The Mercenary (1968)

Tony Musante is Paco Ramon, a peon tired of living under the thumb of the rich rulers in Mexico and determined to do something about it.

Franco Nero is Sergei Kowalski, a “Polack” who hires his services to the highest bidder. And he’s been hired by the Mexican mine owner to help safely transport their silver.

Sergei shows up at a mine Paco’s men have taken, finding the safe empty and his employers dead.

When the Mexican regulars attack, Paco pleads for the use of Sergei’s machine gun. He agrees to help, for a price.

And so begins an uneasy alliance, with Paco serving as the revolutionary leader, even though he’s not sure what a revolution is all about, and Sergei serving as the mastermind behind his attacks, collecting a handsome fee all the while.

Lovely Giovanni Ralli plays Columba, the soldier in a dress who tries to teach Paco the difference between a revolutionary and a thief and winds up his lover.

Jack Palance plays Curly, a rich gringo with a grudge to settle with both men.

Review:

One of those guilty pleasure Spaghetti Westerns that’s just fun to watch. And full of memorable scenes.

When one revolutionary refuses to disclose Paco’s whereabouts, Curly stuffs a grenade in the wounded man’s mouth. When Sergei needs relief from the desert heat, he has all the revolutionaries empty their canteens into a basin, then hold the basin over his head. He fires into the bottom of the basin until it serves as a shower of sorts.

And then there’s a well-staged final showdown between Paco and Curly, with Sergei officiating, in the middle of a boxing ring. This film is considered a companion piece to “Companeros.”

Directed by:
Sergio Corbucci

Cast:
Franco Nero … Sergei Kowalski
Jack Palance … Curly
Tony Musante … Paco Ramon
Giovanna Ralli … Columba
Eduardo Fajardo … Alfonso Garcia
Alvaro de Luna … Ramon
Raf Baldassarre … Mateo
Jose Canalejas … Sebastian
Ranco Ressel … Studs

Also with: Vicente Roca, Franco Giacobini, Guillermo Méndez, Enrique Navarro, Simón Arriaga, Ugo Adinolfi, José I. Zaldua, Francisco Nieto, A. Jiménez Castellanos, Tito García, Remo De Angelis, José Riesgo, Angel Ortiz, Angel Alvarez, Julio Pena, Jose Maria Aguinaco, Juan Cazalilla, Jose Antonio Lopez, Milo Quesada, Fernando Villena, Lorenzo Robledo, Bruno Corazzari, Herman Reynosa, Adolfo Thous

aka:
Il mercenario
A Professional Gun
Revenge of the Gunfighter

Score:
Ennio Morricone
Bruno Nicolai

Runtime: 110 min.

Memorable lines:

Sergie: “So, Paco Ramon is a clown. Well, better a clown than a dead hero, as I, Sergei Kowalski, Polish immigrant to the New World always realized.”

Card player: “Four jacks.”
Curly, laying out his hand, with two queens: “Two ladies.” He nods to two lovely women flanking him. “Plus two more. Makes four.”
Cardplayer: “Curly, you must be kidding.”
Curly: “And, in case of emergencies, there’s this,” as he displays a small pocket gun.

Paco Ramon to Sergei: “You talk good. Like a priest. Or a high-class thief.”

Columba, as shells drop: “What’s happening?”
Paco Ramon, just wed to Columba: “It’s fireworks. They’re celebrating our wedding.”

Sergei: “Good luck, Paco. Keep dreaming. But with your eyes open.”

Trivia:

Tony Musante was actually born in Bridgeport, Conn., the son of an accountant and teacher who taught himself before going into acting. “The Mercenary” marked his only Spaghetti appearance.

Jack Palance, sporting a head of curly dark hair here, also appeared in what’s considered the companion to this film, Corbucci’s 1970 film “Companeros.” In this one, he displays his bare backside in one memorable scene.