Cry, Onion! (1975) - Once Upon a Time in a Western

Franco Nero is Jack “Onion” Stark, who has spent $236 to buy a plot of land In Paradise City, where he hopes to settle down and grow onions.

Problem is, that piece of land is in the middle of an oil town. And it’s worth a whole lot more than $236 to Petrus Lamb (Martin Balsam).

He’s the head of an oil company that has been using devious means to get its hands on every valuable piece of land around Paradise City.

Lamb also owns the sheriff and the judge in Paradise City, and has a small army of henchmen ready to do his bidding.

As for Onion, his only allies are an aging newspaperman named Pulitzer (Sterling Hayden), his lovestricken daughter Mary Ann (Emma Cohen) and the two orphans of the man from whom he bought the land.

Of course, those orphans aren’t exactly helpless. The eldest, Cal, is a pretty good marksman and the youngest, Dutch, makes bombs, when he isn’t drinking booze or smoking cigars.

Review:

If you like the Trinity comedies, you might enjoy this film. It’s not as bad as its reputation.

If you prefer serious Westerns where Nero plays the cool, nearly invincible hero, you might want to pass.

He’s still the hero here, but he’s a curly-haired, fists-over-guns sort of hero, one who eats, drinks and juggles onions. And has the capability of bowling over adversaries with his breath alone.

There are plenty of other hijinks going on too, from a villain with a mechanical hand that keeps malfunctioning to a squadron of motorcyle-riding, football-pad wearing goons to a horse named Archibald with a nose for saloons.

There are lots of fights and chase scenes too and a few genuine laughs for those who don’t take their Spaghetti too seriously.

Franco Nero as Onion in Cry Onion (1975)

Sterling Hayden as Henry (Jack) Pulitzer in Cry Onion (1975)

Directed by:
Enzo G. Castellari

Cast:
Franco Nero … Jack “Onion” Stark
Sterling Hayden … Henry “Jack” Pulitzer
Martin Balsam … Petrus Lamb
Emma Cohen … Mary Ann Pulitzer
Leo Anchoriz … Sheriff
Romano Puppo … Stinky
Nazzareno Zamperia … Oblo/Monocle
Massimo Vanni … Buck
Helmut Brasch … Judge Logan
Duilio Cruciana … Caligola “Cal” Foster
Fernando Castro .,, Dutch Foster
Wal Davis … Zeke
Dan van Husen … Deputy Zachary
Dick Butkus … Jeff
Daniel Martin … Jim
Manuel Zarzo … Jack
Charly Bravo … Judd
Antonio Pica … Hal Foster
George Rigaud … Oil Tanker
Alejando de Encisco … John
Lucy Tiller … Violet
Leopold Francis … Mack
Enzo G. Castellari … Deputy

Runtime: 96 min.

aka:
Cipolla Colt
Spaghetti Western
The Smell of Onion

Music: Guido & Maurizio De Angelis

Martin Balsom as Petrus Lamb in Cry Onion (1975)

Emma Cohen as Mary Ann Pulitzer in Cry Onion (1975)

Memorable lines:

Judge to Onion, upon stamping his deed: “See you at your funeral. Hope you have a happy death.”

Mary Ann: “This is the first time we’ve been able to spend some time together and have a little bit of a chat.”
Onion: “Well, usually, I don’t know what to chat about, Mary.”
Mary Ann: “Just tell me about onions.”

Petrus Lamb: “Sheriff, I’m going to show you how to kill a man legally.”

Patrus Lamb: “I want that Onion dead or alive. But don’t hurt him.” He taps his metal hand. “I’ll leave that to my friend here.”

Onion, preparing for a showdown: “What about the law now, sheriff?”
Sheriff: “That’s only one law now.: My gun. Drop your gun, onion eater.”
Onion: “Onion or gun.”
Sheriff: “Gun.”

Leo Anchoriz as the sheriff in Cry Onion (1975)

Romano Puppo as Stinky with his sidekicks in Cry Onion (1975)

Trivia:

Western fans will certainly recognize Sterling Hayden, star of several B Westerns from the 1950s. Around the same time this film was made, producers wanted him for the lead role in “Jaws.” But he was reportedly having tax troubles in the U.S. and unable to return for filming.

Hayden, who died of cancer in 1986 at age 70, would go on to make several more films, including an appearance in the Dolly Parton-Burt Reynolds comedy “9 to 5” (1980). His last credited role was as John Brown in the 1986 mini-series “The Blue and the Gray.”

Emma Cohen also played the female lead in “Cut-Throats Nine” (1972) and was part of Brigitte Bardot’s all-female outlaw gang in “Frenchie King” (1971).