Killer Caliber .32 (1967)

Peter Lee Lawrence is Silver, a man with a knack for solving problems, permanently.

Want to get rid of a vicious mine owner or a cheating gambler? Silver’s the man for the job.

As long as you have his asking price of $1,000 per dead man. And he’ll make sure it’s a fair killing — one done in self-defense. After all, that’s part of his code.

Now he stands to make a much bigger haul. Someone’s been stealing bank shipments. And since lawful means have failed to uncover the bandits behind the thievery, the town leaders in Carson City decide to hire Silver instead, offering a price of $2,000 per bandit and a bonus when the job is done.

But this job might not be easy. For one thing, the bandits apparently don’t know all of the other gang members, so finding one doesn’t necessarily lead to the rest.

For another, there are three pretty women providing distractions, a saloon girl named Betty, a saloon manager named Dolly (Helene Chanel) and a pretty banking assistance named Janet, the daughter of a bank clerk killed in one of the holdups.

Add a meddling deputy sheriff who’s in love with Janet and a young man named Spot who wants to be Silver’s understudy, and he faces plenty of obstacles as he tries to accomplish his mission.

Review:

Plays sort of like a James Bond film set in the West. Silver is so-named because he prefers to shoot gentlemen with a silver bullet. But he’s pretty darn profiicient as a knife-thrower as well.

Oh, and as for the film’s title: He prefers to do his shooting with a .32 caliber pistol because it makes a nice clean wound, unlike a Colt. 45. Or so he says.

Peter Lee Lawrence spends much of this film setting himself up as a target, pretending to know more than he does to lure the guilty parties into the open.

The result is a middling Spaghetti, with a couple of interesting twists and an especially interesting role for young Alberto Dell’Acqua as Spot.

But the female cast members are mostly wasted. And don’t think too long about the lead villain’s motivation. You’ll wind up scratching your head in bewilderment.

Directed by:
Alfonso Brescia

Cast:
Peter Lee Lawrence … Silver
Helene Chanel … Dolly, runs bar
as Sherill Morgan
Agnes Spaak … Betty
Alberto Dell’Acqua … Spot
Lucy Slade … Janet Sullivan, daughter of bank clerk killed
as Lucy Skay
Andrea Bosic … Averel
Mirko Ellis … Sheriff Bear
Massimo Righi … Deputy Sheriff Jud
as Max Dean
John Bartha … Parker
Nello Pazzafini … Fitch
as Red Carter
Gregory West … Ramirez

Also with: Valentino Macchi as Robert Stevenson, Silvio Bagolini as Stephen Wilde, Michael Bolt, John Taylor, Joseph Holls, Giovanni Ivan Scratuglia as Ivan G. Scrat, Bruno Ukmar, Emilio Messina, Franco Pesce, Franco Ukmar, Claudio Ruffini, Luigi Bonos, Nino Nini, Umberto Salomone, Guido Tonti

aka:
Killer Calibro 32
32 Caliber Killer

Score: Robby Potevin
Song: “Amica Colt” sung by Maurizio Grafi

Runtime: 92 min.

Memorable lines:

Silver, after gunning down a mine owner who tried to draw before the duel began: “Too bad. I was planning to kill you off with a high-class silver bullet, like a gentleman prefers. But you preferred a lead one. That’s modesty for you.”

Silver: “My fee’s a thousand dollars a head.”
Town leader Mr. Finley: “Boy, that’s a lot of money.”
Silver: “What do you want, Mr. Finley. The world’s full of trouble makers and people that want to get rid of them. If I didn’t keep my prices up, I’d have to work from morning to night.”

Spot, protesting the results of a poker hand: “But I had a full house.”
Gambler: “Next time, keep your eyes on the cards and not on the girls. Luck ain’t as easy to find as young women, especially those over there.”

Silver, after shooting one of the bandits: “Alive, you weren’t worth a dime.
Dead, you’re worth $2,000.”

Silver, speaking of the deputy sheriff: “Marry him, Janet. He’ll make you happy. He has a habit of losing battles. With time, you’ll find this isn’t a bad virtue for a husband.”

Silver, when a woman pulls a gun on him: “Unfortunately, I just can’t shoot a woman. I admire them too much. Now I’m paying for it.”

Trivia:

Alfonso Brescia was a prolific director (51 films), who often used the name Al Bradley. He’s go on to direct a series of six science fiction movies, written by Enzo Gicca, the same man he collaborated with here. His other films included “Super Stooges vs. the Wonder Women” after three men with supernatural powers who battle a tribe of evil Amazons.

Agnes Spaak, who plays a dishonest saloon girl named Betty, was the daughter of a screenwriter and the sister of Catherine Spaak, female lead in the Western “Take a Hard Ride.” Agnes went on to become a well-known fashion photographer.