Twenty Thousand Dollars for Seven (1968)

Brett Halsey, aka Montgomery Ford, is Fred Leinster, a drunk former sheriff, haunted by the death of his wife and son.

He’s offered a chance to make a quick $1,000.

All he has to do is collect a bag containing $20,000 from a woman and tell her she’ll receive what she’s just paid for.

Fred soon discovers what Jane (Teresa Gimpera) has paid is a $20,000 ransom for her kidnapped son Jerry (Eugenio Battisti).

The bandits who kidnapped the boy figure with Fred as the go-between for the ransom money, no one will be able to connect them to the crime.

But as Fred and one of the bandits are taking the money bag back to the hideout, they’re ambushed. The bandit is killed; the money is stolen.

The rest of the bandits suspect Fred made off with the ransom money.

And, once Jane describes the man she gave the money to, Bill Cochran, sheriff of Dixon, suspects him of being the kidnapper.

While everyone hunts Fred, he searches for the kidnapped boy and a taste of redemption.

Brett Halsey (Montgomery Ford) as Fred Leinster, meeting Manuel’s men in Twenty Thousand Dollars for Seven (1968)

Teresa Gimpera as Jane, trying to slip into the bank undetected in Twenty Thousand Dollars for Seven (1968)

Review:

A better than average Spaghetti and certainly one of the better ones with a child actor at the center of the plot.

Poor Brett Halsey is the film’s punching bad. He’s caught by the sheriff and dragged back to town where he’s stoned by angry residents.

He’s caught by the bandits, beaten senseless and tied up in their hideout.

He’s caught by the sheriff a second time and nearly hanged. Only to head back to the hideout for more trouble.

Fernando Sancho, playing it straight this time around, is leader of the bandits.

Unfortunately, the film strikes a few false notes once Fred finds the kidnapped boy.

Germano Long (Herman Lang) as Sheriff Bill Cochran, after bandits and an ex-sheriff in Twenty Thousand Dollars for Seven (1968)

Eugenio Battisti as Jerry, in the hands of the bandits in Twenty Thousand Dollars for Seven (1968)

Directed by:
Alberto Cardone
as Albert Cardiff

Cast:
Brett Halsey … Fred Leinster
as Montgomery Ford
Germano Longo … Sheriff Bill Cochran
as Herman Lang
Fernando Sancho … Manuel
Eugenio Battisti … Jerry
Teresa Gimpera … Jane
Marco Gobbi … Joe
Andrea Fantasia …. Miller
Antonio Casas … Juan
Gino Marturano … Chaco
Renato Rossini … Deputy Sheriff Johny
as Howard Ross

Also with: Claudio Triofi, Adalberto Rosseti, Francisco Santz, Antonio Gradoli, Frano Gula

Runtime: 96 min.

aka:
20.000 dollari sporchi di sangue
Kidnapping

Music: Michelle Lacerenza
Song: “Kidnapping” by Joe Rivers

Fernando Sancho as Manuel, leader of the bandit gang that kidnaps Jerry in Twenty Thousand Dollars for Seven (1968)

Gino Marturano as Chaco, spotting a man the bandits have been searching for in Twenty Thousand Dollars for Seven (1968)

Memorable lines:

Sorry, I watched a foreign language version of this film.

Trivia:

* Teresa Gimpera appeared in three other Spaghetti Westerns — “Wanted” (1967), “Those Dirty Dogs” (1974) and as one of Brigitte Bardot’s sisters in “The Legend of Frenchie King” (1970). She wed Craig Hill, another familiar face to Spaghetti fans, in 1990 and they remained married until his death in 2014.

* In a 2020 interview with the Spaghetti Western Podcast, Brett Halsey recalled Cardone as “a very inventive director.” He recalled one scene where Cardone wanted a crane to shoot a scene, but didn’t have one available and used the local fire department’s hook and ladder truck instead.

* Halsey is now a writer and his books include a pair of Westerns, “West of Hell” (2017) and the sequel “Ride from Hell” (2022).

Brett Halsey (Montgomery Ford as Fred Leinster, facing a noose in Twenty Thousand Dollars for Seven (1968)

Marco Gobbi as Joe, a member of the outlaw gang that kidnaps a young boy in Twenty Thousand Dollars for Seven (1968)

Antonio Casas as Juan, the bandit who helps Fred retrieve the ransom money in Twenty Thousand Dollars for Seven (1968)

Francisco Sanz as Edward, a helper on Jane’s farm meeting with Fred in Twenty Thousand Dollars for Seven (1968)

ntasia as Miller, the banker who believes Jane is leaving town in Twenty Thousand Dollars for Seven (1968)

Renato Rossini (Howard Ross) as Deputy John and Germano Longo (Herman Lang) as Sheriff Cochran in Twenty Thousand Dollars for Seven (1968)

Teresa Gimpera as Jane, fretting about the safety of her son Jerry in Twenty Thousand Dollars for Seven (1968)

Brett Halsey (Montgomery Ford) as Fred Leinster, dusting off his six-gun skill in Twenty Thousand Dollars for Seven (1968)