Guido Mannari is Kane Blue; Antonio Falsi is Johnny Blue. They’re brothers determined not to follow in the footsteps of their father.
He was a hard-working farmer, taken advantage of by bankers and the like, from their way of thinking.
Instead, they rob banks. Though that lands them in jail along with partner Frank when Teddy Fog is left behind during a getaway and gives up the identity of his accomplices.
Fortunately for Kane, he has a girlfriend named Polly (Tina Aumont) who is very pretty, very rich and has a rebellious streak a mile wide.
She slips him a derringer while visiting him in jail. Soon, the gang is free; the lovers are reunited.
Polly makes Kane promises to stop robbing banks. He pledge to do so.
But the pledge doesn’t last long. In fact, Polly becomes an active participant in the holdups, and the reward on the Blue Gang keeps climbing.
They’re also something of an obsession for a bank investigator named Hillman (Jack Palance), who works for some of the clients they’ve robbed.
Review:
Stick with this one for a while, and you’ll be rewarded with some well-filmed and violent action scenes and characters you might even begin to care about.
You’ll also be reminded of 1969’s “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” Heck, the Blue Gang even makes a triumphant trip to the East to enjoy the spoils of their labor, just like Butch, Sundance and Etta.
And while Kane and Polly are a couple and Kane’s brother Johnny eventually marries former prostitute Jenny, there’s growing affection between Polly and Johnny too.
There’s also a growing sense of doom in the film. Early on, Kane kicks Frank out of the gang for killing a man during a robbery. As time goes on, the gang begins gunning down pursuers without a second thought.
The film has its problems, though. Teddy Fog keeps messing things up and keeps being accepted back into the gang. Why?
Polly is pinned under a wagon at one point, suffering a nasty leg injury. Next thing you know, she’s dashing through the wounds to avoid those pursuers.
One scene you’re unlikely to forget: Townsfolks eager for souvenirs ravaging the body of a gang member who’s been killed. There’s also a very nice recurring theme song — “Go Man” — with changing lyrics to help narrate the film.
Directed by:
Luigi Bazzoni
as Marc Meyer
Cast:
Jack Palance … Hillman
Guido Mannari … Kane Blue
Tina Aumont … Polly Clay
Antonio Falsi … Johnny Blue
Mauirzio Bonuglia … Frank
Clara Mutschaewski … Jenny
Paul Jabara … Teddy Fog
Guido Lollobrigida … Sheriff
as Lee Burton
Maria Michi … Mama Blue
Carla Wittig … Alice
as Clara Russell
Antonio Gradoli … Donovan, banker
Also with: Manuel Angiolino Manfreid, Giancarlo Terzaroli, Monique Arambourge, Gennarino Pappagalli
Runtime: 91 min.
aka:
Blu gang vissero per sempre felici e ammazzati
Blue Gang
The Short and Happy Life of Brothers Blue
A Few Happy Days of the Brothers Blue
Music: Tony Remis
Song: “Go Man” by Marva Jan Marrow
Memorable lines:
Kane: “How many bullets you packin’, Johnny?”
Johnny: “Four.”
Kane: “And you, Teddy?”
Teddy: “I ain’t got none.”
Kane: “Frank, give him two of yours.”
Frank: “What am I gonna do? Fart?”
Kane to the driver, having stopped a bank shipment: “A body would think that was your own money you were protectin’.”
Driver: “It’s the cash from Gould and Taylor’s bank?”
Kane: “Oh, yeah, well who’s the richest? Mr. Gould or Mr. Taylor?”
Driver: “Can’t say. They’re both dead.”
Kane: “In that case, they can’t turn down our application for a loan.”
Polly of Johnny: “Why doesn’t he leave her (Jenny)? He can find as many sluts as he wants.”
Kane: “Jenny is his wife.”
Polly, “Ugh, his wife. Well, he didn’t have to go and marry her. Every time she opens her mouth, she talks such crap. ‘Johnny, I’m frightened. Johnny, I’m scared.’ I can’t stand her. I can’t stand her another minute … (And) ever since she joined us, you don’t act like the boss. You act like, well, some poor castrated bull. What happened to your balls?”
Trivia:
Jack Palance is top-billed, but the gang members are the stars of this show. His investigator lurks on their trail and barely speaks over the course of the film.
This was one of just four films made by Luigi Bazzoni and his only Western. One of his others was 1967’s “Man, Pride and Vengeance,” starring Franco Nero, Klaus Kinski and the same Tina Aumont and set in 19th Century Spain.
Tina Aumont was using the stage name Tina Marquand when she appeared in one of her first films, “Texas Across the River,” starring Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, Peter Graves and Alain Delon. Hollywood-born, she settled in France and died in 2006 at age 60.
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