Un colt et le diable

Released in 1968 and directed by Marino Girolami, "Between God, the Devil and a Winchester" (originally titled "God Was in the West, Too, at One Time") is an Italo oater starring Richard Harrison as a pacifist in the Southwest who obtains a map from a boy that leads to a treasure allegedly stolen from a mission. Several other people want the treasure too, like Juan Chasquisdo (Gilbert Roland), but likely for less noble purposes. The story's (supposedly) based on Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, which I've never read.

"Between God, the Devil and a Winchester" has the limitations of most Spaghetti Westerns, like dubious dubbing, awkward editing, laughable sound effects and caricatures rather than characters. But, if you can look beyond these flaws, it has several attributes, like the noble Harrison as the protagonist, which is in contrast to the amoral characters (caricatures) typical of Italian oaters.

The first act takes place at a Western Inn and is highlighted by the stunning Dominique Boschero as Marta. Dominique is so breathtaking she's almost worth the price of admission; unfortunately, she's removed from the story by the end of the first act. Roland as Chasquisdo is memorable, if for no other reason than the iron gauntlet on one hand.

The next two acts involve searching for and finding the treasure and aren't as good as the opening act. For one, there are a few nighttime sequences that are too dark to tell what's happening. But the ending is decent and satisfying. Too bad they omitted Marta from the last two acts.

The film runs 98 minutes and was shot in Spain.

GRADE: C+

The film starts with a road and a covered wagon that apparently has all kind of household goods. The owner probably provides distant ranches with convenience products. For $10 he has accepted a passenger who will kill him soon. The passenger turns out to be a criminal Confederate colonel who has a map of a hidden treasure. In a conflict with outlaws he gets killed and a little boy and a "stranger" without a gun get hold of it. A typical treasure hunt with only partial knowledge about the location by each of the searchers through a wild mountain landscape is about to start. Gilbert Roland and Richard Harrison together with a mixed bunch including the outlaws are able to entertain the viewer and deliver both a good performance. There are a lot of nice and wild landscape shots and the score has at least average quality. On the downside there is a certain lack of credibility in more than one situation. E.g. before starting a treasure hunt I'd try to get rid of outlaws.

Recommended for Western and Adventure genre enthusiasts.

While nothing special in itself (and in spite of its portentous title), this one scores a few points for transposing Robert Louis Stevenson's classic pirate adventure "Treasure Island" to a Spaghetti Western landscape! Folco Lulli plays the Billy Bones figure – who sets the plot in motion; 'Long John Silver' is Gilbert Roland, sporting an iron hand instead of a wooden leg! Also involved are preacher Richard Harrison, while 'Jim Hawkins' is incarnated by a Mexican boy (who, naturally, befriends the roguish Roland).

Director Girolami (using the pseudonym Dario Silvestri), who dabbled in everything from comedy to action-oriented efforts, is the lesser-known father of cult film-maker Enzo G. Castellari (curiously enough, Roland co-starred in the latter's debut feature – ANY GUN CAN PLAY [1967] – which, incidentally, is also a Spaghetti Western). The film remains watchable, thanks also to a notable score from Carlo Savina; it does, however, include a couple of almost campy moments – one in which a badman is set on fire when a Mexican girl he has attempted to rape breaks a lantern over his head, but he takes care to repeatedly shoot her prior to expiring himself(!); another is when Roland's thin cigar is lit by a shot fired from the gun being handled by non-practitioner Harrison!

After much wrangling over a treasure map, mystery man (and pacifist!) Richard Harrison leads a group of men and a young boy in search of an ex-Confederate's stolen gold, battling bandits and eventually one another to be the last one standing.

Between God, The Devil And A Winchester is a great spaghetti western with lots of action and a satisfying adventure loosely based on Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island.

Gilbert Roland is excellent as a wily wagon master with an iron gauntlet on his hand, who plays all sides and may or may not be a villain. His performance in this is an absolute pleasure to watch and makes up for any of the film's shortcomings.

Unreleased in the USA (except for an unauthorized latterday Something Weird dumping), this Italian Western is typical of those that chose to merely imitate American product rather than innovate. It's designed for movie fans who enjoy slumming, and judging by some verbose IMDb reviews, are easily impressed by ripoffs (in this case aping "Treasure Island").

It's sad watching a real Hollywood talent like Gilbert Roland reduced to such a nothing role.

My advice to fans killing time watching low-grade Italian genre crap: take some time to watch the hundreds of masterworks from Italy -you might learn something about the human condition from the artists and craftsmen ranging all the way from Antonioni through Zurlini.