Yassmin Pucci in Clare Peralta, arriving in Arizona in 1881, hoping to relocate a gold mine her grandfather owned.
The mine’s been lost now. But a map made by former physician Jacob Waltz might lead the way through Superstition Mountain to its rich bounty.
An elderly man named Logan will be accompanying Clare on her journey. So will a guide named Chavez and two penniless drifters he hires, Irish immigrant Charlie Yanks and the hard-drinking Pedro.
They’re going to be traveling through Apache country, but that might be the least of Clare’s worries.
She has Jacob Waltz’s map. A pair of no goods named Weisner and El Perro want it.
So does a rich landowner named Ramirez, who poses an even bigger threat with all the henchmen following his orders.
But is the woman who’s shown up in these here parts really the renown Clare Peralta? And is her search really for gold?
She might just be looking to avenge the long-ago murder of her father and the theft of her family’s land.
Look, the dubbing is awful. Some of the English dialogue makes little sense.
But if you’re a fan of Spaghetti Westerns, overlook that and give this film a chance.
It’s a lovely tribute to the films of Sergio Leone. And it’s filled with familiar Spaghetti touches — extreme closeups of scowling faces, a rousing score, enhanced audio of gunshots and background sounds, like Sergio’s infamous windmill.
Yassmin Pucci does a fine job in the lead role. Tiziano Carnevale provides comic relief as the Irish immigrant, untrained in the ways of the West and finding himself increasingly drawn to Clare.
Oh, and he’s constantly leaving markers along their trail, so the legendary Man With No Name can find them when they’re most in need of his help. Heck, the film even features a cameo by a preacher with a gun hidden in his Bible.
And, yep, the Man With No Name eventually appears. Played by none other than direcotr Emiliano Ferrera.
Some day I’m going to have to find an Italian language print of this film, hopefully with English subtitles.
By the way, the end titles in the English version are still in Italian. I’ve provided translations below.
Directed by:
Emiliano Ferrera
Cast:
Yassmin Pucci … Clare Peralta
Tiziano Carnevale … Charlie
Piero Olivieri … Chavez
Sebastiano Vento … Ramirez
Benedetto Lo Monaco … Logan
Sofia Ferrera … young Clare
Micaela Sangermano … Estrella
Valerio Rota … Kendall
Gabriel Ciarelli … Jacob Waltz
Alessandro Maria Ostili … Weisner
Renny Zapato … El Perro
Emiliano Ferrera … Man with No Name
Mauro de Vecchi … Pedro
Philippe Boa … Tom
Claudio Gregori … Reverendo Terryl
Alfredo Angelini … Ned
Giulio Dicorato … Salgado
Melina Arena … Sara
Mihaela Diaconita … Ella
Giorgio Filonzi … Clare’s father
Vincenzo Ferrante … Sheriff
Massimo Di Marco … Sam
Maria Amato … Rose Mary
Runtime: 94 min.
aka:
Oro & Piombo
Gold and Lead
Memorable lines:
Maid: “I don’t think you should be here alone, ma’am. It’s quite dangerous out here.”
Clare: “There’s no one around here. Apart from two hungry wanderers I saw fetching rotten fruit this morning.”
Maid: “Every hungry man is a dangerous man.”
Estrella: “You just drank my rose perfume.”
He grabs her, tosses her on a bed and climbs atop her: “It will be the most fragrant thing you will ever have between your legs.”
Ramirez: “You think you fool me cause I’m old.”
Estrella: “I don’t want to fool you. And I would never think that you’re old.”
Ramirez: “Then what am I?”
Estrella: “You’re a bastard. Not an old man.”
Ramirez: “What is your last dying wish?”
Mr. Thompson: “I hope that, one day, my daughter can be the one killing you with her own two hands.”
Chavez to Clare: “So tell me, do you know how to use a gun? Or do you just carry it around to look like a man?”
Clare: “Hope you’ll never find out.”
Charlie: “The one who craves gold is bound to encounter lead somehow.”
The end title translations:
Clint Eastwood: “Sergio, va bene! Verro a fare il film con te, ma per favore, ti imploro, non mi rimettere in bocca quel sigaro!”
Translated: Clint Eastwood: “Sergio, okay! I’m coming to make the movie with you, but please, I’m begging you, don’t put that cigar back in my mouth!”
Sergio Leone: “Clint, non possiamo tagliare fuori il sigaro. Che famo? lasciamo a case er protagonista?”
Translated: “Clint, we can’t cut out the cigar. What do we do? shall we leave the protagonist at home?”
All granda fantasia di Sergio Leone continuano ad ispirarsi generazioni di cineasti. Con gioia abbiamo voluto unirci anche noi.
Translated: Generations of filmmakers continue to be inspired by Sergio Leone’s great imagination. With joy we wanted to join too.
A trent’anni dalla sua scomparsa, in omaggio al suo genio, dedichiamo questo nostro umile lavoro.
Translated: Thirty years after his death, in homage to his genius, we dedicate this humble work of ours.