Dollars for a Fast Gun (1966)

Jose Bodalo is Adam Martin and Jesus Puente is Frank Nolan, two men who have just robbed a bank of $20,000.

But they have a posse on their trail and Frank is wounded. So Adam grabs the loot and rides off, leaving Frank behind. But not until the wounded man can wound his fleeing partner.

Flash forward 10 years and Frank Nolan has served time for his crime and proclaims that no man can hate for 10 years.

Adam Martin? He took the $10,000, purchased a piece of land, redirected the water so it didn’t flow to neighboring properties, then purchased that land as well at rock bottom prices.

Once he owned all the surrounding land, he let the water flow again. Now he rents the land back to the settlers who once owned it.

And he lives his life from the wheelchair thanks to the bullet fired by the partner he abandoned 10 years earlier.

Then a man named Lassiter (Claudi Undari as Robert Hundar) arrives, offering to reveal Frank Nolan’s whereabouts.

Frank Nolan might not be able to hate for 10 years, but Adam Martin can. He’s got a wheelchair as a daily reminder of his hate.

And ridding the world of Nolan would eliminate the chance that anyone would ever find out how he gets his start as a landowner.

Of course, Lassiter has a price for the information he’s offering. He might even have an ulterior motive.

Review:

A well-done Spaghetti with a plot more complex than most, not to mention a top-billed actor who doesn’t show up until 22 minutes into the film.

In addition to the 10-year-old grudge between former partners in crime, the film features Luis Gasper as Todd Martin, a stepson none too fond of his stepdad and eager to prove he’s a man.

Then there’s the humorous subplot involving pretty Sarah (Pamela Tudor), who rents land from Martin where she lives with her two children and uncle (Robert Carmardiel as Pedro) and his pet pig.

With the family barely scraping by, Sarah supplements their income by sending out her two children to seek help for their “sick” mother from passers-by.

When they snag a victim, they lead them to the mom in need of help. Actually, the mother is hiding behind a rock with her rifle, ready to bash the victim over the head and steal his cash.

The trick works some of the time. It doesn’t work on a man named Lassiter.

Directed by:
Joaquin Luis Romero Marchent

Cast:
Claudio Undari … Lassiter
as Robert Hundar
Pamela Tudor … Sarah
Jose Bodalo … Adam Martin
Jesus Puente … Frank Nolan
Roberto Camardiel … Pedro
Luis Gasper … Todd Martin
Luigi Pistilli … Danny
Francisco Sanz … Doc
Carlos Romero Marchent … Miguel
Dina Loy … Pat’s daughter
Benito Stefanelli … Donovan
Aldo Sambrell … Rick
Andrea Aureli … Sheriff
as Andrew Ray

Also with: Angel Ortiz. Giovanni Petti, Fernando Bilbao, Emilio Rodríguez, Gaspar ‘Indio’ González, Fernando Hilbeck, Jorge Llopis, Rafael Vaquero, Agustín Bescos, Miguel Angel Hidalgo, Maria de la Cinta, Guillermo Méndez, Luis Prendes, Livia Contardi, Luz Caster, Ricardo Ortiz, Robert Johnson Jr.

Runtime: 100 min.

aka:
La muete cumple condena
$100,000 for Lassiter

Music: Marcello Giombini

Memorable lines:

Pedro, watching the kids run to a hiding place: “You sure have to know how to run when you’re poor.”

Todd Martin to his stepfather: “My mother was truly tied to your wheelchair. You better not try harnessing me to it.”

Lassiter, upon learning the Adam Martin owns all the land around: “A man owns that much, something must not be right. What did he do that was illegal?”

Frank Nolan: “There ain’t no one can stay angry for 10 years. Then, one day, I realized I’d forgotten about it (his break with Adam Martin). And it wasn’t that important. Peace and quiet was all I wanted.”

Todd Martin about his stepfather Adam: “He helped me learn to aim a gun and hate. That’s about it. It ain’t been much.”

Barman: “Forget your book?”
Lassiter: “I only read in saloons on Mondays.”

Frank Nolan to Adam Martin: “I would have dragged myself back from hell to settle our account.”

Trivia:

* This film marked the Spaghetti Western debut for Pamela Tudor, who would wind up playing the female lead in “Death at Orwell Rock” (1967), “Last of the Badmen” (1967) and “Day After Tomorrow” (1968). One of the last of her 22 film credits was a supporting role in 1970’s “Sartana in the Valley of Death” (aka “Ballad of Death Valley”).

* Sarah’s son is played by Miguel Angel Hidalgo; her daughter by Maria de la Cinta. And, for once, these children are not annoying. In fact, they lend a touch of humor to the proceedings, rushing to hide in a well whenever one of their mother’s victims shows up.

* One of the most memorable scenes in this film is the brutal slaying of Danny. one of Adam Martin’s top guns, by Todd Martin, his embittered step-son. Danny is played the Luigi Pistilli, a well-known performer in Italy theater who also appeared in “For a Few Dollars More” (1965), “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” (1966) and “The Great Silence” (1968).

Maria de la Cinta as Sarah’s daughter in Dollars for a Fast Gun (1966)

Miguel Angel Hidalgo as Sarah’s son in Dollars for a Fast Gun (1966)

Pamela Tudor as Sarah, coming across a stranger she can’t fool in Dollars for a Fast Gun (1966)

Luis Gasper as Todd Martin and Dina Loy as a settler’s daughter hiding from one of Adam Martin’s debt collectors in Dollars for a Fast Gun (1966)