Lemonade Joe (1964)

Olga Scoberova is virginal Winnifred Goodman who is preaching temperance in Stetson City, Arizona, circa 1885, with her dad by her side.

But no one at the Trigger Whiskey Saloon is interested in what they have to say until the Kolalok-sipping Lemonde Joe (Karel Fiala) shows up.

Kolalok is sure to improve you aim with a six-shooter, Joe vows. Then he proves just that by putting Gunslinger Grimpo in his place.

In the process, Joe wins the heart of both Winnifred and Tornado Lou (Kveta Fiolova), the star attraction at Trigger Whiskey.

Pretty soon, the Trigger Whiskey Saloon is empty. All the customers have flocked to the newly opened alcohol-free Kolaloka Saloon.

Then Horace Badman, aka outlaw Hogofogo, arrives in town. He’s the villainous brother of Doug Badman, owner of the Trigger Whiskey and the man who hoped to win over Tornado Lou before Lemonade Joe showed up.

Hogofogo is determined to restore alcoholic order to Stetson City. And to steal the virtue of lovely Winnifred.

And two new gunmen — Pancho Kid and Banjo Kid — are also on hand to help him carry out his dastardly intentions.

Karel Fiala as Lemonade Joe finds a town to sober up in Lemonade Joe (1964)

Olga Schoberova as Winnifred Goodman finds herself falling for Lemonade Joe in Lemonade Joe (1964)

Review:

A musical / comedy Western made in Czechoslovakia — let that sink in for a moment — and an unexpected delight.

Among the highlights, Hogofogo chasing Winnifred around a graveyard until Lemonade Joe shows up, in the nick of time, of course.

In another scene, Hogofogo dons the disguise of a blind piano tuner to lure Winnifred into the Trigger Whiskey, where she’d normally not set foot.

And in yet another, the bad guys decide to torture Lemonade Joe by tying him up and smearing dirt all over his white good-guy cowboy outfit.

The ending is a bit of a sell-out, and features a twist spoiled too early. But the ride there is sure to make you chuckle.

According to IMDb, the movie was based on a 1963 Czech stage production.

Rudolf Deyl as Doug Badman, lusting after Tornado Lou in Lemonade Joe (1964)

Milos Kopecky as Horace Badman, aka Hogofogo, about to exert his influence in Stetson City in Lemonade Joe (1964)

Directed by:
Oldrich Lipsky

Cast:
Karel Fiala … Lemonade Joe
Rudolf Deyl … Doug Badman
Milos Kopecky … Horace Badman / Hogofogo
Kveta Fialova … Tornado Lou
Olga Schoberova … Winnifred Goodman
Bohus Zahorsky … Ezra Goodman
Josep Hlinomaz … Gunslinger Grimpo
Karel Effa … Pancho Kid
Waldemar Matuskia … Banjo Kid
Jiri Steimar … Kololok, Joe’s Father
Eman Fiala … Pianist
Oldrich Lukes … Sheriff

Runtime: 84 min.

aka:
Limonádový Joe aneb Konská opera

Kveta Fialova as Tornado Lou confesses her love for Lemonade Joe in Lemonade Joe (1964)

Bonhus Zahorsky as Ezra Goodman, Winnifred’s dad, fretting over trouble in Stetson City in Lemonade Joe (1964)

Memorable lines:

“They call me Lemonade Joe.”

Doug Badman when Tornado Lou professes her love for Lemonade Joe: “An untamed lioness, a raging temptress, a femme fatale … you and that wacky lemonade sucker?”
Tornado Lou: “Don’t be vulgar. Only he can make me a different, better woman.”

Winnifred Goldman, watering the flower on her mother’s grave: “Only to him, my dearest mother, will I give the greatest treasure of my womanhood. After we get married, of course.”

Hogofogo, finding Winnifred dusting her mother’s gravestone: “My sweet duckling.”
Winnifred, backing off: “You creepy spider!”
Hogofogo, advancing: “My fair fawn!”
Winnifred, retreating more: “You slimy snake!”
Hogofogo: “Enough zoology!”
And the chase around the graveyard begins.

Hogofogo, entering Trigger Whiskey Saloon in his blind man disguise: “I smell vice in here.”
Winnifred: “It’s the foreign perfumes of the fallen women.”

Josep Hlinomaz as Gunslinger Grimpo has his first encounter with Lemonade Joe (Karel Fiala) in Lemonade Joe (1964)

Waldemar Matuskia as Banjo Kid and Karel Effa as Pancho Kid show up to help Hogofogo in Lemonade Kid (1964)

Trivia:

* This marked an early film role for Olga Schoberova, probably best known for being the female lead in the 1968 fantasy film “The Vengeance of She.” Olga was the first Czech beauty to appear on the cover and in Playboy.

* Oh, and Olga appeared in a Spaghetti Western, 1965’s “Black Eagle of Sante Fe,” starring Brad Harris. She and Harris would marry in 1967. By 1969, they were divorced, but they had a daughter Sabrina, who was called Babrinka.

Oldirch Lukes as the sheriff, encountering Hogofogo in the Trigger Whiskey Saloon in Lemonade Joe (1964)

Olga Schoberova as Winnifred Goodman and her dad Ezra (Bohus Zahorsky) observe a tense moment in the Trigger Whiskey Saloon in Lemonade Joe (1964)

Kveta Fialova as Tornado Lou gets her first glimpse of Lemonade Joe as Doug Badman (Rudolf Deyl) looks on in Lemonade Joe (1964)

Josep Hlinomaz as Gunslinger Grimpo, about to torture Lemonade Joe (Karel Fiala) by messing up his white outfit in Lemonade Joe (1964)

Ezra Goodman (Bohus Zahorsky), Tornado Lou (Kveta Fialova) and Winnifred (Olga Schoberova) watch Lemonade head off for a final showdown in Lemonade Joe (1964)

Olga Schoberova as Winnifred Goodman, marveling over Lemonade Joe in Lemonade Joe (1964)

Karel Fiala as Lemonade Joe in a high-stakes game of cards with Hogofogo in Lemonade Joe (1964)