Mimmo Palmara is Clint Clips, a man fresh out of prison with one thought on his mind: collecting the $20,000 bounty on John Coler.
But that bounty expires in five years, and his time is almost up.
In fact, Clips is willing to wager the warrant on a game of pool with a hustler named Charlie Donovan (Franco Giomelli). And, of course, winds up losing it.
No sooner has that happened than two men burst into the saloon, waging what turns out to be a pretend knife fight that degenerates into a gun fight.
And Clips immediately thinks he recognizes one of the men: John Coler (John Richardson).
The man insists he’s not John Coler, but his look-alike brother Bill. Clips still isn’t convinced and attemtps to take him into custody.
Before he can, a band of Mexican bandits ride into town and kidnap both men. You see, there’s not just a bounty on Coler’s head. He’s also hidden a fortune in stolen gold somewhere, and bandit leader Juarez (Nestor Garay) wants that gold.
Oh, and the hustler named Donovan isn’t who he pretends to be either.
All paths will lead to an about-to-be ghost town called Harland.
John Richardson as Bill Coler, about to endure Juarez’s method of interrogating captives in Execution (1968)
John Richardson as John Coler, who’s spent nearly five years in Harland living under the name Mr. Black in Execution (1968)
Review:
A mixed bag. Director Domenico Paolella serves up some stylish images and an imaginative showdown between Bill Coler and the Mexican bandits.
The opening mock gunfight is very well done too. And the bandit Juarez has an interesting way of making his prisoners talk. He ties them up, uses a mace to tear their skin, then applies his blood-sucking leaches for a finishing touch.
But you’re going to have to use your own imagination as to some of the characters’ motivations. Even then, parts of the film’s ending will make little sense.
Then there’s this: In whatever area of the southwest these characters live, a wanted man is rewarded if he can evade bounty men for five years. After that, only the law can bring him in. Even then, bounty hunters apparently have to be in possession of the warrant in order to serve it.
Heck, there are so many bounty hunting rules in this film, Clint Eastwood’s Man with No Name might be hard-pressed to make a living.
Mimmo Palmara as Clint Clips, thinking he’s spotted his man just shy of the deadline for doing so in Execution (1968)
Franco Giomelli as Charlie Donovan, keeping an eye on who has the warrant in Execution (1968)
Directed by:
Domenico Paolella
Cast:
John Richardson … Bill Coler / John Coler (Mr. Black)
Mimmo Palmara … Clint Clips
as Dick Palmer
Franco Giomelli … Charlie Donovan
Piero Vida .. Burt
Rita Klein … Carol
Nestor Garay … Juarez
Romano Magnino … Sancho
Lucio de Santis … Waystation sergeant
Dalia Bresciani … Juana
as Dalia
Ivan Scratuglia, Angelo Susani, Veriano Genesi, Ettore Arena, Riccardo Petrazzi, Elio Angelucci
Runtime: 93 min.
aka:
Django, Get Ready to Die
Music: Lallo Gori
Nestor Garay as Juarez, a bandit leader taking pleasure in torturing his captives as Juana (Dalia Besciani) looks on in Execution (1968)
Romano Magnino as Sancho, a lieutenant for bandit leader Juarez in Execution (1968)
Memorable lines:
Juarez, to a captured John Coler: “You see, they (his leaches) want blood. I want gold. Where is it?”
Clips to John Coler: “Half the gold is mine, remember? It was you and me. But you thought you’d get it all. Greedy? Ain’t ya?”
Bill Coler: “This where you live?”
John Coler: “All the time. I told you Harland would be my hideout. And that one day I’d go lookin’ for ya. I also told ya to never come lookin’ for me. Except if it meant life or death.”
Bill Coler: “John, you know, it’s possible that if you return that gold …”
John Coler: “I know what you’re tryin’ to say. I might be a free man. But who wants to be a free man with no money.”
Piero Vida as Burt, letting the saloon crowd know he was just playing dead in Execution (1968)
Rita Klein as Carol, the pretty blonde who travels with the circus in Execution (1968)
Trivia:
John Richardson is best remembered for playing Tumak opposite Raquel Welch’s Loana in “One Million Years B.C.” (1966). He was also one of the male leads in “She” (1965), starring Ursula Andress. Richardson died in early 2021, just shy of his 87th birthday, from COVID complications.
Female lead Rita Klein barely speaks in this film, and it’s unclear if she’s romantically attached to the Bill Coler character. She appeared in 12 films and one other Spaghetti, 1966’s “El Rojo.”
Director Domenico Paolella helmed 42 films, including a handful of sword and sandal outings and one other Spaghetti, 1967’s “Hate for Hate,” starring John Ireland and Antonio Sabato.
Dalia Bresciani as Juana, who helps care for Juarez’s torture victims in Execution (1968)
Mimmo Palmara (Dick Palmer) as Clint Clips, leaving prison holding a $20,000 warrant for John Coler in Execution (1968)
Nestor Garay as Juarez, on the trail of a fortune in hidden gold in Execution (1968)
Rita Klein as Carol, terrified as shots begin ringing out from above in Execution (1968)
John Richardson as John Coler, on the lookout for trouble in Harland in Execution (1968)
Nestor Garay as Juarez, a bandit leader taking pleasure in torturing his captives as Juana (Dalia Besciani) looks on in Execution (1968)
John Richardson as Bill Coler, brother of a wanted man, with a Mexican bandit under his gun in Execution (1968)
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