Thompson 1880 (1966)

George Martin is Ray Thompson, who rides into the town of Desert Springs and immediately runs into trouble with a bunch of ruffians over the exorbitant cost of a glass of beer.

The ruffians work for town boss Jameson Brady (Paul Muller) and they’ve helped him put a stranglehold on his fellow merchants in Desert Springs, the lone stopping point between Sacramento and the nearby mines.

Brady’s men hijack every wagon of supplies destined for Desert Springs, allowing him to create a monopoly when it comes to selling necessities and allowing him to charge far more than he pays for the goods.

After being roughed up by Brady’s men, Thompson is nursed back to health by feisty Sheila O’Connor (Gia Sandri). She and her dad are competitors of Brady’s … at least they would be if they had stock to sell.

Thompson decides to repay the favor by helping break Brady’s blockade on the town. But the odds are against him.

In addition to his band of vicious henchman, led by Lucky (Pasquale Basile), Brady has the sheriff in his pocket and appoints the town drunk as judge so he’ll dispense justice the Brady way.

Review:

A effective little film that keeps you wondering when the Thompson 1880 of the title will show up. It eventually does, but not until the climatic showdown.

In the meantime, Martin is solid as the hero of the piece and Sandri is certainly scrappier than your typical female lead in a Spaghetti Western.

Just check out her catfight with Fanny and the other dance hall girls. Or her whip wielding scene.

We also get a cameo from Gordon Mitchell as a former fast gun whose hands have been crippled by Brady’s men. Ray helps fashion a special six-gun for him.

Directed by:
Guido Zurli
as Albert Moore

Cast:
George Martin … Ray Thompson
Gia Sandri … Sheila O’Connor
Jose Bodalo … Judge Lennox
Pasquale Basile … Lucky
as PatBasil
Aiche Nana … Fanny
Gordon Mitchell … Glenn Sheppard
Paul Muller … Jameson Brady
Consalvo Dell’Ati … Sheriff Braddock
Dino Strano … Axel
as Dean Stratford
Osiride Pevarello … Augustine
Antonio Basile … Brady henchman
Giovanni Ivan Scratuglia … Pancho, Brady henchman
as Ivan Scratuglia
Nio Nini … Mike O’Connor
Giovanni Tsao … Undertaker
Giovanni Petti … Mayor

Runtime: 88 min.

Music: Marcello Gigante

Memorable lines:

Brady henchman to a man delivering food bought by Mike O’Connor: “Honesty could be dangerous.”

Fanny to Brady, after being slapped by Sheila: “And you let that happen?”
Brady: “A gentleman never interferes in ladies’ issues.”

Sheila to Ray, after he gets into a barroom scrape with Brady’s men: “You have a tough skull, young man. A rather scarce and dangerous item in this village.”

Sheila to Ray, after nursing him following the barroom brawl: “You’re not a cowhand, right?”
Ray: “How do you know that?”
Sheila: “No calluses on your butt.”

Fanny about Ray: “There’s only one man here in this bunch of rabbits. Get rid of that man, and the rabbits will remain rabbits.”

Trivia:

Born in Beirut, Lebanon, Aiche Nana also performed as a belly dancer and shot to fame in 1958 when photos were published of her stripping to her underwear in a Rome restaurant. The episode was said to have inspired director Federico Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita.”

George Martin’s character has a mule named General Sheridan. He had worked under Sheridan during the Civil War, but the general dismissed the gun he invented as an unreliable toy.

The second of 19 films directed by Guido Zurli. His other Western efforts included “A Man Called Amen” (1968) and “The Little Cowboy” (1973). He also directed “Zorro the Fox” in 1968.

Gia Sandri’s 17 films included mostly Spaghetti Western and Sword and Sandal films. Her other Spaghettis included “A Stranger in Town” (1967), “Wanted” (1967), “John the Bastard” (1967) and “Gunman Sent by God” (1968). In her final Western, she played Calamity Jane in the Franco and Ciccio comedy “Ciccio Forgives, I Don’t” (1968).