A bandit leader named Torrez Gordo (Fernando Sancho) breaks men out of a jail to replenish his gang. The freed men have two choices: be branded with an ‘S’ on their arm and join his band of sidewinders, or be killed. But one of the men set loose, Arizona Colt (Giuliano Gemma), wants some time to think it over. That doesn’t set well with Gordo.

Their feud leads everyone to the town of Blackstone Hill, where the Gordo gang has its eyes on the bank and on the money the ranchers will be bringing back after selling their herds. Arizona has his eye on a hard-to-catch barroom beauty named Jane (Corinne Marchard).

And he has a chance to get her after a member of the Gordo gang kills her sister Dolores. Arizona wants $3,000 to track down the killer. But he’ll settle for $500 and Jane’s affections, much to the dismay of her father and the other townfolk.

Well, Arizona finds the killer, named Jay, but also runs into Gordo, who leaves him to die in the desert with a bullet in both legs and both hands. But Arizona is saved by another Gordo gang member named Whiskey, setting the stage for a final showdown back in Blackstone Hill.

Review:

Better than average Spaghetti that takes a while to get going, but winds up being quite entertaining. Gemma is a delight.

In an early scene, he’s contemplating whether to join Gordo. Then Gordo sends a small band of his men to ambush the “gringo.” Naturally, it’s Gordo’s men who wind up being ambushed. Arizona places their dead bodies alongside one another, spelling the word “no.”

Rosalbi Neri, one of Spaghetti’s most fetching actresses, has a small role as Jane’s sister.

Neat ending, too, with Arizona repeating the “I’ll think about that” line used by Jane earlier in the film.

Giuliano Gemma as Arizona Colt in “Arizona Colt” (1966)

Fernando Sancho as Gordo in “Arizona Colt” (1966)

Directed by
Michele Lupo

Cast:
Giuliano Gemma … Arizona Colt
Fernando Sancho … Torrez Gordo
Corinne Marchard … Jane
Nello Pazzafini … Kay
Rosalba Neri … Dolores
Andrea Bosic … Pete
Roberto Camardiel … Whiskey
Mirko Ellis … Sheriff
Pietro Tordi … Priest

aka:
The Man from Nowhere
Helleluja Companeros
Il Pistolero di Arizona

Score: Francesco De Masi

Title tune: “Arizona Colt” performed by Raul Lovecchio

Runtime: 115 min.

Corinne Marchard as Jane in “Arizona Colt” (1966)

Rosalba Neri as Dolores in Arizona Colt (1966)

Memorable lines:

Gordo: “As you see, I don’t insist. No one has to join. But those who don’t, will have to die.”

Jay: “May I offer you a drink?
Arizona: “Sure, a shot of whiskey is always nicer than one from a pistol.”

Arizona, upon being told he should be chasing the sultry Dolores instead of the tepid Jane: “I’m partial to things that are difficult.”

Priest: “Men like that have the devil inside. The only way to stop them is to kill them. Forgive me oh, Lord.”

Arizona: “That place should be all right.”
Whiskey: “For what?”
Arizona: “For thinking.”
Whiskey: “All thinking will ever get you is a headache, and that’s a fact.”

Gordo, during bank robbery: “Don’t be afraid. I’m only going to shoot one more, the tallest.” He fires. “Now, you’re the longest.”

Roberto Camardiel as Whiskey in “Arizona Colt” (1966)

Nello Pazzafini as Kay, Gordo’s henchman, in “Arizona Colt” (1966)

Trivia:

Born in Italy in 1938, Giuliano Gemma was playing in a field one day when he found a still-live explosive from World War II. It exploded in his face, causing a scar that was still visible on his left cheek when he began making Spaghetti Westerns.

This marked the only Spaghetti appearance for Corinne Marchand, who in 1962 appeared in a unique French film, “Cleo, 5 to 7,” following two hours in the life of a spoiled young pop singer as she dreads test results she’s to get from her doctor. The film was entered into the Cannes Film Festival.