ave Maria" aka. "Forgotten Pistolero" Of 1969 is good Spaghetti Western with an excellent score. Baldi is responsible for several good Spaghetti Westerns, including the great "Blindman" of 1971 and "Texas Addio" of 1966 with Franco Nero in the lead, and although "Forgotten Pistolero" is not one of his greatest achievements, Baldi proves once again, that he is an above average Western director. While "Blindman" is my definite favorite of Baldi's movies, I couldn't say whether I preferred "Texas Addio" of "Forgotten Pistolero". On the one hand, "Texas Addio" has Franco Nero, without doubt one of the Italian Western's best actors, in the lead, and the supporting cast includes Luigi Pistilli, Livio Lorenzon and Gino Pernice. On the other hand, the acting in "Forgotten Pistolero" is also very convincing, the score is excellent and the storyline is a bit more interesting than that of "Texas Addio".

After Sebastian's father, Civil War General Juan Carrasco (José Suárez) is murdered by his wife Anna (Luciana Paluzzi) and her lover Tomas (Alberto De Mendoza), their son Sebastian flees with his nanny and former wet-nurse. Years later, grown Sebastian (Leonard Mann) has become a fast and excellent shot. One day Rafael (Peter Martell) comes to Texas, where Sebastian lives, and brings back the dark memories of Sebastian's childhood. Rafael, who is the lover of Sebastian's sister Isabel (Pilar Velásquez), is constantly victimized by Anna Carrasco's henchmen (one of them played by Piero Lulli), and Sebastian agrees to join him back to his mother's estate in order to free his sister from their unscrupulous mother and to avenge his father's death.

This is the second movie starring Leonard Mann I've seen, after "Three Amens For Satan" of 1971. "Three Amens For Satan" was certainly no masterpiece, but Mann definitely delivered a good performance. In "Forgotten Pistolero" he is once again very good in the lead, and although Mann is not a very well-known Spaghetti Western actor, it should be said that this guy definitely had potential to play silent avenger types. Peter Martell also delivers a credible performance as Sebastian's sidekick Rafael, and Alberto De Mendoza is good as the villainous Tomas. The best performances in this movie, however, are in my opinion those of Luciana Paluzzi as the sneaky mother Anna Carrasco and beautiful Pilár Velásquez as Isabel. Piero Lulli fits perfectly into his (regrettably small) role of the brutal thug as always. The score by Roberto Pregadio is excellent, and the film is shot quite nicely in decent locations.

"Forgotten Pistolero" is a solid and entertaining Spaghetti Western, not a genre-highlight, but definitely a good film. 7/10