This Italian / Spanish Western is set during the final days of the American Civil War. The handsome Robert Woods stars as Roy Dexter, a captain in the U.S. Cavalry. He's about to leave his military days behind in exchange for a political career. First, however, he must transport a fortune in gold coins, and he and his men fall into a trap set by bandits. Unfortunately, Roy is accused of conspiring with the bandits and sentenced to life in prison. He escapes, and masquerades as a Mexican outlaw while solving the mystery of who set him up.
There are no major surprises in this lightweight but amiable film. It's no classic, but it's a decent example of its genre. The filmmaking is generally competent, with the kind of impressive widescreen photography and use of locations that we expect from this sort of thing. The period recreation is sound, and the music by Benedetto Ghiglia and Angelo Francesco Lavagnino is very nice. It's not Morricone, but it suits the film just fine. One of the writers is Bruno Corbucci, whose credits include the original "Django" and "The Great Silence", and the story is an entertaining one if not a great one.
The performances are solid from much of the cast. Woods is engaging enough as the hero that one does root for him to clear his name. Dana Ghia does little more than stand around and look beautiful as the love of his life. Angelo Infanti is fine as Roy's friend Barry, as are Antonio Casas as Colonel Jackson, Jose Manuel Martin as gang leader Manuel de Losa, and the ubiquitous Gerard Tichy as the villainous governor Hamilton.
All in all, this is adequate entertainment for devotees of European Westerns.
Seven out of 10.
2 out of 2 found this helpful