Full House for the Devil (1968) - Once Upon a Time in a Western

George Hilton plays Johnny King, quick with the gun and quick to bed the pretty ladies. Nevertheless, he’s also good friends with Pastor Steve MacGregor, whose land is coveted by the three Ward brothers.

Those brothers, led by Ernest (Gerard Harter), figure the best way to remove the King-sized obstacle is to have Johnny framed for murder and thrown in jail.

But they didn’t count on him winding up in the same cell with an outlaw named Meredith (Paolo Gozlino), who already has a jailbreak planned.

Johnny flees, too, joins the Meredith gang long enough to mastermind a bank robbery, then returns to the town of Bowie to find the pastor dead and his land about to be auctioned off. He’s pretty sure he knows who’s responsible.

Meredith and his men show up in Bowie, too. Seems they’ve learned that some very important people in town will pay handsomely to have a King-sized obstacle removed, once and for all.

Review:

The film opens with Ernest Ward using his sharp-shooting rifle to blast watermelons off the heads of fleeing peasants, then slips into pure silliness for the next several minutes.

Hilton scolds his pet dog — named Ward — for spying on him while he’s in bed with a pretty saloon girl. Hilton dresses as a saloon girl to avoid the sheriff. Hilton and the sheriff get involved in one of those mundane Spaghetti Western bar brawls.

Hang through the silliness, and you’ll find a decent buddy flick filled with some imaginative twists — locks that don’t lock — and several imaginative ways to maim or kill one’s enemies.

George HIlton as Johnny King in Full House for the Devil (1968)

Paolo Gozlino as Meredith in Full House for the Devil (1968)

Directed by:
Giovanni Fago

Cast:
George Hilton … Johnny King
Paolo Gozlino … Meredith
as Paul Stevens
Gerard Herter … Ernest Ward
Aldo Cecconi … Herman Ward
as Jim Clay
Paul Muller … George Ward
Carlo Gaddi … Gary
Claudie Lange … Liz
Krista Nell … Saloon girl
Ferruccio Viotti … Marshal
Pietro Tordi … Pastor Steve MacGregor
Angela Ellison … Mimi

Runtime: 93 min.

aka:
Uno di piu all’inferno
One More to Hell
To Hell and Bank

Music: Nico Fidenco
Song: “Forgive and Not Forget”
by Gianni Davoli & 4×4 di Nora Orlandi

Gerard Harter as Ernest Ward in Full House for the Devil (1968)

Paul Muller as George Ward and Aldo Cecconi as Herman Ward in Full House for the Devil (1968)

Memorable lines:

Ernest Ward: “Every man has some weak point. And that is what you aim at.”

Johnny King: “We all gotta die sooner or later. But nobody has to die like a fool unless he asks for it.”

Liz: “The 11th Commandment — keep your hands where they belong.”
Johnny King: “There’s a saying that the good commit seven sins every day.”

Ernest Ward to Johnny King: “Herman and George were two imbecels. I don’t intend to murder you for revenge. I intend to do it for my own personal pleasure.”

Johnny King after shooting down a gang member: “Sorry fellas. I told him to be careful. He forgot.”

Claudie Lange as Liz in Full House for the Devil (1968)

Krista Nell as the saloon girl in Full House for the Devil (1968)

Trivia:

While during publicity for her American film debut in the James Bond movie “Crossplot” in 1969, Claudia Lange complained the people kept comparing her look to Sophia Loren. One director asked her if she’d mind having her nose changed a little to look more like Sophia. Her response: “Let Sophia change her nose.”

Krista Nell, who plays the saloon girl Johnny King beds early in this film, starred in a host of European exploitation films in the late 1960s and early 1970s. She and longtime companion Ettore Manni appeared together in 1970’s “Django and Sartana Are Coming … It’s the End.” The end came far too soon for Krista, who died of leukemia at age 28.