Worth a viewing
30 December 2005
In Gianfranco Baldanello's third (of 6) Italian Western...Guy Madison stars as a mercenary undercover agent for the military... in this minor..but on the whole pretty well done western.

Martin Benson hasn't quite made it home from the war..rather working undercover & gaining a reputation as an outlaw. As 3 bad guys he helped to capture are hanging in the wind..he's offered a substantial amount of gold to find the leader of the gun & liquor smuggling operation he's helped to take a bite out of..even as.....gang members are out to get him..& target his family as well. His parents are killed..younger sister raped..& he & his younger brother set out for revenge...also trying to stay alive..as the remaining family members (2 sisters..2 brothers) are still being stalked.

Madison, of course, knows his way around sixguns, fistfights & horses..& it shows. He's as comfortable to watch as wearing an old pair of worn in jeans. There are no 'corrida' type showdowns..but some medium to larger gunfights...& probably pretty much how gunfights really were...shooting people anywhere & anyhow you could..in the back..through windows...whatever works.

Amedeo Tommasi's (The House with Laughing Windows ) first & only Spaghetti Western score is imitation Morricone..but good imitation Morricone......strings & horns w/ the dominant electric guitar..& the title vocal tune is a typical catchy Spaghetti Western pop ballad. Overall , among the best Morricone rips I've ever heard.

So what we have here is kind of a mixture of the pre-Leone SW & some post Leone elements......brutality...rape..nudity...& the the usual bloody messes. I don't believe that a widescreen version of this movie still exists...it's showing up on a lot of those 5..20..50 cheapo Movie packs...the fullscreen is watchable...I do recommend zooming it down to 1/2 if you come across the DVD. It's worth a viewing.
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