I due figli di Ringo (1966)

Directors:

Giorgio Simonelli
Giuliano Carnimeo (co-director)

Writers:

Marcello Ciorciolini (writer)
Roberto Gianviti (writer)

Genre:

Western

Plot Keywords:

Spoof

Cast

Franco Franchi	...	Franco Merendino / Django
Ciccio Ingrassia	...	Ciccio Magrì / Gringo
Gloria Paul	...	Dorothy
George Hilton	...	Joe
Ignazio Spalla	...	Indio (as Pedro Sanchez)
Mimmo Palmara	...	Sceriffo
Umberto D'Orsi	...	Simpson
Orchidea de Santis	...	Marisol
Ivano Staccioli	...	Burt
Fulvia Franco	...	Margaret
Enzo Andronico	...	Lawyer
Armando Carini
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Fortunato Arena
Guido Lollobrigida
Galliano Sbarra
Giovanni Ivan Scratuglia		(as Ivan G. Scrat)
Nino Terzo	...	Jimmy il Guercio

Also Known As:

Two Sons of Ringo (USA)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Flora Film

Movie Connections:

References Per un pugno di dollari (1964)

Worth to see for the first five minutes after the opening credits

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I saw the English dubbed print of this film which was directed by Giorgio Simonelli with co-director Giuliano Carnimeo and released in December 1966.

Now, both Franco Franchi and Ciccio Ingrassia were new to me as I hadn't seen any of their comedies before and so was the director Simonelli so I didn't really know what to expect. I did understand, though, that this would be a western comedy/spoof of some sort. George Hilton on the other hand was familiar to me due to his appearances in other Italian Westerns.

Now, the first five minutes after the credits were easily the best part of this film. A fake bounty killer (Ingrassia) "kills" the bandit (Franchi) to earn the reward money (the two of them split the reward in the scene after that). Now, this shootout part in a "Mexican" village was actually one of the better beginnings I've seen in an Italian western. It was quite funny and even cool. There was also a close-up of the hit when the fake bandit was "shot", which was interesting as squibs aren't that frequent in old Italian Westerns. At this point I had high expectations for the rest of the film. Next, our so-called heroes relocate to the U.S. to continue their game and we are introduced to the "real" bounty killer, Joe, played by George Hilton. All is still good here and Hilton is OK in his part.

But then the problem starts. I must have a problem with this kind of Italian humor, since I cannot understand what's supposed to be so funny with Franchi's different facial antics. The facial expressions made by him weren't funny at all, they were annoying-and this continued all through the film! To me, humor is something else than just a "funny face" which was what this film appeared to rely on.

On the positive side, Gloria Paul was gorgeous and Ignazio Spalla (as Pedro Sanchez) playing the bandit Indio was a relief to this film, which would've otherwise been a total pain to watch.

***Possible Spoiler***

There were also some cool scenes, such as the bank robbery scene somewhere in the middle of the film. And it was nice change to see the girls take more charge towards the end. And oh that twist in the end! It really did amaze me! Well, actually no, since at that point I really didn't care anymore, I just wanted it to end.

***end of spoiler***

So what's the verdict for this film? A cool beginning and some (but few) good scenes. It didn't save the film though even if I really tried to like it.

I'd give 8,5/10 for the first 5 minutes, 2/10 for the rest. That's 5/10 overall.