A half-breed gunslinger and 3 traveling salesmen are the only thing that stands between two brothers and a goldmine they will kill to own...This is Parolini`s first western I believe, and while it`s not completely without interest it doesn`t measure up to his later classics like SABATA and the first SARTANA. Dick Palmer aka Mimmo Palmara is fine in his many supporting roles, but frankly he`s not charismatic enough to be a lead. Another problem is the 3 salesmen, the supposed "comic relief", they`re extremely annoying and make the 3 Stooges look like masters of subtlety. On the plus side, it`s quite violent particularly for an early entry in the genre. Johnny`s (left) gun-hand is mangled by the baddies in a scene that almost seems to presage DJANGO. Problem is, with Johnny it`s no big deal! Moments later he picks up a pistol with his right hand and blasts away with deadly accuracy. There are the fun Parolini touches though, a cane that doubles as a gun and the main villain pulls an unbelievable stunt during the big final showdown. A funny line now and then too: "They`ll use that wood stump for a coffin handle." when a pegleg is killed. Another plus is the Lavagnino title song, a memorable melancholy tune - a few tracks are available on the DRG Spaghetti Westerns Vol. 1 compilation.
The Trinity dvd I watched is fullscreen and a pretty worn print - probably cut as well. There are regular fade-outs too, that made me suspicious this was sourced from a television broadcast. Would love to see a nice widescreen presentation and give the film another chance.
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Topic: Left-handed Johnny West / Johnny West il mancino (Gianfranco Parolini, 1965) (Read 2768 times)