He Who Shoots First (1966)
"Django spara per primo" (original title)

Django's father is framed by his business partner Clusker and shot by a bounty Killer. Django inherits his fathers part of the business and a score to settle with Clusker.

Director:

Alberto De Martino

Writers:

Sandro Continenza (story), Massimiliano Capriccioli (story),

Stars:

Glenn Saxson, Fernando Sancho, Ida Galli

Cast

Credited cast:
Glenn Saxson	...	Glenn Garvin / Django (as Glen Saxson)
Fernando Sancho	...	Gordon
Ida Galli	...	Jessica Kluster / Cluster (as Evelyn Stewart)
Nando Gazzolo	...	Ken Kluster / Cluster
Erika Blanc	...	Lucy
José Manuel Martín	...	Ringo (as José M. Martín)
Guido Lollobrigida	...	Ward (as Lee Burton)
Alberto Lupo	...	Doc
Diana Lorys
Marcello Tusco	...	Cooper
Antonio Piretti	...	Lucy's Brother
Valentino Macchi	...	Sheriff
Lewis E. Ciannelli	...	(English version)
John Hart	...	(English version)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Fortunato Arena	...	Cluster Gunman

Storyline

Django's father is framed by his business partner Clusker and shot by a bounty Killer. Django inherits his fathers part of the business and a score to settle with Clusker.

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Plot Keywords:

django | business | false accusation | heritage | betrayal | 

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Genres:

Romance | Western

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Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

28 October 1966 (Italy)

Also Known As:

He Who Shoots First

Filming Locations:

Elios Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fida Cinematografica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Followed by Return of Django (1967)

User Reviews

DJANGO SHOOTS FIRST (Alberto De Martino, 1966) **

This Spaghetti Western isn't as bad as it's been described in "Stracult", a compilation of essays on Italian B-movies that I purchased at the 2004 Venice Film Festival, but it's certainly not anything special either! Glenn Saxson is a cheerful lead in the Errol Flynn vein, which is incongruous for the genre - at least in this early phase, before comedy set in with the Terence Hill/Bud Spencer films!

Still, the revenge/control-of-a-Western-town plot is fairly engaging - though it has nothing whatsoever to do with the original DJANGO (1966; whose 2-Disc LE Set via Blue Underground, incidentally, I should be receiving soon) - and even includes some nice, original touches: Django taking his outlaw father's corpse (after dispatching the bounty hunter who murdered him) to town to pick up the reward money for himself; a "Three Musketeers"-like subplot involving a beautiful but wicked woman (Evelyn Stewart) and her former husband, friend of the hero, who warns him against her; an amusing double-twist at the end in which, first, heroine Erika Blanc outwits a fleeing (i.e. uncommitted) Django, thus making sure that he goes back to her - followed by a reprisal of the film's opening sequence with the arrival of a new gunslinger in town, this time to challenge Django's own authority! The climax, set inside a graveyard, is also effective - as is Bruno Nicolai's bouncy score.

Having said that, the film is too slowly-paced and, even at a little over 90 minutes, it feels protracted - particularly the silly bar-room brawl towards the end!