The Little Cowboy (1973)

Iker Inanoglu is Yumurcak, an adorable young prankster kidnapped by outlaws during a stagecoach holdup.

Bandit leader Monty Donovan (Sergio Ciani as Alan Steel) is hoping to turn the youngster into a big payday.

He sends Yumurcak’s mom (Ida Galli as Evelyn Stewart) a note saying she has 10 days to deliver $50,000 to Gila Plains if she wants to see her son again.

Instead, she first goes looking for a hero who might be able to rescue her son.

She winds up being pointed in the direction of Keskin (Cuneyt Arkin), a former fast gun who set aside his six-shooter after accidentally killing a young boy in a gunfight.

These days, he’s a drunk, reduced to balancing himself on a toppled barrel to earn drinks and eats at the local saloon, where bullies have fun shooting mugs filled with beer while he balances those on his head.

At first, he’s convinced he’s too far gone to help Yumurcak’s mom. But when he learns it’s a young boy he might be able to save and realizes the identity of the kidnapper, he senses a chance at redemption.

Turns out he’s still in for a couple of surprises.

Monty’s girlfriend Maureen (Pascale Petit) is a woman he used to love. And Yumurcak is spunky enough to assist in his own rescue.

Of course, outlaw Monty Donovan has an unexpected ally as well.

Iker Inanoglu as Yumurcak, taking aim with his trusty slingshot as bandits approach in The Little Cowboy (1973)

Cuneyt Arkin as Keskin, after a barroom bully has shot a full beer mug off his head in The Little Cowboy (1973)

Review:

Here’s a Turkish Western that plays like a loveable spoof of Spaghetti Westerns, and serves up a good deal of fun in the process.

The Spaghetti influences are everywhere — from the Leone-like extreme closeup to the Fidani-like death throes to the liberal use of flashbacks.

And a mishmash of Spaghetti themes are used for the soundtrack. Especially prominent are Ennio Morricone’s “Cheyenne’s Theme” and “Once Upon a Time in the West” and his main theme for “The Mercenary.”

This marked the final Western for Ida Galli, and director Guido Zurli could have taught her former directors a few things about how to capture her beauty on film. For true Spaghetti fans, the film’s worth watching for that alone.

Alan Steel (Sergio Ciani) as Monty Donovan, the kidnapper in The Little Cowboy (1973)

Ida Galli (Evelyn Stewart) as the kid’s mother, trying to urge Keskin to help her son in The Little Cowboy (1973)

Directed by:
Guido Zurli

Cast:
Iker Inanoglu … Yumurcak / Ricky Callaghan
Cuneyt Arkin … Keskin
Pascale Petit … Maureen
Sergio Ciani … Monty Donovan / Demir Bilek
as Alan Steel
Ida Galli … Kid’s mother
as Evelyn Stewart
Erol Tas … Kahya

Also with Sobhan Kologlu, Feridum Golgecen, Suheyl Egriboz, Ihsan Gedik, Renzo Pevarello, Artemio Antonini, Enrico Chiappafreddo, Alberigo Doadeo, Ottorino Polentini

Runtime: 83 min.

aka
Küçük kovboy

Pascale Petit as Maureen, Keskin’s former girlfriend and Donovan’s current girlfriend in The Little Cowboy (1973)

Erol Tas as Kahya, forman on the kid’s mother’s ranch in The Little Cowboy (1973)

Memorable lines:

Sorry, I watched a non-English print of this film.

Cuneyt Arkin as Keskin, back in gunfighter mode in The Little Cowboy (1973)

Iker Inanoglu as Yumurcak watching Keskin and Monty Donovan square off in The Little Cowboy (1973)

Trivia:

* This also marked the final Western for former sword and sandal star Alan Steel (real named Sergio Ciani), still looking very buff as he approached age 40. He appeared in just four more films.

* Iker Inanoglu made the first of five Yumurcak films at age 4 in 1969. This marked the final film in the series. He’s now a regular on the long-running Turkish TV program “Arka Sokaklar” (“Back Streets”).

* In a 2017 interview, Ida Galli called the making of the film “an exceptional memory” and recalled Cüneyt Arkin as being “an amazing star” in Turkey.

* Pascale Petit is the top-billed female here. Her only true Spaghetti role was opposite Jeffrey Hunter in 1968’s “Find a Place to Die.”

Ida Galli (Evelyn Stewart) as the kid’s mother gets the news that Yumurcak is missing in The Little Cowboy (1973)

Cuneyt Arkin as Keskin, using a spur to get the information he wants in The Little Cowboy (1973)

Pascale Petit as Maureen and Alan Steel (Sergio Ciani) as Monty Donovan, startled by explosions in The Little Cowboy (1973)

Iker Inanoglu as Yumurcak and Cuneyt Arkin as Keskin celebrate a job well done in The Little Cowboy (1973)