Un esercito di cinque uomini (1969)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Directors:

Don Taylor
Italo Zingarelli

Writers:

Marc Richards (screenplay) and
Dario Argento (screenplay)

Release Date:

20 February 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

Spaghetti western about a group of bandits, led by Peter Graves, who plan on robbing a train transporting gold for the Mexican army.

Plot Keywords:

Bandit | Spaghetti Western | Beautiful Woman

Cast

Peter Graves	...	Dutchman
James Daly	...	Capt. Nicolas Augustus
Bud Spencer	...	Mesito
Nino Castelnuovo	...	Luis Dominguez
Tetsurô Tanba	...	Samurai
Claudio Gora	...	Manuel Esteban
Daniela Giordano	...	Maria
Annabella Andreoli	...	Perla, the Mexican girl
Carlo Alighiero	...	Capt. Gutierrez
Giacomo Rossi-Stuart	...	One of Gutierrez' mexican officers (as Jack Stuart)
Marino Masé	...	Railroad man
Dan Sturkie	...	Carnival barker
José Torres	...	Mexican spy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Artemio Antonini	...	(uncredited)
Fortunato Arena	...	Execution squad commander (uncredited)
Luigi Bonos	...	Priest (uncredited)
Dante Cleri	...	Pueblo mayor (uncredited)
William Conroy	...	Mexican soldier (uncredited)
Gildo Di Marco	...	Mexican, sitting behind on Priest's carriage (uncredited)
Marc Lawrence	...	Carnival barker (uncredited)
Antonio Monselesan	...	Mexican officer, explaininig safety precautions to pueblo mayor (uncredited)
Osiride Pevarello	...	Full-bearded, singing mexican (uncredited)
Pietro Torrisi	...	One of Gutierrez' mexican officers (uncredited)
Steffen Zacharias	...	Poker player (uncredited)

Directed by
Don Taylor
Italo Zingarelli		(Italian version)

Writing credits
Marc Richards		(screenplay) and
Dario Argento		(screenplay)

Produced by
Italo Zingarelli	....	producer

Original Music by
Ennio Morricone

Cinematography by
Enzo Barboni

Film Editing by
Sergio Montanari

Art Direction by
Enzo Bulgarelli

Set Decoration by
Ennio Michettoni

Costume Design by
Enzo Bulgarelli
Luciano Sagoni

Production Management
Franco Palaggi	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Stefano Rolla	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Eraldo Giordani	....	sound editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Sergio Bergamini	....	camera operator

Music Department
Bruno Nicolai	....	musical director

Other crew
Landi	....	French poster designer

Production Companies

• Tiger Film

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1970) (France) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1970) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1973) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• MGM/UA Home Video (1984) (UK) (VHS)
• Ocean Pictures do Brasil (????) (Brazil) (theatrical)
• Spazmondo (????) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

The 5 Man Army (International: English title) (alternative spelling)
The 5-Man Army (International: English title) (alternative spelling)
The Five Man Army (USA)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | UK:15 | Brazil:18 | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1970) | Sweden:15 | USA:M

Filming Locations:

Italy

Company:

Tiger Film

Trivia:

Partially shot on C'era una volta il West (1968) location (the railroad and the farmhouse).

Good western action

Five Man Army may not be as epic or as groundbreaking as other Spaghetti Western films, but it's a lot of fun to watch and overall, provides a good slice of western action. My main reason for tracking down and seeing this film is due to the fact that it was co-scripted by Italian horror maestro and one of the men behind Sergio Leone's masterpiece 'Once Upon a Time in the West', Dario Argento. Argento worked on scripts for a number of Spaghetti westerns, and while this is only the second that I've seen (Leone's masterwork being the other one), it's the one that gets mentioned second most often, which leads to believe that it's one of his best. The plot centres on a man named 'The Dutchman', who hatches a plot to rob a train of $500,000 worth of gold. He can't do it on his own, however, and so recruits the services of four men with expertise in different areas. They all have something to prove, and the $1000 he's offering for their help gives them the initiative to try and prove it. The film then follows the makeshift 'Five Man Army', as they steal the gold.

The film begins with a man going round asking the prospective members of the army to join the foolhardy scheme. This sort of plot device is common in the movie, as it's all rather simply told. However, if you ask me this is a good thing as some films like this tend to get a bit too complicated, and it can take something away from the enjoyment of watching. There's plenty else to enjoy too, as Argento and his fellow scriptwriter have managed to create a varied assortment of characters that play well off one another and, of course, there's all the explosions and shootouts that Spaghetti Western fans have come to expect. It does have to be said that there's not as much violence in this film as there is in similar movies, as much of the movie focuses on the train robbery at the end, which is pulled off with very little bloodshed. The acting is decent enough also, with veteran actor Peter Graves heading up a good versatile cast, which fit into their roles well. Ennio Morricone provides another good western score, and overall, this film is always going to be a target for fans of Argento's work. I won't recommend going into the film with high expectations, but it's a fun viewing and I enjoyed it.