Man of the East (1972)

Terence Hill is Sir Thomas Moore, who heads West following his father’s death to meet three of his dad’s best friends.

They include Bill “Bull” Schmidt (Gregory Walcott), Holy Joe (Harry Carey Jr.) and Monkey Smith (Dominic Barto), and they’re small-time bandits.

What Moore doesn’t know is that they’ve promised his dad — known as The Englishman — that they’ll help transform him into “a man.”

That proves quite the challenge since Moore prefers riding a bicycle to a horse, reads poetry, studies ants and balks at wearing a six-shooter.

But once West, he also meets Candida Austin (Yanti Somer). One look into the blonde’s pretty blue eyes and Moore is smitten.

Problem is, Candida is the child of Frank Austin, one of the biggest ranchers around and a man who’s not about to let his daughter marry a dandy from back East.

In fact, he’s prefer she hitch up with Morton Clayton, his right-hand man, the very man who orders Moore out of town as soon as he shows the least bit of interest in Candida.

The thought that Candida might wind up in Clayton’s arms instead of his is just the motivation Moore needs in order for his transformation to begin.

Terence Hill as Sir Thomas Moore gets his first glimpse of the West in Man of the East (1972)

Yanti Somer as Candida Austin gets her first glimpse of Thomas Moore in Man of the East (1972)

Review:

The Man from the East produces a turkey out West. Oh, you’ll find sillier, worse Spaghetti comedies.

And the film starts promisingly when two synchronized bounty hunters show up at the ranch where “Bull” is working.

But there simply aren’t enough truly funny moments here to support a running time in excess of two hours.

So even with Hill completely flipping from the slovenly Trinity to a refined Englishman, and even with blue-eyed beauty Yanti Somer gracing the screen, the result is a massive bore.

Oh, the climatic “gunfight” might elicit a chuckle. If you aren’t sound asleep by then.

Gregory Walcott as Bill ‘Bull’ Schmidt, one of Thomas Moore’s trainers in Man of the East (1972)

Harry Carey Jr. as Holy Joe, one of the buddies working with Sir Thomas Moore in Man of the East (1972)

Directed by:
Enzo Barboni

Cast:
Terence Hill … Sir Thomas Moore
Gregory Walcott … Bill “Bull” Schmidt
Harry Carey Jr. … Holy Joe
Dominic Barto … Monkey Smith
Yanti Somer … Candida Austin
Riccardo Pizzuti … Morton Clayton
Enzo Fiermonte … Frank Austin
Danika La Loggia … Iris
Hean Louis … Sgt. Ligett
Alessandro Sperli … Tim
Tony Norton … bounty hunter
Salvatore Borgese … bounty hunter

Also with: Steffen Zacharias, Luigi Casellato, Pupo De Luca, Rigal Suzanne Leone, François René Gerber, Furio Meniconi, Fortunato Arena, Dalusa Harris, Bernard Farber, Luigi Antonio Guerra, John Bartha, Mario Dionisi, Spartaco Conversi, Giancarlo Nacinelli, Claudio Ruffini, Muriel Bauducco, Bruno Arié, Salvatore Baccaro, Dante Cleri, Margherita Horowitz, Mario Dardanelli, Luciano Conti, Emilio Messina, Renzo Pevarello, Pietro Torrisi, Paolo Magalotti, Paolo Figlia, Attilio Severini, Omero Capanna, Luciano Bonanni, Elio Angelucci, Marco Renis, Dan Sturkie

Runtime: 125 min.

aka:
…e poi lo chiamarono il Magnifico
A Man from the East

Music: Guido & Maurizio De Angelis

Songs:
“Don’t Lose Control” sung by Gene Roman
“Jesus Come to My Heart” sung by 4+4 di Nora Orlandi

Dominic Barto as Monkey Smith, waiting for his friends to break him out of jail in Man of the East (1972)

Terence Hill as Sir Thomas Moore with the white stallion he receives as a gift in Man of the East (1972)

Memorable lines:

Bounty hunter: “They found him (The Englishman) stretched out, stone dead on the prairie. They found out later he’d had a stroke in a bawdy house while making love to an Irish tart. He asked to be left out there to thank this country and the prairie for all it’d given him, coming here from England without a cent.”
Bounty hunter #2: “Thank the prairie? How do you like that? That stupid bastard of an Englishman.”

Bull. watching saloon girl Magdelana being tossed through the window by Holy Joe: “He always had a way with women.”

Prison Warden: “Mr. Smith is free.”
Sgt. Ligett, prison guard: “What?”
Prison Warden: “He was up for pardon. For good conduct.”
Ligett: “Beg pardon. Sir, have you forgotten that this gorilla here stirred up a revolt just yesterday. He even beat up a guard. And if that ain’t enough, he put a scorpion in my hat.”
Monkey Smith: “Can’t you have fun around here?”

Holy Joe, as Monkey pulls his pistol and aims it at a prison guard: “Wait a minute. You ain’t thinkin’ about killin’ him, are you?”
Monkey Smith: “Damn, tootin’.”
Holy Joe: “You can’t!”
Monkey: “Why not?”
Holy Joe: “Because it’s Sunday, and you don’t work on the Lord’s day. You know that.”
Monkey: “You sure it’s Sunday?”

Holy Joe: “You can’t go around naked like that. Why a man without a gun just ain’t a man.”
Bull: “That’s right.”
Thomas Moore: “He’s not? What is he, then?”

Monkey, as Thomas rides off to meet Candida: “What’s he need all those books for if he’s goin’ butterfly huntin’?”
Holy Joe: “Well, if he can’t catch her with that butterfly net, he’ll just heave one of those books at her.”

Thomas Moore: “I shall flatten Clayton Morton like a violet between a book of poetry!”

Monkey Joe: “You know what an optimist is?”
Thomas Moore: “Yes. Of course.”
Monkey Joe: “A fellar stretched out in a coffin with his hands across his belly. So keep your eyes and ears open.”

Riccardo Pizzuti as Morton Clayton, awaiting a showdown with Sir Thomas Moore in Man of the East (1972)

Enzo Fiermonte as Frank Austin, as the rancher who wants to discourage any romance between his daughter and Sir Thomas Moore in Man of the East (1972)

Trivia:

* Yanti Somer, the female star here, had a smaller role in 1971’s “Trinity is Still My Name” as the frontier girl who catches Trinity’s eye. Her 21 screen credits also included a role in 1974’s “Challenge to White Fang.”

* Gregory Walcott takes on the role of the strong man in this film, the part typically played by Bud Spencer in Terence Hill comedies. He also appeared in four Clint Eastwood films, including “Joe Kid” (1972).

* A longtime character actor, Walcott had the distinction of starring in Ed Wood’s notorious “Plan 9 from Outer Space” — oft hailed as the worst movie of all time — then appearing in the the 1994 film (“Ed Wood”) about the director.

The three buddies, Bill ‘Bull’ Schmidt (Gregory Walcott), Holy Joe (Harry Carey Jr.) and Monkey Smith (Dominic Barto), read a letter from Thomas Moore’s dad in Man of the East (1972)

Danika La Loggia as Irs, the madam and friend to the three buddies in Man of the East (1972)

Yanti Somer as Candida Austin with her daddy, Frank Austin (Enzo Fiermonte) in Man of the East (1972)

Terence Hill as Sir Thomas Moore prepares for his showdown with Morton Clayton in Man of the East (1972)