5/10
"Hip" early 70s Western with Richard Crenna and Rosanna Schiaffino, but mediocre
7 December 2014
"The Man Called Noon" (1973) is a Spanish/Italian/English Western starring Richard Crenna as the eponymous character and Stephen Boyd as his pardner. After Noon suffers amnesia from being winged in the head and falling, he teams-up with Rimes (Boyd) and meets a woman named Fan (Rosanna Schiaffino), who takes a liking to him. Farley Granger and Patty Shepard are other characters in the story, which features a hidden cave and fortune.

Shot in Spain, the film has the cool style and music of Spaghetti Westerns of the time, but with an arguably better story and characters, likely because the script's based on a Louis L'Armour novel. Unfortunately, as the movie progresses its flaws surface, like an obvious smudge on the lens of one of the cameras, the inexplicable lights in the "bat cave" and an increasingly unbelievable vibe. Despite this, Crenna and Boyd are effective Western protagonists and Rosanna & Patty are agreeable female eye candy. Although mediocre overall, it's worth checking out if you like Westerns from the 60s/70s.

The film runs 98 minutes.

GRADE: C+
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