Mike Marshall is Shane, who returns home to avenge the death of his family 12 years after four men killed his father, mother and younger sister just after they found gold in an abandoned mine on their property.
He tracks down a crooked sheriff named Hardy and a gambler named Pedro Gonzalez without too much difficulty.
The third man on his list, Ralph Magdalena (Dane Savours) — the man who insisted on stealing his family’s property — will prove more of a challenge.
He’s set himself up as boss of the nearby town and has a band of henchmen — led by Benson (Spartaco Conversi) — to do his bidding.
And Shane winds up wounded by a wanna-be fast gun eager to curry favor with Magdalena.
He’s nursed back to health by a pretty widow named Georgiana Bennett (Michele Girardon), whose young son Christian takes an immediate liking to the gunman.
But it’s not a good idea to get attached to a killer, Shane warns them. And now he has a new concern: Protecting Georgiana and Christian from a man who won’t hesitate to use them to get at him.
Mike Marshall as Shane in I’ll Sell My Skin Dearly (1968)
Dane Savours as Ralph Magdalena in I’ll Sell My Skin Dearly (1968)
Review:
The eyes have it in this Spaghetti, from Shane’s maniacal baby blues to Benson’s wide-eyed sneers. Hell, next to them, the squinting Magdalena doesn’t stand a chance.
Truth be told, Fizzarotti serves up a pretty decent film, marked by impressive filmwork and a rousing score. If the parts of the Shane and Magdalena had gone to more skilled actors … well, this likely would have earned more than three bullets.
As it is, it’s tough to understand what Georgiana Bennett sees in this Shane. Oh, he’s smartly dressed. And rather handsome. But you’d think a mom with a young son would be scared off by those crazed looks and frequent reminders that he intends to go right on killing.
Oh, and the heroes name isn’t an accident. Someone involved with this project was clearly a fan of the classic Western starring Alan Ladd.
Count the ways. Young Christian is followed around by a pet dog. When Shane gets into a fistfight in the saloon, Christian observes by peeking under the saloon doors. There’s even a scene where the widow Bennett scolds Shane for showing off his gun skills to the young boy.
Some flaws in the version I watched — Shane marks his first victim’s death with a piece of chain link fence in a ritual that quickly disappears from the rest of the film — though that might be the result of an English print cut to 75 minutes from an original runtime of 90 minutes.
Michele Birardon as Georgiana Bennett in I’ll Sell My Skin Dearly (1968)
Valerio Bartoleschi as Christian Bennett in I’ll Sell My Skin Dearly (1968)
Directed by:
Ettore Maria Fizzarotti
Cast:
Mike Marshall … Shane
Michele Girardon … Georgiana Bennett
Valerio Bartoleschi … Christian Bennett
Dane Savours … Ralph Magdalena
Spartaco Conversi … Benson
as Spean Convery
Germano Longo … Father Dominique Magdalena
as Grant Laramy
Paolo Magalotti … Charles
Anna Manduchi … Shane’s mother
Furio Meniconi … Joe, Shane’s father
Serafino Profumo … Pedro Gonzalez
Ale Wahl … Monco
Runtime: 90 min. (75 min.)
aka:
Vendo cara la pelle
Music:
Enrico Ciacci and Marcello Marrocchi
Song:
Coma se fosse gia’ Autunna
by Nico and the Seagulls
Spartaco Conversi (Spean Convery) as Benson, Magdalena’s foreman, in I’ll Sell My Skin Dearly (1968)
Germano Longo (Grant Laramy) as Father Dominique Magdalena in I’ll Sell My Skin Dearly (1968)
Memorable lines:
Shane to the man who buried his father 12 years earlier: “You can bury a body. You can’t bury a memory.”
Shane to Monco, who has a wooden left hand, currently with Shane’s knife embedded in it: “Next time I won’t aim for the wood, if you get my drift.”
Shane, dreaming: “They’ll all pay for my loneliness. They’ll all pay for my sadness … I’m cold. So cold.”
Shane to Georgiana: “I tried to forget, everywhere. I found no peace. At night, their ghosts (those of his dead family members) seem to accuse me.”
Profumo as Pedro Gonzalez, one of the men Shane is seeking, in I’ll Sell My Skin Dearly (1968)
Ale Wahl as Monco, the gunman with a wooden hand, in I’ll Sell My Skin Dearly (1968)
Ralph Magdalena: “My brother might have turned priest, but he’s harmless in spite of the brimstone he preaches. He’s too stupid.
Ralph Magdalena to Benson, upon learning his men have been fighting over Georgiana: “I’ve got no use for lovesick cowboys working for me.”
Benson, when a bar patron refuses to give information about Shane’s whereabouts: “Give my regards to everyone down below.”
Then he shoots the man dead.
Furio Meniconi as Joe, Shane’s father, in I’ll Sell My Skin Dearly (1968)
Anna Manduchi as Shane’s mother in I’ll Sell My Skin Dearly (1968)
Trivia:
Leading lady Michele Girardon, named “the most photogenic girl in France” by age 20, also appeared in 1965’s “Treasure of the Aztecs,” starring Lex Barker. She committed suicide in 1975 at age 36.
Mike Marshall was son of actor and director William Marshall and stepson of Ginger Rogers while she was married to his father (1961-1970). He starred in one other Spaghetti’s 1967’s “Death Rides Along” (aka Con lui cavalca la morte).
As director, Ettore Maria Fizzarotti helmed 16 films, mostly musical comedies. This marked his only Spaghetti, though he was assistant director on sword and sandal / adventure films in the early 1960s.
Mike Marshall as Shane in I’ll Sell My Skin Dearly (1968)
Michele Girardon as Georgiana Bennett with a gun in her back, courtesy of Benson (Spartaco Conversi) in I’ll Sell My Skin Dearly (1968)
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