Roy Colt (Brett Halsey) and Winchester Jack (Charles Southwood) are rough-and-tumble buddies until Roy decides to leave the outlaw gang and look for honest work.
He finds that honest work in Kanton City, guarding gold shipments for a cripple named Samuel, who has found a fortune somewhere out in the wilderness.
Of course, that news spreads quickly. In fact, one day while Roy is off escorting a gold shipment, two outlaw gangs show up in Kanton City simultaneously looking for Samuel’s gold map.
One of those gangs is led by the dynamite-happy Reverend. The other is led by Roy’s old friend Jack.
And by the time they’re finished, the front has been blown off Samuel’s home and each outlaw leader has half a gold map.
And so the members of both gangs head off in search of a treasure. Before long, Roy is on their tail.
Soon, of course, the double-crossing begins because everyone wants the fortune for themselves.
Well, seemingly everyone but a pretty Indian girl named Manila. She wants someone to marry her, but doesn’t mind sleeping around in the meantime. As long as her bed-mate is willing to pay for the privilege.
A little better than the average Spaghetti comedy, but not by much. Roy and Jack spend a lot of time beating one another up. The Reverend spends a lot of time throwing dynamite around. The gangs get whittled down pretty quickly.
And soon it’s just The Reverend, Roy, Jack, Manila and a pile of gold to fight over. Guess who gets the gold?
Among the best gimmicks, Manila has a wooden necklace (a “cuenta”) she uses to keep tally of how much Winchester Jack owes her for their time together under the blankets.
Directed by:
Mario Bava
Cast:
Brett Halsey … Roy Colt
Charles Southwood … Winchester Jack
Marilu Tolo … Manila
Teodoro Corra … The Reverend
Federico Boido … Boida
Giorgio Gargiullo … Samuel
Isa Miranda … Mammola
Mauro Bosco … Berenstein
Also with: Guido Lollobrigida as Lee Burton, Bruno Corazzari, Franco Pesce, Maurizio Laureri, Leo De Nobili, Vincenzo Crocitti, Osiride Pevarello, Pietro Torrisi, Fortunato Arena, Omero Capanna, Bruno Ukmar, Romano Milani
aka:
Roy Colt e Winchester Jack
Score: Piero Umiliani
Song: “Roy Colt” by Free Love
Runtime: 86 min.
Memorable lines:
Winchester, after Manila forces him to bathe, at gunpoint: “I’m so clean, it’s disgusting.”
Winchester, as Manila sheds her clothes, and tallies up his bill: “You’re no woman. You’re a money machine.”
Roy Colt, trying not very hard to recruit 50 brave men to track down the bandits: “It’s my duty to warn you that only a few of us will return home. That’s why I’ll take only bachelors. I don’t want to turn this town into a sea of widow’s tears.”
Trivia:
* Before moving to Europe to work, Brett Halsey starred in the sci-fi classic “Return of the Fly” (1959) opposite Vincent Price. He has more than 150 film and TV credits and also became an author, whose works include the best-selling novel “The Magnificent Strangers.” This marked the last of five Spaghetti Westerns in which he appeared.
* Marilu Tolo had a starring role in one other Spaghett, “Django Kill … If You Live, Shoot!” (1967) opposite Tomas Milian. She and Halsey also starred together in 1965’s James Bond-like “Espionage in Lisbon.”
* Best known for his horror films, Mario Bava directed more than 30 pictures. His other Spaghettis: Savage Gringo (1966) and Road to Fort Alamo (1966).
* In an interview with Once Upon a Time in Spaghetti Westerns, Brett Halsey called Mario Bava “one of those directors who make the work fun. It was always pleasant, easy. Even though our shooting situations weren’t always pleasant, Bava made it pleasant.” Check out the full interview here.
* In the same interview, Halsey said of co-star Marilu Tolo: “She’s pretty wild and crazy. She was publicity crazy.” For instance, at one point she suggested setting it up with the paparazzi to catch Halsey coming out of her apartment in the morning. “And I said, ‘Wait a minute, Marilu, what will my wife say about that?’ And she said, ‘Oh, she’ll understand; she’s an actress.’ I said, ‘I don’t think she would understand. I don’t think we’re going to do that.'”