Manuel Guitián is Daniel Carver, an inmate completing a 20-year stint in prison and suspected of having hidden 40 bags of gold he pilfered from the mining company for which he once worked.
Inside the prison, the warden would like information on the location of that gold — and not with lawful intentions.
Outside the prison await a gang of outlaws led by Trash Benson (Anthony Steffen), a very nervous sheriff and Carver’s former business partner (Luis Induni).
Carver considers the odds and decides he’s safer in his cell.
But Benson decides a two-way split with the theif makes more sense than a five-way split with his fellow gang members.
So he spirits Carver from prison, picking up a new partner named Paco (Daniel Martin), Carver’s former cellmate along the way.
And thus the hunt for the long-lost gold begins, a hunt that will turn into a search for a statue of a hidden saint and wind up involving a Mexican bandit named Fermin Rojas (Fernando Sanchez).
Anthony Steffen (Antonio De Teffe) as Trash Benton, hiding out in Too Much Gold for One Gringo (1972)
Daniel Martin as Paco, the inmate who forces Trash into a partnership in Too Much Gold for One Gringo (1972)
Review:
How about that? A comedy Spaghetti Western that’s actually funny, devoid of barroom brawls and scenes of actors stuffing their faces with food and full of gags that work.
Among the best: Carver writes the location of the gold on a piece of paper. Benson, watching his former partners close in with ominous intent, glances at what’s written, then passes the paper to Paco with orders to read it, remember it, then burn it.
Paco follows directions, only to later confess that he never learned to read. But, hey, he’s sure Benson remembers what was written there. The problem: Benson admits he can’t read either.
Steffen does a great Clint Eastwood impersonation, never smiling as the silliness goes on around him. Dan Martin has fun as Paco.
And Tania Alvarado looks so good in her peasant outfit that you’ll curse the script for not introducing her before the 50-minute mark and then not keeping her on screen more once she does show up.
Manuel Guitian as Daniel Carver, the inmate with a rich secret in Too Much Told for One Gringo (1972)
Tania Alvarado as Maria, a villager willing to help Trash and Paco in Too Much Gold for One Gringo (1972)
Directed by:
Juan Bosch
Cast:
Antonio De Teffe … Trash Benton
as Anthony Steffen
Daniel Martin … Paco
Fernando Sancho … Fermin Rojas
Tania Alvarado … Maria
Manuel Guitian … Daniel Carver
Gustavo Re … Father Javier
Gaspar “Indio” Gonzalez … Colorado Preacher
Ricardo Moyan … Jed Spotles
Raf Baldassarre … Warden
Juan Miguel .. Apache Joe
Antonio Ponciano … Silvertop
Luis Induni … Sam Travers
Angel Lombarte … Chavez
Esteban Dalmases … Travers deputy
Also with: Juan Torres, Juan Patino, Irene D’Astrea, Jarque Zurbano, Carmen Roger, Juan Antonio Rubio
aka:
La caza del oro
Lo credevano uno stinco di santo
Too Much Gold for One Gringo
Music: Marcello Giombini
Gasper Gonzalez as Colorado Preacher, leader of the band of outlaws in Too Much Gold for One Gringo (1972)
Juan Miguel as Apache Joe, in for an unpleasant surprise in Too Much Gold for One Gringo (1972)
Memorable lines:
Pringle, a lawman, having seen four wanted men ride into his town and placing his badge on a desk, while glancing up at a portrait of Abe Lincoln: “I’m sorry, Abe, but you’ve got to figure the odds.”
Pringle, the lawman: “Lucky for us, they (the outlaw gang) showed up without Trash Benton.”
Several shots ring out.
Pringle: “He got here.”
Trash Benton: “I’m beginning to think the winnin’ ain’t worth the waitin’ here. … And if you critters weren’t the pack of idiots that you are, you’d get your asses movin’ before sun-up.”
Trash Benton, hearing shots ring out: “What’s the trouble, heh, Preacher?”
Preacher, having gunned down a man: “No trouble. Just a little clash of personalities.”
Trash: “I was dead asleep until that clash. So put a little plug in your personality.”
Paco, climbing a rope to break out of prison, meeting Trash Benton, who’s coming down a rope to break in: “You’re on the wrong side.”
Trash: “You pick your side. And I’ll pick mine.”
Daniel Carver, as Trash prods him on: “Greed is always in a hurry.”
Ricardo Moyan as Jed Spotles, a member of the outlaw gang in Too Much Gold for One Gringo (1972)
Antonio Ponciano as Silvertop, one of the outlaws in Too Much Gold for One Gringo (1972)
Trivia:
Manuel Guitián is a delight here as Daniel Carver, especially in the scene in which he’s firing a gun at the ceiling and ransacking the warden’s office in a spirited attempt to stay in jail. He appeared in more than 140 films and TV shows, but only a handful of Spaghetti Westerns, also including “It Can Be Done Amigo.”
Want to see more of Tania Alvardo? She’s credited in just five films, but also has a substantial role in 1971’s “Dig Your Grave, Friend … Sabata’s Coming” as the reluctant kidnap victim of Richard Harrison and Fernando Sanchez?
Anthony Steffen appeared in just two more Spaghetti Westerns — “Tequila” (1973) and “Dallas” (1974) — both less entertaining comedies than this.
Fernando Sancho as the bandit Fermin Rojas with a village under his thumb in Too Much Gold for One Gringo (1972)
Gustavo Re as Fahter Javier, a religious man with a village to free in Too Much Gold for One Gringo (1972)
Raf Baldassarre as the warden with riches on his mind in Too Much Gold for One Gringo (1972)
Luis Induni as town leader Sam Travers and Jarrque Zurbano as Sheriff Pringle in Too Much Gold for One Gringo (1972)
Tania Alvarado as Maria and her fellow villagers stand up to Preacher and his men in Too Much Gold for One Gringo (1972)
Daniel Martin as Paco regains consciousness to find a miracle, the long sought statue of San Fermin in Too Much Gold for One Gringo (1972)
Juan Miguel as Apache Joe secures the statue of San Fermin for a theft in Too Much Gold for One Gringo (1972)
Anthony Steffen (Antonio De Teffe) trying to make a deal in Too Much Gold for One Gringo (1972)
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