Spara, Gringo, spara (1968)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Bruno Corbucci

Writers:

Mario Amendola (writer)
Bruno Corbucci (writer)

Release Date:

September 1968 (Italy)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

Mexican land-owner Gutierrez offers to save Chad Stark from hanging if Stark will agree to find and return Gutierrez' runaway son...

Plot Keywords:

Desert | Mexican | Deserter | Lost Son | Horse Killed

Cast

Brian Kelly	...	Chad Stark
Keenan Wynn	...	Major Charlie Doneghan
Erika Blanc	...	Sally Londonderry
Folco Lulli	...	Don Hernando Gutierrez
Fabrizio Moroni	...	Fidel (as Fred Munroe)
Linda Sini	...	Dona Sol Gutierrez (as Virginia Field)
Rik Battaglia	...	York (as Rick Austin)
Giovanni Pallavicino	...	Davy (as Charles Webber)
Luigi Bonos	...	Sgt. Peck (as Duane Bowland)
Furio Meniconi	...	Dickson
Jimmy il Fenomeno
Roland Bartrop	...	Warner
Bonnie Miles	...	Rosita
James Mendez	...	Pablo
Armando Garcia	...	Fuertas

Also Known As:

The Longest Hunt (Italy) (TV title) (USA)
Shoot, Gringo... Shoot! (USA)
Tire Django, tire (France)

Runtime:

USA:88 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Norway:16 (video rental version) | Sweden:15

Company:

Cemo Film

Movie Connections:

Edited into Spaghetti Western Trailer Show (2007) (V)

An otherwise typical "Spaghetti" made unique...

Spara Gringo Spara is a particular favorite of this spaghetti western fan in that it combines the expected Italian western bravado and action with a respectable attempt at offering unique character relationships.

While lacking the depth and intrigue of classics of the genre, such as "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly", Spara Gringo Spara (aka Shoot Gringo Shoot) does manage to avoid the confusing plot lines and over-indulging intensity that often spoils many shoot-em-up films. Westerns, at least the better ones, more often than not revolve around a simple theme of good vs. evil. And although many recently produced old-west films successfully cloud that issue ("Open Range" for one), most films of the genre are better served remaining faithful to the standard, to-the-point presentation that exemplifies the western... keep the storyline simple and punctuate it with in-your-face, gun-blazing action.

Spara Gringo Spara delivers these elements without watering down the dialog, mixing in unnecessary plot twists, or exceeding the duration required to achieve its goals.

The bottom line... Spara Gringo Spara makes no attempt to deliver anything beyond its capabilities. Sometimes, less is more, as this movie properly demonstrates. A nice addition to any spaghetti western collection.