Death Rides Along (1967)

Andrea Bosic is Bryan TalboT, a Senate candidate who will do anything to ensure he wins election.

Mike Marshall is Bobby “Idaho Joe” Kent, a Pony Express rider rushing to Sacremento with damning information sure to scuttle his candidacy.

Talbot sends his henchmen to intercept Kent and ensure he never reaches his destination.

But fearful of the repercussions of killing a Pony Express rider, they beat him senseless, drag him behind a horse, then leave him to die.

Instead, he’s rescued by a westward bound pioneer family. The matriarch (Luisa Della Noce) is immediately wary of the young man. Her daughter Susan (Carole Andre) is smitten.

Meanwhile, when news of Kent’s survival reaches Talbot, his wife Dolores (Helene Chanel) thinks she has the solution.

That would be in the form of former lover and gunman Luke Prentiss (Claudio Undari).

And if she has to climb into his bed to convince him to help out … well, she’s more than willing.

After all, she loves the comfort of being married to a well-off man like Talbot much more than she loves the man himself.

Mike Marshall as Bobby Kent, taking aim at one of Talbot’s fleeing henchmen in Death Rides Along (1967)

Claudio Undari (Robert Hundar) as Luke Prentiss, the gunman Dolores persuads to help stop the Pony Express rider in Death Rides Along (1967)

Review:

A fast-paced Spaghetti that features three killings in the first eight minutes, before the star of the film has even made an appearance.

That pacing, impressive camera, a strong score and the conniving of Helene Chanel’s character help set it apart.

If it feels a bit disjointed in spots, that might be because the film was practically started without a script, according to a review on the Spaghetti Western database.

For instance, a young man traveling with the pioneer family dies. Most cast lists indicates he’s the son of the family. But there’s barely a moment of mourning by anyone.

Helene Chanel as Dolores Talbot, talking to her husband about his election chances in Death Rides Along (1967)

Andrea Bosic as Bryan Talbot, a man determined to become senator no matter what in Death Rides Along (1967)

Directed by:
Giuseppe Vari
as Joseph Warren

Cast:
Mike Marshall … Bobby “Idaho Joe” Kent
Helene Chanel … Dolores Talbot
Claudio Undari … Luke Prentiss
as Robert Hundar
Andrea Bosic … Bryan Talbot
Paolo Giusti … Chris, Pioneer son
Carole Andre … Susan, pioneer girl
Giuseppe Addobbati … Jeremiah, pioneer
as John McDouglas
Luisa Della Noce … Susan’s mother

Also with: Paolo Figlia, Claudio Ruffini, Attilio Severini, Amerigo Castrighella, Luciano Doria, Antonio Corevi, Alfredo Adami, Amerigo Santarelli

Runtime: 81 min.

aka:
Con lui cavalca la morte
Pony Express

Music: Lallo Gori

Carole Andre as Susan, the young girl smitten with the handsome Pony Express rider in Death Rides Along (1967)

Luisa Della Noce as Susan’s mother, initially wary of the stranger she’s helped rescue in Death Rides Along (1967)

Memorable lines:

Sorry, I watched a foreign language version of this film.

Trivia:

* Mike Marshall was the California born son of actor William Marshall and actress Michele Morgan. He starred in one other Spaghetti, “I’ll Seel My Skin Dearly” (1972). He died at age 60 in 2oo5.

* This marked one of six Spaghetti appearances for Helene (Helen) Chanel. You’ll spot her perhaps most memorably in a pair of 1967 films — “Cjamango” and “Killer Caliber .32.” The other three were comedies — “A Dollar of Fear” (1960), “Two Gangsters in the Wild West” (1964) and “Two R-R-Ringos from Texas” (1967). The latter two are Franco and Ciccio films.

* Though it seems difficult to find an English language print of the film today, all of the election signs depicted on screen are in English, including an oddly place “Long Live Talbot” banner.

* Giuseppe Vari’s other Westerns include “Degueyo” (1965), “Django, The Last Killer” (1967), “Hole in the Forehead” (1968), “Shoot the Living, Pray for the Dead” (1971) and “The Last Traitor” (1971).

Paolo Guisti as Chris, one of the members of the pioneer group that rescues Bobby Kent in Death Rides Along (1967)

Giuseppe Addobbati (John McDouglas) as Jeremiah, one of the pioneers who rescues the Pony Express rider in Death Rides Along (1967)

Paolo Figlia as Chris, leader of Talbot’s henchmen, explaining how Bobby slipped away in Death Rides Along (1967)

Antonio Corevi as one of Talbot’s political opponents, confronted by one of his henchmen in Death Rides Along (1967)

Helene Chanel as Dolores Talbot, in a confrontation with her much older husband in Death Rides Along (1967)

Mike Marshall as Bobby Kent, the Pony Express rider explaining his plight to the pioneers after they find him beaten in Death Rides Along (1967)