Dynamite Jim (1966)

The Northern Army is trying to ship $1 million in gold through the Confederate lines to Kiowa Territory so it will side with the Union in the Civil War.

The task of getting the gold from Los Alamos to the territory is assigned to Clint Sherwood.

He’s promised the help of a northern spy and saloon owner named Margaret (Rosalba Neri); she’s to recognize him by the pinto horse he rides into town.

There’s just one problem. Philandering Jim Farrell (Luis Davila) is caught in the act of philandering with a sheriff’s wife. In order to flee the angry lawman, he swipes Sherwood’s horse.

So when he arrives in Los Alamos to an unwelcome reception, he’s a bit confused as to what’s going on.

Until Margaret mistakes him for the courier she’s to meet with and spills information about the gold.

He wouldn’t mind getting his hands on that gold. Of course, the banker who arranged the transaction is thinking the same thing, and has a henchmen named Slade (Aldo Sambrell) trailing the money.

And Pablo Reyes (Fernando Sancho), a Mexican bandit with a nose for gold, wants the $1 million for himself and his pretty senorita Lupita (Maria Pia Conte).

Review:

A mediocre comedy Western in the where-the-hell’s-the-gold vein with a broad dash of mistaken identity thrown in for good measure.

With Rosalba Neri using her feminine charms to bend men to her will and Maria Pia Conte making goo-goo eyes at Jim Farrell, there’s plenty of eye candy for the guys.

And Luis Davila is threatened with disfigurement by having a bee hive shoved over his head in one scene and is nearly shoved head first into a stove in another.

But too many of the laughs seem forced, and Fernando Sancho hams it up pretty badly while carrying a parrot named Maximiliano on his shoulder.

There’s also a prolonged — and quite silly — brawl inside a Chinese bath house.

As for the title, who knows where it comes from? The only dynamite in the film is used to blow up Jim’s hotel room in an early scene.

Directed by:
Alfonso Balcazar

Cast:
Luis Davila … Dynamite Jim Farrell
Fernando Sancho … Pablo Reyes
Rosalba Neri … Margaret
Aldo Sambrell … Slade
Maria Pia Conte … Lupita
Manuel Muniz … Undertaker/Preacher
as Pajarito
Marcello Selmi … Clint Sherwood
Osvaldo Genazzani … Thomas Ferguson
Miquel de la Riva … Lt. Williams
Carlos Miguel Sola … Capt. Trevor
Jack Rocha … Gurko
Victor Israel … Hotel clerk
Jose Castillo Escalona … Colonel Lyon
Joaquin Diaz … Morgan, the banker

Also with: Adalberto Rossetti, José María Caffarel, Oscar Carreras, Gaspar ‘Indio’ González, Amparo L. Rubio, Giovanni Ivan Scratuglia, Giovanni Scratuglia, Charito Vallés

Runtime: 88 min.

aka:
Dinamite Jim

Music: Nico Fidenco
Song: “Dynamite Jim” sung by I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni

Memorable lines:

Margaret: “Are with alone?”
Dynamite Jim: “Maybe, with the exception of an unexploded barrel of powder.”

Confederate Lt. Williams to Margaret: “I’m not going to play the fool and fall for your tricks, like Captain Trevor. I’m not persuaded by a pair of pretty eyes.”

Pablo Reyes to Dynamite Jim: “You’d better dance to my little tune, or I’ll put daylight between your eyes.”

Trivia:

Maria Pia Conte was born in Italy in 1944. Her other Spaghettis included “Five Dollars for Ringo” (1966), “If You Meet Sartana … Pray for Your Death” (1968), “Twenty Paces to Death” (1970), “And the Crows Will Dig Your Grave” (1971), “God In Heaven … Arizona on Earth” (1972). She also appeared in a Zorro film.

Born in Argentina, Luis Davila started his film career there before heading to Europe and starring in a wide range of films. His other Spaghetti Westerns included “Man from Canyon City” (1965), “Death on a High Mountain” (1969), “Matalo!” (1970) and “Pancho Villa” (1972). He returned to Argentina and starred in a number of TV shows before an accident in Chile curtailed his career. He died in 1998 at age 71.