Those Dirty Dogs (1973) - Once Upon a Time in a Western

A Mexican bandit named Angelo Sanchez (Simon Andreu) ambushes a cavalry shipment that includes 400 rifles, two machines and the lovely Miss Adams, a doctor’s daughter from back East.

The $1,000 bounty on Angelo’s head attracts the attention of a bounty hunter named Koran (Gianni Garko), who quotes Allah and carries around an umbrella that can turn into a deadly weapon when the occasion calls for it.

The summons for help from the commander of the local cavalry garrison brings the trio of Capt. Chadwell (Stephen Boyd), Lt. Younger (Renato Rossini) and Jeremiah Smith (Harry Baird).

The commander is unimpressed. He wanted two companies of reinforcement to battle the bandits. But Chadwell is a former Civil War hero carrying special orders from President Grant.

So the trio of cavalrymen and Koran form an uneasy alliance in the search for Angelo, who proves easier to capture than to keep in captivity, and in the quest to find the hideout of a bandit leader named Lopez.

The goal: Destroy or recover the stolen guns and rescue the lovely young lady before she’s soiled. After all, her father’s already been killed trying the latter.

Stephen Boyd as Capt. Chadwell explains his plan of action in Those Dirty Dogs (1973)

Gianni Garko as Koran, explaining why he deserves all the bounty in Those Dirty Dogs (1973)

Review:

A better than average late Spaghetti, thanks largely to the presence of Garko and Boyd, some clever twists and a semi-serious tone.

But the folks behind the film couldn’t resist adding some Trinity-style touches, and the result is a movie with a split personality.

Some of the comic bits work. Like when Chadwell questions a group of peons about the location of Lopez’s hideout. Those who don’t answer are escorted away by Sgt. Smith, followed by a scream and a gunshot.

In truth, he’s merely conking them over the head and knocking them out, then providing the scream himself to make everyone outside think they’re being executed. And the ploy works.

Unfortunately, that’s as funny as it gets. And when we finally meet the buffoonish, Napoleon-idolizing Gen. Lopez … well, it’s a little hard to believe the entire southwest is cowering in fear over anyone he commands.

Renato Rossini (Howard Ross) as Lt. Younger, one of Chadwell’s men in Those Dirty Dogs (1973)

Harry Baird as Sgt. Jeremiah Smith, one of Capt. Chadwell’s men in Those Dirty Dogs (1973)

Directed by:
Giuseppe Rosati

Cast:
Gianni Garko … Koran
as Johnny Garko
Stephen Boyd … Capt. Chadwell
Renato Rossini … Lt. Younger
as Howard Ross
Harry Baird … Jeremiah Smith
Simon Andreu … Angelo Sanchez
as Simon Andrew
Alfredo Mayo … Gen. Lopez
Teresa Gimpera … Miss. Adams
as Theresa Gompers
Helga Line … Maria, the general’s assistant
Enzo Fiermonte … Miss Adams’ father
as Enzo Fiermann
Luis Gaspar … Philosopher
Andrea Scotti … Mexican peon
Gabriella Giorgelli … Mexican woman
Daniel Vargas … Major at Fort Sumpter

aka:
Campa cargna … la taglia cresce
Charge!

Score:
Nico Fidenco
Title Tune: “The Wind in My Face” lyrics and sung by Stephen Boyd

Simon Andreu as Angelo Sanchez, Lopez’s elusive second-in-command in Those Dirty Dogs (1973)

Afredo Mayo as Gen. Lopez meets the man assigned to bring him to justice in Those Dirty Dogs (1973)

Memorable lines:

Fort commander: “Without those guns, I’ve got about as much chance of defending this adobe mudflat as a steer has
in a slaughterhouse.”

Chadwell: “There are two ways to deal with this situation.”
Koran: “And they are.”
Chadwell: “As I say. And when I say.”

Jeremiah Smith, of the bounty on Sanchez: “One thousand dollars.”
Younger: “That makes $250 apiece. I know how to count.”
Chadwell: “I bet he (Koran) doesn’t. We’ll have to teach him.”

Koran: “He (Miss Adams father) did everything to keep her from coming to this pest hole. She was studying to be a nurse in the East. The glamour of the West. He warned her. But since when do girls pay any attention to their old man. What a waste.”

Luis Gasper as the philosopher, one of Gen. Lopez’s lieutenants in Those Dirty Dogs (1973)

Helga Line as Maria, Gen. Lopez’s ready to go into battle assistant in Those Dirty Dogs (1973)

Chadwell: “We either have to get back the arms convoy, or blow it up. And eliminate Lopez and Angelo. Those are the orders.”
Gen. Muller: “And the girl? That complicates the whole damn thing.”
Chadwell: “Women always do.”

Chadwell to Miss Adams, during the final assault: “Are you afraid?”
Maria: “No.”
Chadwell: “Lucky for you. I’m scared stiff.”

Koran: “To trust is good. Not to trust is better.”

Teresa Gimpera as Miss Adams, a woman in need of rescuing in Those Dirty Dogs (1973)

Gabriella Giorgelli as the peon’s wife in Those Dirty Dogs (1973)

Trivia:

Stephen Boyd, the co-star of this film, had his best screen role as Charlton Heston’s nemesis in the 1963 classic, Ben Hur. He also had a starring role in “Shalako” (196?), which also starred Brigitte Bardot. Of Bardot, he reportedly said: “All I can say is that when I’m trying to play serious love scenes with her, she’s positioning her bottom for the best angle shots.” Boyd suffered a massive
heart attack and died in 1977 at age 45.

This marked one of the final film roles for Harry Baird, who was diagnosed with glaucoma in the 1970s and eventually went blind. He died in London in 2005 at age 73. One of the few black male actors to appear in Spaghetti Westerns, he also had roles in “Trinity and Sartana are Coming” (1972) and “The Four of the Apocalypse” (1975).

Boyd co-wrote the theme song for this film and also sings it. According to a blog dedicated to Boyd, he loved singing and at one point busked in London, using an old guitar and singing Irish folk songs. You can check out his song from this film below.