Joseph Mascolo is Carlo, a Mexican peon begging for work in an Old West saloon when he spots a unique ring on the hand of a rancher named Jason O’Hare.
Years earlier, when his sister was gang=raped by ranch hands, Carlo noticed the same ring on the hand of the man who forced him to watch.
Carlo was just 11 at the time. His sister was 17 and committed suicide the same night out of shame over the incident.
Carlo has since tracked down and killed the other rapists. But he hasn’t located the leader of the men. Until now.
He follows O’Hare home, gets a job on his ranch as a stable boy, then sets his plan into motion.
He kidnaps O’Hare’s pretty wife Susan and drags her off to a mining cabin. Then he sents back clues, letting O’Hare know exactly where he is.
While he waits for the rescuers to arrive, he arranges defenses that will help him survive what are sure to be overwhelming odds.
And he takes out a measure of revenge on Susan.
Joseph Mascolo as Carlo, a Mexican peon on a mission of vengeance in Hot Spur (1968)
Virginia Gordon as Susan O’Hare, felling the wrath of an angry husband in Hot Spur (1968)
Review:
If you’re going to watch an exploitation / sexploitation film from the 1960s or 1970s, you could do a whole lot worse that this surprisingly well-scripted film.
Granted, there’s a gratuitous soft core sex scene early in the film involving two whores in a bunkhouse filled with cowboys.
But other than that, the nudity is related to the tale being told as Carlo strives to complete his mission of vengeance.
The ring, the two shots, the traps Carlo lays and the offer he makes to Susan after “getting even” are neat touches. And a reminder that this film was made during the Spaghetti Western craze.
Meanwhile, the scene in which Carlo captures Susan and another in which Susan spots a knife, then tries to retrieve it with her mouth — blade first, no less — would put action scene in most low-budget Westerns released in the 2020s to shame.
All that said, the scene viewers are most likely to remember is the gratuitous one. Specifically, a moment in which a cowboy is humping away at a dark-haried beauty.
His friends decide to toss a saddle on his back. Then they place a nude redhead in the saddle. Just to see how long she can stay in the saddle as the humping continues.
James Arena as Jason O’Hare, the cattleman whose wife is kidnapped in Hot Spur (1968)
Wes Bishop as Wes, a ranch hand who finds Mrs. O’Hare tied up in a mining shack in Hot Spur (1968)
Directed by:
Lee Frost as R.L. Frost
Cast:
Joseph Mascolo … Carlo
Virginia Gordon … Susan O’Hare
James Arena … Jason O’Hare
John Alderman … Tom
Wes Bishop … Wes
Also with … Tom McFadden, Paul Frane, Paul Wilmoth, Rod Wilmoth, Angel Carter, Sky, John Riazzi, Laura McLaughlin, Monique Heguy
Runtime: 91 min.
Jerry, one of the ranch hands, watching a friend lose his head in Hot Spur (1968)
John Alderman as Tom, the man who hires Carlo as a stable boy at the O’Hare ranch in Hot Spur (1968)
Memorable lines:
Tom, as Susan O’Hare saddles her horse: “Need any help, ma’am?”
Susan O’Hare: “I don’t need any help with my horse.”
Tom: “Whatdaya mean, ma’am?”
Susan, smiling sexily: “You know what I mean.”
Jason O’Hare: “Don’t you ever turn your back on me.”
Susan O’Hare: “Who the hell do you think you are?”
Jason O’Hare: “I’ll tell you who I am. I’m a man. A man who took you out of a two-bit town and made you somebody. You have a very short memory. WHy hell. If I hadn’t married you, you might have turned into some no good whore.”
Jason O’Hare: “I’ve only asked one thing from you. A son. A son. Something you don’t seem to be able to give me. Though you don’t seem to have any trouble slobbering all over the men. If slobbering is all you do.”
Jason O’Hare to Carlo, before kicking him off the ranch: “You see, I don’t mind a man taking a lot at my wife every now and then. Hell, she’s a pretty woman. Right? But I bet if I could cut the top of your head off and look into your brain, I’d of seen some of the filthy thoughts goin’ on in there while you were lookin’ at my wife.”
Jason O’Hare, forcing Carlo to watch the rape of his sister: “Do you like to watch your sister, boy?”
Young Carlo, forced to watch as ranch hands rape his sister in Hot Spur (1968)
Carlo’s sister, tied up naked by her assailants in Hot Spur (1968)
Carlo (Joseph Mascolo) talking to a tied up Mrs. O’Hare while he waits for her husband to come rescue her in Hot Spur (1968)
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