Franco Franchi and Ciccio Ingrassia are gun salesmen, headed to the town of Santa Genoviefa to sell their wares.
The sign at the edge of town warns of “Terror, Terror, Terror!” But the town turns out to be much more peaceful than that.
At least until Franco and Ciccio arrive and unintentionally spark a feud between town leaders Don Ramon Cocos (Francisco Moran) and Don Alonso Brenton (Emilio Rodriguez).
The trouble starts when a stage rolls into town. Franco peeks inside, catches a glimpse of a girl named Marisol — or at least her cleavage — and falls in love.
So Franco and Ciccio track the stagecoach to a grand home where Marisol is handmaiden to Consuela (Lina Rosales), a dark-haired beauty married to jealous Capt. Hernandez.
Franco fails to capture Marisol’s heart during the visit. But Ciccio catches a glimpse of Consuela in her bedroom with Don Ramon, a man who isn’t her husband.
They wind up being forced to share that news.
The problem is that Don Ramon has already promised to marry pretty Carmencita Brenton (Monica Randall), daughter of one of the most powerful families in Santa Genoviefa.
And feisty Carmencita is so offended by his cheating ways that she won’t even allow her family to consider forgiveness, setting the stage for a pitched battle between the two sides on the town’s main street.
Which would seem a much more promising atmosphere for a pair of guns salesmen, if the bumbling duo didn’t manage to get themselves in trouble with both sides.
Not to mention Capt. Hernandez, who suspects them of being the men who have been romancing his wife behind his back.
Ciccio Ingrassia as Ciccio, half of the gun-selling duo that causes problems in Santa Genoviefa in Fistful of Knuckles (1965)
Franco Franchi as Franco, reviewing his message to Marisol in Fistful of Knuckles (1965)
Review:
Like so many of the Franco and Ciccio films, this was intended as a spoof of a more popular Spaghetti Western, in this case, “Fistful of Dollars.”
So we have the comedy team riding into town decked out in Clint Eastwood duds. They stop at a well, just like Clint, pull on the rope forever, only to pull up a sign that says “dry well.”
Like Clint, they pass a man on a mule. They think he might be dead. Until he turns their way and belches as he passes. Then their horses are scared by gunfire, just like Clint’s. Except in this case, the culprits are kids playing with cap guns.
The scene by scene spoof soon fades and this film adopts a plot of its own, though Franco and Ciccio are much worse than Clint at playing the warring sides off against one another.
It turns into pretty standard Franco and Ciccio fare. Which means if you enjoy their brand of comedy, you’ll enjoy this film. If not, you might want to skip it, though the final showdown is worth a peek.
In one of the film’s better scenes, our comedy duo are nearly caught stalking Marisol. They’re fleeing Don Ramon’s men to avoid capture. They hop into a chimney.
And they land in the very bedroom where Capt. Hernandez is searching for the man — or is it men — with whom his wife has been cheating.
Jesus Puente as Capt. Hernandez, preparing for a showdown with Franco and Ciccio in Fistful of Knuckles (1965)
Francisco Moran (Paco Moran) as Don Ramon Cocos, disguised in a U.S. cavalry uniform in Fistful of Knuckles (1965)
Directed by:
Michele Lupo
as Mike Fox
Cast:
Franco Franchi … Franco
Ciccio Ingrassia … Ciccio
Lina Rosales …. Consuela
Francisco Moran …. Don Ramon Cocos
as Paco Moran
Jesus Puente … Capt. Hernandez
Monica Randall … Carmencita Brenton
as Aurora Julia
Jesus Tordesillas … Coffin maker
Carmen Esbri … Marisol
Emilio Rodriguez … Don Alonso Brenton
Maria Badmajew … Senora Brenton
as Maria Badmayev
Also with: Romano Giomini, Jose Riesgo, Francisco Camorias, Lis Morris Bermudez, Emilio Rodriguez, Rafael Albaicin, Guillermo Mendez, Alvaro de Luna, Tito Garcia, Eulalia Tenorio, Rafeal Hernandez, Simon Arriaga, Luis Barbero, Jose Canalejas, Jose Luis Lizalde, Antonio Padilla, Rafael Vaquero, Jose Truchado
Runtime: 100 min.
Music: Francesco De Masi / Manuel Parada
aka:
Per un pugno nell’occhio
For a Fist in the Eye
Monica Randall as Carmencita Brenton demonstrating how forgiving she’s feeling as smoke billows from her gun in Fistful of Knuckles (1965)
Lina Rosales as Consuela, Capt. Hernandez’s unfaithful wife, meeting her love in Fistful of Knuckles (1965)
Memorable lines:
Sorry, I watched a non-English version of this film.
Carmen Esbri as Marisol, the object of Franco’s affections in Fistful of Knuckles (1965)
Tito Garcia as Pablo ‘El Terrible,’ a Brenton henchman, confronting Ciccio and Franco in Fistful of Knuckles (1965)
Trivia:
* Between 1964 and 1966, Franco and Ciccio made 38 movies, including “Primitive Love,” which co-starred Jayne Mansfield, “War Italian Style,” which co-starred Buster Keaton, and “Dr. Goldfoot and the Sex Bombs,” directed by Mario Bava. They made 120 films in total over three decades
* The comedy duo are subjects of a 2004 documentary, “How We Got the Italian Cinema Into Trouble: Franco & Ciccio’s Real Story.” The title refers to the fact that the Franco and Ciccio films were widely panned, yet both popular and profitable.
* This marked one of final film appearances for both Lina Rosales and Carmen Esbri, who also appeared in “Black Angel of the Mississippi” and “Twins from Texas.” It marked an early appearance for Monica Randall, who would appear in about a dozen Euro Westerns.
Ciccio (Ciccio Ingrassia) and Franco (Franco Franchi) target some very young customers in Fistful of Knuckles (1965)
Emilio Rodriguez as Don Alonso Brenton, ready to defend the honor of his daughter in Fistful of Knuckles (1965)
Maria Badmajew as Mrs. Brenton, wondering if there isn’t a more peaceful option in Fistful of Knuckles (1965)
Monica Randall as Carmencita with fiancee Don Ramon Cocos (Francisco Moran) during happier times in Fistful of Knuckles (1965)
Carmen Esbri as Marisol and Lina Rosales as Consuela on a carriage ride in Fistful of Knuckles (1965)
Jesus Puente as Capt. Hernandez and Lina Rosales as Consuela react to a surprise in her room in Fistful of Knuckles (1965)
Jesus Puente as Capt. Hernandez encounters another surprise, the wrong woman in his wife’s bed (Monica Randall as Carmencita) in Fistful of Knuckles (1965)
Ciccio (Ciccio Ingrassia) and Franco (Franco Franchi) realize they’re dropped into the wrong room in Fistful of Knuckles (1965)
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