A Man Called Apocalypse Joe (1970)

Anthony Steffen plays Joe Clifford, a wanna-be actor who keeps winding up in trouble. And that means winding up in jail.

But one day, Aunt Lucy bails him out with intriguing news. His uncle has died, leaving him a gold mine in the town of Landberry.

So it’s off to Landberry he heads, though not to a particularly warm reception.

A man named Berg (Eduardo Fajardo) runs the town and the nearby mines, and he has an army of henchmen to enforce his brand of law.

He informs Joe that he won the mine from his uncle in a card game. That happened just before his uncle stepped off a cliff to his death.

Suspicious, Joe decides to hang around anyway. He eventually confirms what he suspected all along. Berg has his uncle killed so he could steal the mine.

But if Joe wants justice, he’s going to have to dispense it on his own. The sheriff is under Berg’s thumb, though Joe does find allies in Doc Clan and his daughter Mildred, not to mention a pretty saloon girl named Rita.

Review:

Well done Spaghetti with plenty of action, a rousing score by Bruno Nicolai and a climatic showdown that takes up the last half hour of the film and features plenty of imaginative kills.

Steffen’s Joe Clifford uses his thespian skills to outwit Berg’s men on a couple of occasions. Fajardo plays the villain of the piece with great relish. And Fernando Cerulli’s role as Doc Clan starts off as comic relief, but by the end of the film, he’s become Clifford’s able assistant in evening the score with Berg.

The film is easy on the eyes too, with a pair of dark-haired beauties hoping for Clifford’s survival. Lovely Mary Paz Pondal dons one of the sexiest saloon gal outfits you’re likely to find in a Spaghetti Western.

Directed by:
Leopoldo Savona

Cast:
Antonio de Teffe … Joe Clifford
as Anthony Steffen
Eduardo Fajardo … Berg
Mary Paz Pondal … Rita
Fernando Cerulli … Doc Clan
Veronika Korosec … Mildred Clan
Giulio Baraghini … Sheriff Floyd
Fernando Bilbao … Bodo
Stelio Candelli … Braddox
Silvano Spadaccino … Al, barman
Flora Carosello … Annie Masters
Virginia Garcia … Aunt Lucy
Ugo Adinolfi … Terry
as Hugo Adinolfi
Renato Lupi … Brother Antonio

Runtime: 95 min.

aka:
Un uomo chiamato Apocalisse Joe
Apocalypse Joe
His Name was Joe Clifford
A Man Called Joe Clifford

Music: Bruno Nicolai

Memorable lines:

Aunt Lucy of Joe: “He wants to be a famous actor. But he always ends up reciting in county jails. Well, I’ve paid his last bail.”

Aunt: “Uncle Frank passed away. I don’t know the details. And, Joe, you inherited a gold mine.”
Joe: “I what? Why? What made him think I’d want it?”
Aunt, indignantly: “Because it’s got a vein of gold.”

Doc Clan to Joe Clifford: “Ain’t you gonna tell me who you are and what you came here for? It don’t really interest me, you know. It’s for posterity. Folks will want to know about you after they shoot you dead. And everybody sure loves a good tale.”

Mildred Clan, spying her father with a bottle: “I thought you said you were going to stay sober for a day.”
Doc Clan: “Well, I said that. I just ain’t decided on the day.”

Berg’s henchman, after the sheriff vows to do a better job: “Virtue sure smells. And I just caught a whiff.”

Doc Clan, as the good guys prepare for a showdown: “What do you think our chances are?”
Joe Clifford: “I hadn’t really thought about it yet. Now that you mention it. Kinda thin.”

Berg to Braddox: “Now you get this straight: I’m going to take one bullet and plant it in that stupid head of yours if you lose any more men. Understood?”

Trivia

This marked one of only two Spaghetti appearances for sexy Mary Paz Pondal, who later started her own theatrical company and stayed active into the 2000s. She had a much smaller role in 1969’s “A Bullet for Sandoval.”

Veronika Korosec has just four film credits on IMDd. She played Lucy in 1971’s “Pistol Packin’ Preacher,” also directed by Leopaldo Savona and starring Mark Damon.

One of five Spaghettis directed by Leopoldo Savona, who also worked with Anthony Steffen on 1967’s “Killer Kid.” His other Westerns included “Pistol Packin’ Preacher” (1973), “God Will Forgive My Pistol” ((1969) and “Rojo” (1966).