Lola Falana is Lola Gate, member of an all-female dance troupe that stops in Santa Anna because one member has come down ill.
They find a town without a real doctor and cowering in fear under the thumb of El Diablo (German Cobos).
El Diablo wants to bring the railroad to Santa Anna. But first he wants to control the land around town.
In order to convince the good folks of Santa Anna to cooperate, he takes hostages — men, women and children — and holds them captive on his ranch.
One saucy song from Lola, and he’s taken with the “black tigress,” inviting her to his ranch. Lola’s not quite so taken with El Diablo, whose real name is Larry Stern.
In fact, she encourages the townsfolk to stand up against him. At first, only doctor-in-training Rod Straighter (Peter Martell) seems willing to do so. He’s also attracted to Lola.
The death of a young boy named Pablito finally galvanizes the townspeople, who rally around Lola as she puts on her buckskins, her white hat and straps on her own six-shooter.
Lola Falana as Lola Gate, dazzling El Diablo with her smile, in Lola Colt (1967)
Peter Martell as Rod Straighter, the doctor in training, in Lola Colt (1967)
Review:
Not horrible by any stretch, but a curiosity more than anything. Lola Falana might be the only gun-toting black female lead in the history of Spaghetti Westerns.
And released two years before “100 Rifles” and the infamous interracial sex scene between Jim Brown and Raquel Welch, this film features Lola winning over and kissing the male lead (Peter Martell) and the villain of the piece (German Cobos).
She also sings three numbers — two in Italian depending on the print you’re watching – and is quite the chameleon, singing “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” in a virginal white gown one minute, then stripping down to saloon girl garb for a saucy go-go tune the next.
The film’s problems begin once the characters stop talking and the action scenes begin. It starts early on when El Diablo’s men blow up two dummies tied to crosses. It continues when director Siro Marcellini decides to speed up several of the action scenes, including those of Lola riding her horse to and from town.
In one of the sillier moments, the heavyset elderly gent who manages the dance troupe – named Slim, of course — suddenly shows up with a bow-and-arrow as the townsfolk launch an attack on El Diablo’s stronghold. One of his arrows manages to kill a baddie, though it clearly falls to the ground unattached to his body.
German Cobos as Larry Stern, aka El Diablo, in Lola Colt (1967)
Franco Daddi as Paco , El Diablo’s top lieutenant, in Lola Colt (1967)
Directed by:
Siro Marcellini
Cast:
Lola Falana … Lola Gate
Pietro Martellanza … Rod Straighter
as Peter Martell
German Cobos … Larry Stern/El Diablo
Tom Felleghy … Don Rogers
Ema Schurer … Rose Rogers
Evar Maran … The Priest
as Evaristo Maran
Dada Gallotti … Virginia Blake
Marilena Possenti … Helen
Giovanni Petti … Slim, troupe manager
as John Petty
Enzo Santaniello … Pablito
Franco Daddi … Paco, El Diablo’s man
Giovanni Ivan Scratuglia … Inn keeper
Other credited cast members: Bernard Berat, Alex Antonelli, Eva Inoka, Carlo Davini, Attilio Corsini, Lea Monaco
Runtime: 78 min.
aka:
Black Tigress
Lola Baby
Score: Ubaldo Continello
Songs: “You’re the Only One,” Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” “Scivimi il tuo nome,” “Uno come te,” “Why Did You Go?” performed by Lola Palana
Ema Schurer as Rose Rogers, Rod’s girlfriend, in Lola Colt (1967)
Tom Felleghy as Don Rogers with Peter Martell as Rod Straighter and daughter Ema Schurer as Rose in Lola Colt (1967)
Memorable lines:
Townsman: “That stage must have got lost. They wouldn’t come here if they knew what they were doing.”
Townswoman, scoffing at Lola and her girls: “Satan’s is in all of them. In their souls and in their shameless bodies.”
Male saloon patron: “Mr. Satan is no fool.”
Giovanni Ivan Scratuglia as the hotel owner who offers Lola a place to stay in Lola Colt (1967)
Giovanni Petti (aka John Petty) as Slim, the dance troupe leader in Lola Colt (1967)
El Diablo: “Are you the star of the show, ma’am? My boys love music. Go ahead. Sing.”
Lola: “I don’t give any performances unless I hear the word ‘please’.”
El Diablo: “Stick with me. This is all for us. I’ll make you rich.”
Lola: “I’m not for sale.”
El Diablo, revealing his real name, Larry Stern: “It’s true in Santa Anna I’m pretty well known as El Diablo. But just look at me. Do I look to you like the devil?”
Lola: “You know, the devil appears in a different form to all of us.”
Evar Maran as The Priest whose church is torched by El Diablo in Lola Colt (1967)
Enzo Santaniello as Pablito, the young townsman, in Lola Colt (1967)
Trivia:
Philly-born Lola Falana was more a singer than an actress. She also had the fortune of being discovered by Sammy Davis Jr., who cast her in the Broadway musical “Golden Boy.” He was also the star of “A Man Called Adam” (1966), the first film in which she appeared. She became known as the black venus and posed for Playboy in 1970. She later became a star in Vegas. Her signature song: “Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets.”
If the young actor playing the character named Pablito looks familiar, there’s a good reason. His name is Enzo Santaniello, and he played Timmy McBain in one of the opening scenes in “Once Upon a Time in the West,” released a year later.
This was one of 11 films directed by Siro Marcellini, who also wrote the screenplay. His only other Spaghetti Western was 1964’s “Man from Cursed Valley,” starring Ty Hardin.
Peter Martell as Rod Straighter and Lola Falana as Lola Gate in Lola Colt (1967)
Peter Martell as Rod Straighter with Dada Gallotti as Virginia, a dancer under his care, in Lola Colt (1967)
Marilena Possenti as Helen and Lola Falana as Lola Gate wait El Diablo’s band spread terror in Lola Colt (1967)
Lola Falana as Lola Gate, the entertainer, gunfighter, beauty who arrives in town in Lola Colt (1967)
Lola Falana as Lola Gate springs into gunfighter mode in Lola Colt (1967)
Lola Falana as Lola Gate during one of her song and dance numbers in Lola Colt (1967)
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