Eli Wallach is Sheriff Gideon, aka Black Jack, a noble sheriff risking his life for $30 a month and trying to feed a wife and 12 kids on that salary.
One day, he’s delivering a payroll when a stranger hitches a ride on the back of his horse. That stranger happens to be a well-known bandit named Swiss.
With the help of a phony ambush, he makes off with the payroll, then hitches a ride on a train.
Once aboard, he meets Sakura and Shimme. The latter is a miniature pony, a gift from the emperor of Japan to the president of the United States.
The former is an aspiring samurai who’s responsible for serving every need of Shimme, right down to collecting and preserving his turds.
Well, Shimme is captured by a band of Indians who demand a $1 million ransom for his reward.
Black Jack is given the duty of delivering the $1 million; there’s no one else who can be trusted with so much money.
Of course, the money attracts the interest of Swiss, though he’s just been captured and is off to jail.
And Sakura must save face by saving Shimme. Besides, he still wants to become a Samurai.
Eli Wallach as the sheriff, aka Black Jack in Shoot First, Ask Questions Later (1975)
Giuliano Gemma as Swiss in Shoot First, Ask Questions Later (1975)
Review:
Sergio Corbucci was a maddeningly erratic, hit-and-miss director. This time, he hits the mark, though his two previous Spaghetti comedies provide nary a hint that he could still produce a gem like this.
Fans of Spaghetti Westerns will delight in spotting references to other films from the genre. A real samurai slays a fly with his sword (Jack Elam and the fly in “Once Upon a Time in the West). Swiss spends some time dragging along a coffin filled with loot (Franco Nero and his machine gun from Django). At one point, the loot is hidden in a grave, just like in “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.”
Classic Westerns don’t escape spoof either. The sheriff’s shrew of a wife is named Clementine. Swiss is in a hurry after robbing the sheriff; he must catch the 3:10 to Tombstone.
Then there are some genuinely funny moments. When the boards of a suspension bridge are shot out from under him, it appears the sheriff will plummet to his death. Instead, he lands in a motorcycle sidecar driven by Swiss. At one point, Sakura is buried to his neck so he can be eaten by bugs, until Swiss and the sheriff ride by and pull him out by his ears.
Having a cast that includes genre veterans like Eli Wallach, Giuliano Gemma and Tomas Milian certainly helps. At one point, all three dress up as women to slip into a saloon and surprise the bad guys.
The gags continue right up until the end of a film – a film that marked a very fitting final Western from one of Spaghetti’s best known directors.
Tomas Milian as Sakura in Shoot First, Ask Questions Later (1975)
Hideo Saito as Yamoto in Shoot First, Ask Questions Later (1975)
Directed by:
Sergio Corbucci
Cast:
Giuliano Gemma … Swiss
Tomas Milian … Sakura
Eli Wallach … Sheriff Edward Gideon, aka Black Jack
Manuel de Bias … Maj. Donovan
Jacques Berthier … Kelly Butler
Romano Puppo … Kady
Nazzareno Zemperia … Sgt. Donovan
Hideo Saito … Yamoto
Frank Nuyen … Console Glapponese
Lorenzo Robledo … Colonel
Chris Huerta … Robinson Grasso
Jose Villasante … Indian chief
Mirta Miller … Madam “Red”
aka:
Il bianco il giallo il nero
Samurai
Ring Around the Horses Tail
The White, the Yellow and the Black
Score:
Guido De Angelis and Mauirzio De Angelis
Title tune:
“White, Yellow and Black” by Dilly Dilly
Runtime: 112 min.
Jacques Berthier as Kelly Butler in Shoot First, Ask Questions Later (1975)
Manuel de Bias as Captain Donovan in Shoot First, Ask Questions Later (1975)
Memorable lines:
Sheriff’s wife, in the middle of a tirade: “I realize now the only reason you married me was to manufacture sons.”
Swiss: “How bout you giving me a ride, sheriff? I got jilted by my blamed horse. I’m afraid she took off with some well-endowed mustang.”
Sheriff, to Swiss, who’s playing dead: “Come on, Swiss. Dead men don’t blink when they hear talk of $1 million.”
Swiss: “You know, Black Jack, at a gallop, you could be mistaken for a horse’s ass.”
Sheriff: “Better to spend one day as a horse’s ass than 100 years in jail.”
Sheriff, as they reach Tuxedo to find the town deserted: “What the hell’s going on around here?”
Sakura: “Maybe today is holiday.”
Swiss: “He’s right. Today’s the day of St. Blanc, the martyr. That’s my saint day. Hey, sheriff, you mind if I go …”
Sheriff: “Shut up, Swiss. Sit down. You bring tears to my eyes, but we ain’t Catholics in these parts.”
Sakura: “That’s right. In America, all prostitutes.”
Sheriff, disgusted: “Protestants!”
José Villasante as the Indian chief in Shoot First, Ask Questions Later (1975)
Mirta Miller as Madam Red in Shoot First, Ask Questions Later (1975)
Trivia:
The Italian soundtrack version of the film gives viewers a better hint at the spoof to come. During her opening tirade, Clementine drops the names of several of the most famous Spaghetti films, including all four made by Sergio Leone. The film titles were omitted from the English dubbed version.
Sergio Corbucci went on to make about 20 more films before dying of a heart attack in 1990. Most were comedies. A couple starred the team of Terence Hill and Bud Spencer, made famous by the Trinity films. Then there’s “Super Fuzz,” in which Hill plays a policeman who mistakenly shoots a nuclear missile and acquires super powers from the red powder it emits. Co-stars include Ernest Borgnine and Joanne Dru in her final film.
Tomas Milian as Sakura, stymied for a moment in Shoot First, Ask Questions Later (1975)
Giuliano Gemma as Swiss, Indian paint in place, in Shoot First, Ask Questions Later (1975)
Eli Wallach as Black Jack, and Tomas Milian as Sakura in Shoot First, Ask Questions Later (1975)
Eli Wallach as Black Jack, and Tomas Milian as Sakura in Shoot First, Ask Questions Later (1975)
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