Giancarlo Prete (Timothy Prete) is Dart Coldwater Jr., who dreams of covering himself in glory by leaving Cheese Valley and heading off to join the Texas Rangers.
His father encourages him to look up the Three Inseparables — Mac Athos (George Eastman), Aramirez (Leo Anchoriz) and Portland (Cris Huerta).
Dart follows that advice, but discovers the trio out of work. The Rangers no longer needed them, they explain, because the West isn’t what it used to be.
They’re not either, though they manage to win a barroom brawl that leaves Doctor Alice Fergussen (Karen Schubert) in quite a bind.
Five of the men injured in that brawl made up her escort party to Mexico. She’s rushing to the town of San Fermin with a precious cargo of mosquitoes to cure a sleeping sickness.
Dart and The Inseparables decide to serve as her escort — Dart because he’s caught a glimpse of the fetching blonde climbing out of a bathtub; The Inseparbles because they’re curious about those deep tracks her wagon leaves behind.
Soon, Dart get suspicious as well. Because he’s overheard a plan that involves a foreigner delivering gold to a Mexican Gen. Ortega in return for south-of-the-border concessions.
Giancarlo Prete (Timothy Brent) as Dart Coldwater Jr. in Three Musketeers of the West (1973)
George Eastman as Mac in Three Musketeers of the West (1973)
Review:
A comedy Western from Bruno Corbucci that opens in Cheese Valley, which is quite fitting for what follows in the next hour and a half.
The food fight that breaks out four minutes into the film is another indication that we’re heading down the slapstick trail.
Okay, Eastman’s character does some neat card tricks. The barroom brawl features some cool special effects. There’s a relatively clever ending.
But there’s also tons of silliness as our heroes tangle with students at a martial arts school, an outlaw gang on pogo sticks and a train full of circus performers.
Eduardo Fajardo plays the foreigner plotting with the Mexican general; Jose Canalejas plays his henchman.
And, of course, when things start going haywire, the good doctor begins thinkin of claiming the gold hidden in the wagon for herself.
It all gets tiresome pretty quickly.
Leo Anchoriz as Aramirez in Three Musketeers of the West (1973)
Cris Huerta as Portland in Three Musketeers of the West (1973)
Directed by:
Bruno Corbucci
Cast:
Giancarlo Prete … Dart Coldwater
as Timothy Brent
George Eastman … Mac Athos
Karin Schubert … Doctor Alice Fergussen
Leo Anchoriz … Aramirez
Cris Huerta … Portland
Li Chen … Chin Choa
Eduardo Fajardo … Horatio Maurice De Luc
Jose Canalejas … Senor Mendoza
Pietro Tordi … Dart Coldwater Sr.
Max Turilli … Baron Von Grubben
Vicente Roca … Gen. Ortega
Virginia Garcia … Juanita
Other cast members: Jose Japse, Osiride Pevarello, Vittorio Congia, Elenora Giorgi, Jose Luis Lizalde, Fabian Conde, Franco Ukmar, Carlo Rustichelli, Francisco Sanz, Peter Berling
Runtime: 96 min.
aka:
Tutti per uno… botte per tutti
Music: Carlo Rustichelli
Karin Schubert as Doctor Alice Ferguson in Three Musketeers of the West (1973)
Eduardo Fajardo as Horatio Maurice De Luc in Three Musketeers of the West (1973)
Memorable lines:
A young lover to Dart Coldwater Jr. before he heads off to seek glory: “Are you gonna love me forever?”
Dart: “I’ll love you forever. But first you have to give me proof of your love.”
The lover: “But I already gave you proof two times yesterday.”
Dart Coldwater Jr.: “For courage, what you need, is a hunk of good cheese. Yes, indeed.”
Mac Athos: “We’re only trying to get a peek.”
Dart Coldwater Jr.: “He who tries to get a peek is usually called a dirty sneak.”
Mac Athos, as Dr. Alice approaches: “Now what does she want with a revolution?”
Dart Coldwater Jr.: “Glory. And a little bit of gold.”
Jose Canalejas as Senor Mendoza in Three Musketeers of the West (1973)
Vicente Rocas as Gen. Ortega in Three Musketeers of the West (1973)
Trivia:
The film ends with this warning: The Musketeers say goodbye, but only for now. Thankfully, if a sequel was planned, it never materialized.
Director Corbucci appears in the film as the leader of Dr. Alice Fergussen’s original escort group. And composer Carlo Rustichelli has a cameo role as leader of the band at the Cheese Valley hoedown that opens the film.
Judging from the credits at the beginning of the film, the cast traveled to Taipei, Taiwan, to film the kung fu fighting sequence.
Li Chen as Chin Choa in Three Musketeers of the West (1973)
Max Turilli as Baron Von Grubben in Three Musketeers of the West (1973)
The Inseperable Three, Chris Huerta as Portland, George Eastman as Mac Athos and Leo Anchoriz as Aramirez in Three Musketeers of the West (1973)
Karin Schubert as Doctor Alice Fergussen and Giancarlo Prete (Timothy Brent) as Dart Coldwater in Three Musketeers of the West (1973)
){kind=link}