Execution (1968)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

Director:

Domenico Paolella

Writers:

Fernando Franchi (writer)
Domenico Paolella (story)

Release Date:

14 August 1968 (Italy)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

Clips, a bounty killer, is after one John Coler, who has fooled him, keeping all of a loot he should have shared with him...

Plot Keywords:

Brother | Bounty Hunter | Spaghetti Western | Man Hunt | Small Town

Cast

John Richardson	...	Bill Coler / John Coler
Mimmo Palmara	...	Clips
Rita Klein	...	Carol
Franco Giornelli	...	Charlie
Piero Vida	...	Burd
Néstor Garay	...	Juarez
Romano Magnino	...	Sancho
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dali Bresciani	...	Juana (as Dalia)
Lucio De Santis
Veriano Genesi	...	Townsman during Fire
Giovanni Ivan Scratuglia		(as Ivan Scratuglia)
Angelo Susani	...	Don

Runtime:

Italy:100 min | France:90 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Certification:

West Germany:18 (original rating) | Sweden:15 | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

De Paolis Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Cinematografica Mercedes

Trivia:

Italian censorship visa # 52224 delivered on 14-8-1968.

EXECUTION (Domenico Paolella, 1968) **

Altogether a mediocre offering, this dreary Spaghetti Western has a muddled if unusual storyline but little real feeling for the genre. John Richardson stars in a dual role as an outlaw who's been on the run for nearly 5 years - after which he can no longer be pursued by bounty hunters - and his look-alike younger brother. The latter's deliberately confusing introduction - a gunfight in a saloon in which both opponents are killed (they are traveling entertainers offering a novel form of spectacle) - comes off as unintentionally funny. Being mistaken for his grey-haired and bespectacled brother, he's tortured by a horde of Mexican bandits (who are after the gold hidden by the latter) by way of a studded ball-and-chain; in fact, an interesting aspect of the film is its inventive deployment of weaponry - others include a knife at the end of a billiard stick, and a number of guns and rifles strategically placed on the floor above the saloon - which the younger Richardson then uses to shoot the bad guys, through the cracks in the roof! When the two siblings finally meet, the kid persuades his elder brother to give himself up - leading to a rather weak ending in which he rages over the death of his performing partner (who he had to 'execute' himself for having turned traitor)!! At least, the music score is pleasant enough...