In spite of what Joe D'amato may feel about his own work this is one of the *best* of the later period Spaghetti Westerns, and sort of the archetype example for a body of work churned out in an astonishingly short period of time for little or no money. The real force of influence in this movie is probably co-star Gordon Mitchell, who in 1970 or so with his own money, time & effort built an ingenious group of sets that were re-used again and again to make about three dozen ultra low budget Italian Westerns between 1970 and 1972.
The movies all look similar, make use of the same stock group of actors & technical people, and exist as a remarkable example of how you CAN make movies for literally pennies that were worth sitting through more than once. You can tell that a given film is one of the pack when you start to recognize the distinctive curved shaped boards on a certain structure, which when filmed from one angle would serve as a livery stable, from another a saloon or bank. Because the sets & props already existed, all a given filmmaker would have to do is decide what would take place and who would act out the roles. And for a few thousand dollars they would make a movie.
This is one of the best, an amusing story that pits a con man (Stan Cooper from THE HANGING WOMAN, who is excellent) against a ruthless Bandito kingpin & his gang of very colorfully costumed Pistoleros. Like Gianni Garko's famous Sartana character, Cooper's hero does not quick draw his way out of trouble but has to scheme, put elaborate plans into effect and make sure that he is the one directing the game. He is always a step or two ahead of everybody else, even catching the film's gorgeous Senorita in the act of removing her clothing & acting like a perfect gentlemen while enjoying the show.
And what a show it is: This is a Spaghetti Western that had a magic consultant, as Cooper pulls rabbits from hats and flips off card tricks with a blasé smirk on his face that is absolutely perfect. The film even opens with an amusing appropriation of the good old Magic Elixer con from Danny Kaye's THE INSPECTOR GENERAL, and is a light hearted, breezy romp rather than a brooding, revenge oriented Euro Western like D'amato's A BOUNTY KILLER FOR TRINITY. Which was made at roughly the same time & again with the same sets etc, and likewise helped by the ultra low budget of the production.
TRINITY IN ELDORADO (which has nothing to do with the Bud Spencer/Terence Hill films, by the way) also has one of the finest folk/guitar soundtracks I've had the pleasure to hear courtesy of Giancarlo Chiaramello, and is a pleasure just to listen to, as long as he stays away from the heavy metal riffs. The leads are fabulous, the color photography right out of a comic book, all of it propelled along by the bouncy music ... That there is actually a very cunning story driving it all is just a bonus, and really is one of the most enjoyable later period Spaghetti Westerns.
7/10
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