Deep West (1971)
"Testa t'ammazzo, croce... sei morto... Mi chiamano Alleluja" (original title)

Director:

Giuliano Carnimeo

Writer:

Tito Carpi

Stars:

George Hilton, Charles Southwood, Agata Flori

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George Hilton	...	Alleluja
Charles Southwood	...	Alexi
Agata Flori	...	Sister Anna Lee
Roberto Camardiel	...	Gen. Emiliano Ramirez (as Robert Camardiel)
Paolo Gozlino	...	Fortune
Andrea Bosic	...	Mr. Krantz
Linda Sini	...	Gertrude
Aldo Barberito	...	The priest
Franco Pesce	...	Ebeneezer
Federico Boido	...	Duke Slocum (as Rick Boyd)
Paolo Magalotti	...	Krantz' henchman
Ugo Adinolfi	...	Pablito
Lino Coletta
Fortunato Arena	...	Sheriff
Goffredo Unger	...	Slim (as Freddie Unger)

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

secret service agent | saved from execution | carriage | jewels | russian dance | 

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Taglines:

BLAZING ACTION! Enough Laughs To Knock You Out of Your Saddle!

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Genres:

Comedy | Western

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

November 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Deep West

Company Credits

Production Co:

Colosseo Artistica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Import DVD has a Super-8 Version, as a special feature on the disc.

User Reviews

One eccentric character too many, but a great view

Any film with a title as memorable and eye-catching as "Heads You Die, Tails I Kill You" has a lot to live up to. Luckily this one does.... well, for the first half at least.

The story centres around George Hilton's character named "Halleluyah" (thus the films alternative title "They Call Me Hallelujah"). He has been hired by Mexican general Ramirez (Roberto Camardiel) to steal jewels from the army, allegedly to help fund the revolution.

The beginning of the movie is very strong, as Ramirez is led to the firing line by the army, to Ciprani's fantastic score. Some onlookers are already grieving, but proceedings are intervened when Halleluyah appears with his very novel machine gun. Great stuff.

The plot has more twists and turns than, ummmmm, a very twisty turney thing! It is not just Halleluyah searching for the jewels, but a secret agent disguised as a Nun (Agata Flori), the Russian Alexei (Charles Southwood) and a gang of arms dealers led by Fortune (Paulo Gozlino).

Whilst the movie is a real roller-coaster of a ride, it does reach new levels of stupidity with the introduction of Alexei. As I said at the beginning of this write up, the film doesn't disappoint - it just (in my opinion) has one eccentric character too many. This makes the second half just a bit too farcical to me at times.

Most of the best scenes are based around Halleluyah's interaction with the gang - particularly near the beginning where disguised as monks they successfully steal the jewels (and soon face a confrontation with "Brother" Hallelujah). There is also a hilarious scene in which our hero poisons the gang's food, resulting in much belly ache and diarrhoea enforced swift exists! As far as the cast are concerned, Hilton makes a good leading man for the less serious westerns. Regular spaghetti stalwart Federico Boido is also well cast as the weasel like gang member Slocum.

I would definitely recommend this film (despite my reservations about the Russian!). It is a well plotted, good fun view, with enough double crosses and twists to keep you interested and entertained throughout.