The Winchester Does Not Forgive (1967)

Ugo Sasso is Johnny McKenzie, an aging mine owner with a drinking problem, a pretty daughter and a much bigger problem than his love for a bottle.

That much bigger problem is Lash Bogart (Livio Lorenzon), town boss of New Tuzcosa. He owns one of the two mines outside town. Now he wants McKenzie’s too.

And when McKenzie refuses to sell, Bogart has his henchmen rough up anyone willing to work for the old man, making it impossible for him to profit from his mine.

Then a handsome stranger (Dean Reed as Hal) arrives in town. He won’t be bullied by Bogart’s bullies. In fact, he takes an immediate liking to the old man, and that pretty daughter named Christy (Monika Brugger).

In fact, he decides to stay on and help McKenzie run his mine, even recruiting new hands to help with the work.

None of that sets well with Bogart, who resorts to more extreme measures to eliminate any competition, including calling in an old friend Miguel Monteiro (Omero Gargano) and his band of bandits.

What no one knows is that the stranger didn’t show up in New Tuzcosa by accident. He’s searching for answers surrounding the death of his father five years earlier.

Review:

A bit on the hokey side — at least the English version isn’t called “Buckaroo” — but this is also a film directed with more vim and vigor than most.

There’s also a touch of humor, like the scene in which Johnny has to cover his eyes to stomach shooting two gift bottles of whiskey from an arch enemy.

And there’s a fun, rousing ending, making this a should-see film for Spaghetti fans, even if Dean Reed looks a bit too pretty for a Spaghetti hero and Livio Lorenzon isn’t quite mean enough for a Spaghetti villain.

The Lallo Gori score matches the film, sometimes rousy, sometimes hokey. But star Dean Reed gets to sing two songs, including the title track.

Directed by:
Adelchi Bianchi

Cast:
Dean Reed … Hal
Monika Brugger … Christy McKenzie
as Monica Brugger
Livio Lorenzon … Lash Bogart
Ugo Sasso … Johnny McKenzie
Omero Gargano … Miguel Monteiro
Jean Louis … Sandy
Gualtiero Rispoli … Sheriff Louis Johnson
Angela De Leo … Judy
as Angela Di Leo
Carla Petrillo …. Linda
Antonio Basile …. Lash henchman
Enrico Chiappafreddo … Steve
Ennio Pagliani … Steve’s brother

Also with: Virgilio Ponti, Valentino Macchi, Dino Strano, Gilbert Galimberti, Remo Capitani, Giuseppe Castellano, Giovanni Sabbatini, Franco Pasquetto, Domenico Cianfriglia, Augusto Funari

Runtime: 92 min.

aka:
Buckaroo
Buckaroo – Il winchester che non perdona
A Winchester Does Not Forgive

Music: Lallo Gori
Songs: “Buckaroo”
“For Tomorrow I May Die” by Dean Reed

Memorable lines:

Al: “Hey, Johnny, they got mermaids in this creek?”
Johnny McKenzie: “Mermaids? You sure you’re feelin’ alright after that fight you had?”
Al: “Well, what’s that?”
Johnny: “That’s Christie, my daughter. Hey, Christie! Get some clothes on. You’re shockin’ the whole neighborhood.”

Christie: “Pa! Shame on you! You’re still wobbly in the knees. I thought you promised to leave whiskey alone.”

Johnny: “You’re gonna drink water?”
Al: “Yep.”
Johnny: “You got some bad habits, boy. You never know when that stuff’s dirty.”

Johnny, after gunning down two bottles of whiskey Lash sent as a gift: “I’m a murderer, my boy. It was a massacree. (sic)”

New sheriff: “You know, Judy, I sure like that dress you’re wearin’.”
Judy: “Your star looks good too.”

Trivia:

* Dean Reed, who sings two songs here, was actually a singer before he was an actor. Groomed to be a teen idol, he signed with Capital Records in 1958 and released a series of singles. He didn’t appear in his first film until 1964 (“Love Has Many Faces”).

* Monika Brugger, the female lead here, has only four credits on IMDb. The same year she had the lead female role in “Wanted Johnny Texas,” a Spaghetti starring Willi Colombini (James Newman) and Howard Ross.

* Ugo Sasso, who plays the oft-drunk mine owner here, appeared in more than 100 films, starting his acting career in 1932. His final big screen role was as Sheriff Zoppo in “They Call Me Trinity” (1970).