Per una bara piena di dollari

(1971) Coffin Full of Dollars/ Per una bara piena di dollari DUBBED SPAGHETTI WESTERN

The movie opens up quite unique but everything after that is nothing more but a poorer rendition of "For A Few Dollars More" with many so and so unconvincing gunfights. The falls when the men got shot are quite nice but the set ups are way too pretentious and somewhat fake looking.

Co-written and directed by Demofilo Fidani that has a bandit returning two dead bodies to their leader, Hagen (Klaus Kinski). And we find out that the two lifeless bodies are his two brothers, and he demands retribution. His right hand man, Ramirez (Dennis Colt) goes and handles it as he targets a particular family household by burning it down. A witness, Sam (Rai Sanders) is present as he hiding behind the bushes except that he does not quite know they are. And after Sam buries them on the following morning it is during then Mark Hamilton comes back from serving the Confederacy. We find out out that the people Sam had buried are related to him, he is then seeking for revenge, which the only clue Sam hands him is a pocket watch dropped by Ramiriez. And the next thing we know Mark Hamilton then goes on an obsessive rant attempting to find out who it belongs to as he often plays the pocket watch chimes. We find more about Hamilton to which before the civil war he used to be a bounty killer and that he was synonymous for being called "Nevada Kid", that upon him coming into town he ends up killing two robbers after robbing the town bank. In exchange for the reward he wants information regarding the name of the owner of the watch. When Nevada plays a game of cards and he wins the entire pot, in exchange for info, he would give it up for the name of the owner. And just when the name was about to be revealed the card player ends up being shot and killed. Two of them escapes, and he attempts to follow him. It is during then he meets another bounty hunter, John (Gordon Mitchell) and then later save the daughter, Monica Benson (Simone Blondell) of a father attempting to pay a $10,000 ransom to the Ramierez gang who kidnapped her.

Further puzzling scenarios exist such as the star Nevada Kid not taking his winnings after he shoots the outlaws/ bandits who try to keep the guy from talking. He just goes and follows the men who escaped. The lady the bounty hunters of Nevada and John had saved, she does not even express anger or sadness after the bandits killed her father. It is scenarios such as those that makes this film less credible. And although there plenty of gunfights the sets to those gun battles are corny and ridiculous beyond belief on the side of Nevada.

What do you get when you take a silly revenge screenplay and add to it a lusterless cast of bad, unattractive actors and a bug-eyed, bad acting actress? You get this movie, that's what you get. Everyone associated with this mess should be ashamed. Even Kinski seems bored (as well he should be). Only the stunt men get to shine, as they twirl and do their acrobatics when they get shot (all of it bloodless and woundless). None of this makes a lot of sense. Gordon Mitchell, whom I've always liked, is wasted here, playing against type as a bounty hunter with a heart. What a waste of ninety minutes this is! Don't waste your time watching this one. I wish I hadn't.

This is another Euro-western directed by Demofilo Fidani a.k.a. Miles Deem. Like the other Fidani movies I have seen, this one isn't as bad as his movies are reputed to be. It certainly doesn't rank up there with the greatest spaghetti westerns of all time, but it's still pretty decent entertainment for people who like the genre.

The acting is a bit below average, except for Klaus Kinski who puts in a fine performance. The story is good enough to keep ones interest throughout the whole film, and there is plenty of action. The stunt-work and gunfights are done quite well. Hunt Powers as Tomayo has the perfect look for a spaghetti western, and with his long hair and big mustache, appears as though he could have walked out of an actual photograph from the late 1800's.

The music score isn't outstanding, but it is suitably styled for a spaghetti western, so it's still way better than any music one would hear in an American western.

If you are really into spaghetti westerns, and not just the most popular ones, This is a good one for a lazy afternoon when you just want to be entertained without having to think about it too much.

Average Italo Western. Mostly poor acting and a LOT of plot holes/stupid behavior i.e. people kill each other any given possibility - normal in italo western - but main characters always go into fistfights against each other. Klaus Kinski is amazing as always - his role is small but he is the only character that impressed me and you will remember after seeing the movie. (unexpected) Some very funny scenes with a "doll" - i really laughed. If you like italo western (as i do) i recommend it - otherwise skip it all in all not too bad 6/10

BUT far from "per un pugno di dollari" (for a fistful of dollars) by Sergio Leone which some people seem to have mixed it up with.

Hagen (Klaus Kinski, or "Slander" in my dubbed version) burns down the farm of the Hamiltons and kills the whole family - except one who was absent and swears revenge upon his return. Nevada Kid (Jeff Cameron) gets unexpected support from a bounty hunter (Gordon Mitchell) who carries a list of all wanted men - which has the size of a big city's telephone registry. They rescue a maiden in distress (played by Simone Blondell, the daughter of director Fidani) and happily kill everybody who looks like a bandit.

Truly no art, but still the best movie by the director, as far as I've seen his works... which reviewers often describe as "junk". The screenplay is straight ahead, the music by Lallo Gori provides tension and a good title song, and the camera work of Joe D'Amato is excellent with its many close-ups and precise focusing. Kinski puts more effort in his performance than in some other westerns, for example in the scene at the beginning when he discovers his two brothers were killed. Ray Saunders got a really nice role as a former slave saved by Nevada Kid. In a scene which was cut from the 80s video tape version but restored for DVD, he even sings a song. Hunt Powers is first mentioned in the cast, but plays only one of the bandits.