Tom Cherry, town boss of Rainbow Valley, has a pretty young mother killed in order to provoke a massacre of a nearby Indian village. It’s all part of his plot to gain ownership of all the land in Rainbow Valley.

Years later, Lee Barton (Richard Harrison) rides into the valley. He guns down two of Cherry’s hands, and everyone begins believing that Ward Cluster, the slain woman’s husband, has returned from the Civil War, seeking revenge against Cherry and his brothers.

The timing couldn’t be worse for Cherry. He’s in the middle of a gun-running deal with a Mexican general that figures to make him a small fortune. He wants the stranger eliminated as quickly as possible.

But the stranger doesn’t go by Cluster; he says his name is Lee Barton. And his first order of business is to capture Tom Cherry and turn him over the Mexican general for a $5,000 bounty. That way, the general can hold Cherry for ransom in exchange for the cherished rifles.

Loris Loddi plays Sean Cluster, a young boy who never met his father. Fernando Sancho is the bounty hunter who decides to pitch in with Barton. Then there’s a subplot involved a drunkard named Ives and a pretty blonde named Deborah. Cherry wants Deborah; Deborah wants Ives, if only he could stay off the bottle.

Richard Harrison as Lee Barton in $100,000 for Ringo (1966)

Gerard Tichy as Tom Cherry in $100,000 for Ringo (1966)

Review:

The action comes fast and furious in this early Spaghetti, which has a certain charm in spite of a plot that seems to get more and more muddled as the film goes on.

Precisely what is Lee Barton’s agenda? Is he a con man trying to find a way to pocket the thousands Cherry was supposed to get for the rifle shipment?

Or is he an avenger, trying to set things right for the good folks of Rainbow Valley and the Apache band who have been victims of Cherry’s wicked ways?

Whichever his goal, Harrison is likeable in the lead role, and the outing benefits from a rousing Bruno Nicolai score.

Fernando Sancho as Chuck in $100,000 for Ringo (1966)

Loris Loddi as Sean Custer in $100,000 for Ringo (1966)

Directed by:
Alberto De Martino

Cast:
Richard Harrison … Lee Barton
Fernando Sancho … Chuck
Gerard Tichy … Tom Cherry
Guido Lollobrigida … Luke Cherry
as Lee Burton
Massimo Serato … Ives
as John Barracuda
Eleonora Bianchi … Deborah
Loris Loddi … Sean Cluster
Monica Randall … Elle, Indian maiden
as Aurora Julia
Tomas Torres … Mexican general
Rafael Albaicin … Grey Bear
Frank Oliveras … Indian brave
Luis Induni … Sheriff
Francisco Sanz … Jose
as Paco Sanz

Also with: Cesar Ojinaga, Victor Vilanova, Fernando Rubio, Pedro Roriguez de Quevedo, Michel Monfort

aka:
Centomila dollari per Ringo
100,000 dollari per Ringo
Sangre sobre Texas

Score: Bruno Nicolai
Song: “Ringo Come to Fight” by Bobby Solo

Runtime: 93 min.

Massimo Serato as Ives in $100,000 for Ringo (1966)

Eleonora Biachi as Deborah in $100,000 for Ringo (1966)

Memorable lines:

Cherry’s man: “What have you got to do in Rainbow Valley?”
Lee Barton: “Business.”
Cherry’s man: “What kind of business?”
Lee Barton: “My own.”
Cherry’s man: “Hey, I asked a straight-forward question.”
Lee Barton, shoving his fork into the man’s hand. “So was my answer.”

Chuck, after Barton shoots down his prisoner: “Hey, that was a lucky shot. But it sure was my rotten luck. Just caught up with him after a month and you have to go and shoot him. What’s you do that for?”
Barton: “Well, I wouldn’t swear he was going to kill you, but he sure looked like he was out to try.”

Tom Cherry, pulling a gun on Ives: “And now we’ll see if you have blood or whiskey in your veins.”

Monica Randall as Indian maiden Elle in $100,000 for Ringo (1966)

Rafael Albaicin as Grey Bear in $100,000 for Ringo (1966)

Trivia:

One of the six most successful Westerns in Italy in 1965, joining “For a Few Dollars More” and a quartet of Giuliano Gemma outings. Working the words Ringo and Dollar into the film title probably helped, though no one in the film is ever called Ringo.

This film marked a reunion of Harrison and director Albeto De Martino. Harrison was the star of De Martino’s first directing effort, “The Invicible Gladiator” in 1961. The film also marked Harrison’s sword and sandal debut. Harrison’s first Spaghetti was 1963’s “Gunfight at Red Sands.”

Italian born Eleonora Bianchi appeared in 15 films from 1961 ot 1967. She appeared in two other Spaghettis, “Four Dollars for Revenge” (1966) and “Turn, I’ll Kill You” (1967), which wound up being her final film role.