Jack Palance
Inventory
- A dirt-eating lunatic
- A sheriff who serves as preacher (or vice versa)
- Dance hall girls
- One saloon brawl
- One bank brawl
- One housewarming brawl
- A deed to a miserable dump
A drifter named Hiram Coburn finds a dying man who hands Coburn an envelope and asks him to take his nephew to Westland, the next town. Coburn is pursued by Sonny Bronston, a pimp and gunfighter, who is chasing him with the intention of making Sonny's sister an honorable woman. And then, immediately after the wedding, he plans to convert her into an honorable widow. To the dismay of everyone, Westland proves to be a little different than expected, particularly when Coburn puts his glasses on.
True Grit it ain't.
The DVD appears to have been mastered from a grindhouse print that had been cross-processed and then staked out in the sun to die. The result is a remarkable mixture of high-contrast black and white with hand-painted skin tones that range from tritium green to tangerine orange. The only description that comes to mind is Randolph Scott on acid.
Palance spends the whole movie puffing on a cigarette holder. Keeping it in his mouth requires him to clench his teeth so tightly that he apparently had to redub all of his own lines. How Palance didn't die from lung cancer after this film is one of medical science's great mysteries.
On a personal note, Bud Spencer bears a remarkable resemblance to the author of this review, minus a few white hairs.
Dialogue
"Shall I put my hands up or is this okay?"
"It don't matter. It's an informal execution."
Story
This is not the usual rehash of the same tired themes. Even when you think you've got it pegged, there are a few twists to be had.
Music
The only bit about the music that is at all interesting is that the title song is sung by a childrens' choir.
Acting
Spencer does a very nice job, bearing in mind that we are talking about a spaghetti western here, but Palance really mailed this performance in.
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