The Civil War is raging and most young men are off fighting, leaving Franco Catarena (Franco Franchi) as the only young eligible bachelor in the Texas town where he lives.
He’s enjoying his life and the attention from all the ladies when Sgt. Ciccio Stevens (Ciccio Ingrassia) rides into town and decides Franco should be in uniform.
So he gets Franco drunk until he passes out, then whisks him off as the newest member of the Confederate army.
He’s about to saddle up for an attack one day when he hears a strange voice, even though he’s alone in the stable.
Turns out, the voice is coming from Ciro, the talking horse, and he’s warning that the orders delivered by the officer who rode him into the post are phony, designed to lure the Rebs into a Yankee ambush.
Of course, the captain who commands the post refuses to believe a horse talked. So Sgt. Ciccio rides off with his men, straight into a Union trap.
Upon returning, he finds Franco gone. The horse is gone too. Ciccio sets off in pursuit, now convinced Franco was the traitor.
Well, he learns that Ciro indeed talks. And the two men are soon involved in a search for $200,000 buried in a cemetery somewhere, in a grave marked with the name Arch Stanton.
Guess who’s the only one who knows where the cemetery is located?
That’s right: The talking horse.
Stick with this Franco and Ciccio comedy for a while, and it will pay off. The last 30 minutes or so are a pretty well done spoof of “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.”
This time, the Union officer avoids alcohol. The bridge separating his troops from the Rebels is an excuse to sit out the remainder of the war pretending to fight over a key objective.
And it all leads to a standoff in a cemetery with our heroes, a talking horse, a leather-clad lady bandit named Sentenza Jane (Helen Chanel), a saloon owner (Ennio Girolami) and his main squeeze (Gloria Paul).
Of course, that’s because they all want the $200,000.
Directed by:
Marino Girolami
Cast
Franco Franchi … Franco Catarena
Ciccio Ingrassia … Sgt. Ciccio Stevens
Ennio Girolami … Bruce
Silvio Bagolini … Willy
Gloria Paul … Evelyn
Livio Lorenzon … Union captain
Ignazo Balsamo … Gambler
Helen Chanel … Sentenza Jane
Enzo Andronico … Confederate captain
Ciro … The Talking Horse
Also with … Gina Mascetti, Maurizio Merli, Rossella Bergamonti, Walter Marchetti, Mirella Pamphili, Luicio Fulci, Osiride Pevarello, Adriano Uriani, Guglielmo Bogliani
Runtime: 93 min.
aka:
Due rringos nel Texas
Music: Carlo Savina
Song: “Siamo rimasti in tre” sung by I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni
Memorable lines:
Sorry, I watched a non-English version of this film.
Trivia:
* Among her 30 films, Gloria Paul appeared in two other comedy Westerns, “For a Few Dollars Less” (1966) and “Two Sons of Ringo” (1966), the latter also starring Franco and Ciccio.
* Director Marino Girolami’s other Westerns included “Reverend Colt” (1970), “Between God, the Devil and a Winchester” (1968), “Badmen of the West” (1964) and “Bullets and the Flesh” (1964).
* Girolami went on to helm a number of exploitation films, including “Flying Sex” (1980), about a woman who can only experience sexual pleasure aboard airplanes because of a childhood trauma; and “Zombie Holocaust,” (1980) in which an expedition into the East Indies turns up cannibals, a mad scientist and zombies!
* Girolami was also the father of Enzo G. Castellari, who also directed a number of Spaghetti Westerns ranging from the superlative “Keoma” (1976) to the silly “Cry, Onion” (1975).