Alex Cord is Clay McCord, a gunslinger with a problem. He watched his father die of epilepsy. Now, every time he exerts himself, his gun arm starts to shake. He fears he’s coming down with the illness, too.
He heads to a hideout for bandits called Escondido in search of a doctor. In the process, he crosses an outlaw boss named Kraut (Mario Brega) and gets help from a lovely young lady named Laurinda (Nicoletta Machiavelli). As for the doctor … well, Kraut had him hung for cheating at cards.
McCord’s next hope: the amnesty being offered by the Gov. Lem Carter of New Mexico. But in the nearby town of Tascosa, bounty hunters are lying in wait for outlaws who want amnesty. Marshal Ray Colby (Arthur Kennedy) doesn’t seem particularly pleased by this, but he’s paying off bounties just the same. And he’s trying to starve out the bandits in Escondido.
Oh, and that amnesty offer comes with $50 the outlaws can use to start over. McCord’s hoping for a much higher amnesty offer than that.
Review:
Spaghetti Westerns have given us blind gunslingers, gunmen with amnesia and now a gunman who thinks he has epilepsy. This is probably the least interesting of the bunch.
The film has its moments, like the drowning of a character named “Cheap” Charley and the brutal massacre of a group of Escondido residents trying to smuggle supplies back to the village.
But other parts of the film make no sense. Escondido is under barricade, but McCord seems to enter and leave at will. Kraut is willing to risk most of his men to see McCord dead. Why? McCord has a life-saving operation. A couple hours later, he’s on his feet helping fight off Kraut’s men. And, in the silliest scene of all, McCord pledges to one day take Laurinda to a place where people eat until they bust. Then they make love.
Robert Ryan and Mario Brega steal the show. Unfortunately, Alex Cord is not up to carrying the film.
Alex Cord as Clay McCord in A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die (1968)
Robert Ryan as Governor Carter in A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die (1968)
Directed by:
Franco Giraldi
Cast
Alex Cord … Clay McCord
Robert Ryan … Gov. Carter
Arthur Kennedy … Marshal Colby
Mario Brego … Kraut
Nicoletta Machiavelli … Laurinda
Giampiero Albertini … Fred Duskin
Rosa Palomar … Ruby
Renato Romano … Cheap Charley
Enzo Fiermonte … Doctor Chase
Antonio Vico … Jonas
Daniel Martin … Father Santana
aka:
Un minuto per pregare, unistante per morire
Dead or Alive
Outlaw Gun
Escondido
Score: Carlo Rustichelli
Runtime: 98 min. (original ran 118)
Arthur Kennedy as Marshal Colby in A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die (1968)
Mario Brego as Kraut in A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die (1968)
Memorable lines:
Store clerk, scoffing at amnesty: “Man strays from the righteous path, he has to be made to pay for it. It don’t do trying to pretend that skunks don’t smell.”
Santana: “Thou shalt not kill, my friend.”
Bounty hunter: “Unless there’s a price on his head. That makes it legal, instead of just fun.”
Bounty hunter: “I don’t like that, Sean. Bad luck to plug padres. They’re not worth a cent.”
Message on a sign welcoming folks to Escondido: “If you ain’t wanted, you ain’t wanted.”
Nicoletta Machiavelli as Laurinda in A MInute to Pray, a Second to Die (1968)
Giampiero Albertini as Fred Duskin in A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die (1968)
Trivia:
The full 118-minute version has a completely different, much more violent ending.
Alex Cord was stricken by polio at age 12 and spent an extended period of time in a hospital before being sent to a Wyoming ranch for therapy. That spawned a lifelong love of working with horses.
Two years before this film was made, Alex Cord starred in a remake of the John Ford classic “Stagecoach,” playing the John Wayne role of the Ringo Kid opposite Ann-Margret.
Rosa Palomar as Ruby in A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die (1968)
Daniel Martin as Father Santana, under durress in A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die (1968)
Alex Cord as Clay McCord and Antonio Vico as Jonas in A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die (1968)
Robert Ryan as Gov. Carter and Arthur Kennedy as Marshal Colby in A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die (1968)
Alex Cord as Clay McCord in A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die (1968)
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Am pleasantly surprised with this A minute to pray a second to die.
It was a nice discovery. It has an epic feel, or maybe episodic is a more appropriate term.
There may have been influences. taken from Leonie’s “Once upon a time in the West”.
Although the cruelties levied by the two gangs are atrocious, gunning down priests, women, hapless couples., an entire village of civilians. All the actors are memorable especially Ryan and Kennedy. Our ‘hero’ McCord really suffers in this film including references to Jesus with the hanging scene.
A word about the final scene, he is given his amnesty by a generous Governor, but surrenders his pistols. Did he not consider that the hills were alive with malcontents aiming to cash into his fame? He ambles off pleased with being absolved, but unarmed he could not eliminate the bounty-killers who were gunning for him on that mountain top. Why does his fate end this way, do not understand it?
We needed a part 2 whereby Robert Ryan hunts down and eliminates the gun slinger assassins.
Check out the much better, alternate ending, here — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0C8NLKwUDs
Mark Franklin is right to note the superior alternate ending. It’s the ending featured in the 118 minutes version available on BluRay from a German company – which has an English language track, and great picture and audio quality. The additional 20 minutes transforms the film from an uneven but interesting western into, IMO, a great western … thus my 5 star review. I don’t have a problem with Cord’ s performance, and will boldly say that the full length versions stands up to the legendary THE GREAT SILENCE, another film with a pervasive sense of tragedy, and an unforgettable nihilistic ending. I fully recognize this opinion is shared by few, if any, but I stand by it.
This is a great site, just discovered by me, and thank you for it.
And thank you for reading and commenting on so many of the films!
Check out “Buckaroo” with Dean Reed made the previous year and a scene in the sheriff’s office has wanted posters of Clay McCord and Fred Duskin along with a framed photo of Aldo Sambrell hanging on the wall.