Hands of a Gunfighter (1965) - Once Upon a Time in a Western

Craig Hill is Dan Murphy, a reformed gunman who’s settled into a new life with his wife Miriam (Gloria Milland) and a young boy named Andy.

But Andy isn’t exactly theirs. Dan swiped him from Sheiff Robert Rogers (Jesus Puente) after the sheriff actually shot and killed Dan and Miriam’s own son.

Four years later, Andy knows Dan and Miriam as his parents and Dan has taken off his guns. But the sheriff also has a $10,000 reward on Dan’s head and a deputy named Mack on his trail.

Meanwhile, Dan’s good friend Pat Davis (Carlos Romero Marchent) is embroiled in an escalating feud with the the Castle brothers, fuled in part by Charlie Castle’s attraction to Pat’s new wife Margaret.

When a fistfight turns deadly, Dan finds himself pulled into the feud.

And when he’s finally convinced to send Andy back home in exchange for clemancy — his wife reminds him they knew this day would come — he sees no reason not to strap on his guns again to settle some scores.

Review:

Director Rafeal Romerro Marchent serves up a Western with a unique plot and one brimming with memorable scenes of violence.

In one scene, the Castles set a jail cell on fire with a prisoner inside. In another, Dan challenges a Castle brother to a strange duel, Russian roulette style.

And the climatic showdown between Murphy and Rogers is probably the most memorable thing about the film.

Now, about that runtime … The version I watched was about 75 minutes. Spaghetti-western.net lists the runtime at 100 minutes. Tom Betts of westerns all italiana lists the runtime at 88 minutes. Koch Media’s 2018 German DVD release of the film runs about 80 minutes.

My guess is the original film ran a bit longer than that, like all the other films Marchent was making at the time. The version I watched held together pretty well, but begged for more background on how Dan and Miriam reached this point in life.

Craig Hill as Dan Murphy with Francisco Huetos as Andy in Hands of a Gunfighter (1965)

Raf Baldassarre (Ralph Baldwyn) as Deputy Mack talking to Craig Hill as Dan Murphy and Gloria Milland as Miriam Murphy in Hands of a Gunfighter (1965)

Directed by:
Rafael Romero Marchent

Cast:
Craig Hill … Dan Murphy / Richard Markie
Gloria Milland … Miriam Murphy
Carlos Romero Marchent … Pat Davis
Conchita Nunez … Margaret Dixon
Jose Guardiola … John Castle
Jesus Puente … Sheriff Robert Rogers
Piero Lulli … Davy Castle
Raf Baldassarre … Deputy Mack
as Ralph Baldwyn
Lorenzo Robledo … Slim Castle
Hugo Blanco …. Charlie Castle
Francisco Sanz … Alex Dixon
as Paco Sanz
John Barther … Sheriff Fred
Francisco Huetos … Andy

Runtime: 100 min. (this version 75 min.)

aka …
Ocaso de un pistolero
Gunman’s Hands
Texas Jack

Score: Angelo Francesco Lavagnino

Hugo Blanco as Charlie Castle with Conchita Nunez as Margaret Dixon in Hands of a Gunfighter (1965)

Gloria Milland as Miriam Murphy and Craig Hill as Dan Murphy in Hands of a Gunfighter (1965)

Memorable lines:

Sheriff Fred to Pat Davis: “Revenge can be a mighty ugly business. Especially when we’re dealing with a pack of killers like the Castles.”

Miriam Murphy: “I hate it when it rains. I never was able to understand why you once told me that without rain, mankind would have a smaller portion of happiness. I don’t think there’s anything in the world that’s any sadder.”

Miriam Murphy to Sheriff Rogers: “God will punish you.”

Piero Lulli as Davy Castle, Jose Guardiola as John Castle and Lorenzo Robledo as Slim Castle in Hands of a Gunfighter (1965)

Jesus Puente as Sheriff Robert Rogers and Raf Baldassarre as Deputy Mack in Hands of a Gunfighter (1965)

Trivia:

This film was quite the family affair. That’s the director’s brother playing the part of Pat Davis. Another brother, Joaquin Luis Romero Marchent, wrote the screenplay and directed several Spaghetti Westerns himself.

This was the only Spaghetti Western for Conchita Nunez. According to an obituary posted on https://westernsallitaliana.blogspot.com, she embarked on a long career as a voice actress in the 1970s, doing the dubbing for Spanish language versions of films and TV shows. That included serving as the dubbing voice of Linda Evans in Dynasty. Conchita died in 2009.

Francisco Huetos, who plays young Andy here, appeared in just four films, according to IMDd. Those include three Spaghettis. The other two were the Clint the Stranger films, starring George Martin as the gunman who returns home after a long absence, hoping for acceptance by his family.