Ringo and Gringo Against All (1966)

Raimondo Vianello is Sgt. Gringo and Lado Buzzanca is Private Ringo, two Confederate soldiers and the lone occupants of Fort Jackson.

Apparently unaware the war has ended — they’ve been in the fort for seven years — they head to the nearby town of Yazzu City when a demolition crew shows up and they mistake the blasting for a Union assault.

Once in town, they spot Union officers attending a party and decide it’s time to capture a Yankee or two.

They also meet two southern belles — sisters Virgina (Maria Martinez) and Carolina (Monica Randall) Brown — who fully realize the war is over, but sure wish it wasn’t.

The Brown sisters bail them out of a jam, then enlist them in their dream of a rebirth of a Conderacy.

What they need is money for men, arms and ammunition. Lots of money.

So Gringo and Ringo set off to rob a rich Yankee bastard. When that fails, they try to collect the bounty on a dangerous outlaw.

Along the way, they impersonate settlers, Indians, famous movie gunmen and Union soldiers (more than once).

It all leads to an improbable encounter with the most hated Yankee of them all — now President Ulysses S. Grant.

Raimondo Vianello as Sgt. Gringo, barking orders at his only private in Fort Jackson in Ringo and Gringo Against All (1969)

Lando Buzzanca as Private Ringo, thrilled to have survived his sergeant’s firing squad in Ringo and Gringo Against All (1966)

Review:

Director Bruno Corbucci serves up lots of silliness here as our inept heroes survive firing squads, dynamite mishaps and their first encounter with the opposite sex in seven years.

Some of the gags are sure to make you chuckle, and lots of Spaghetti fans are likely to find this film more engaging than many of the poorly-executed Trinity wannabe comedies that came later.

One of the best bits comes when Sgt. Ringo immitates Col. Mortimer and Private Ringo immitates The Stranger in order to convince a sheriff that they’re the perfect duo to capture the Left-Handed Gun and collect a handsome reward of $5,000.

Mortimer pulls back his longcoat at one point and unfurls a collection of pistols; he chooses which one to used based on the distance between him and the man he’s about to kill. The Stranger chomps on a cigar butt, tries to talk with it in his mouth and no one can understand what he says.

What they don’t know is that the reward is a ruse. They’ll be given the money in advance. But the sheriff and his deputy intend to get it back.

Monica Randall as Carolina Brown and Maria Martinez as Virginia Brown, providing the guys encouragement in Ringo and Gringo Against All (1966)

Emilio Rodriguez as President Grant, donning a fake beard to prove his identity after being shaved in Ringo and Gringo Against All (1966)

Directed by:
Bruno Corbucci

Cast
Raimondo Vianello … Sgt. Gringo
Lando Buzzanca … Private Ringo
Maria Martinez … Virginia Brown
Monica Randall … Carolina Brown
Alfonso Rojas … Gen. Russell
Gino Buzzanca … Mexican gunfighter
Emilio Rodriguez … President Grant
Giovanna Lenzi … Stella
Miguel del Castillo … Mayor
Santiago Rivero … Col. Martin
Mario Castellani … Sheriff
Mario de Simone … Deputy

Also with: Pedro Fenollar, Guillermo Mendez, Antonio Orengo, Joaquin Pamplona, Valentin Tornos, Rafael Albaicin, Jose Truchado, Jose Luis Zalde, Maria Cotillo as La Polaca, Josefa Cotillo

Runtime: 105 min.

aka:
Ringo e Gringo contro tutti
Rebels on the Loose

Music: Gianni Ferrio

Gina Buzzanca as the Mexican gunfighter, eager to prove his skills against Gringo’s Col. Mortimer in Ringo and Gringo Against All (1966)

Santiago Rivero as Col. Martin, shocked by what he witnesses at a dinner party in Ringo and Gringo Against All (1966)

Memorable lines:

Private Ringo, alarmed as Sgt. Gringo moves a firing squad contraption into place: “What’s that?”
Sgt. Gringo: “You weren’t expecting that? Were you? The old saying goes, ‘there aren’t any soldiers without rifles. But you can have rifles without soldiers, you see?”

Carolina Brown: “The dynamite! You remember papa’s dying words?”
Virginia Brown: “Use it only in a real emergency.”
Carolina: “This is an emergency.”

Sgt. Gringo, after watching the Brown sisters get a $1,000 reward for their capture: “We’ve been double crossed.”
Private Ringo: “Yeah. For a fistful of dollars.”

Sgt. Gringo: “Have you gone crazy? Saluting the filthy Union flag?”
Private Ringo, covered with soot from coming down a chimney: “It’s pretty clean, actually. I can dirty it a little though.”

Lando Buzzanca as Private Ringo and Raimondo Vianello as Sgt. Gringo about to capture some Yankees in Ringo and Gringo Against All (1966)

Maria Martinez as Virgina Brown and Monica Randall as her sister Caroline, southern belles in Ringo and Gringo Against All (1966)

Trivia:

* This marked the first Western directed by Bruno Corbucci. His two dozen or so films also included “The Longest Hunt” (1968) and “The Three Musketeers of the West” (1973).

* Bruno Corbucci and brother Sergio would poke fun at the Westerns of Sergio Leone again as co-writers of the “For a Few Dollars Less” (1966) screenplay. That film was directed by Mario Mattoli. That film also starred the comedy team of Lando Buzzanca and Raimondo Vianello.

Mario Castellani as the sheriff (right) and Mario de SImone as his deputy, about to begin a $5,000 ruse in Ringo and Gringo Against All (1966)

Miguel del Castillo as the mayor whose dinner party is about to be interrupted by post-war rebels in Ringo and Gringo Against All (1966)

Raimondo Vianello as Sgt. Gringo, about to display his bounty hunter prowess in Ringo and Gringo Against All (1966)

Lando Buzzanca as Ringo, transforming into The Stranger for some bounty hunting fun in Ringo and Gringo Against All (1966)

Maria Martinez as Virgina Brown and Monica Randall as Carolina Brown provide the guys a hiding place, under their skirts, in Gringo and Ringo Against All (1966)

Raimondo Vianello as Sgt. Gringo and Lando Buzzanca as Private Ringo, infilrating a cavalry fort in Ringo and Gringo Against All (1966)