A Stranger in Town (1967)

A lone gunfighter attempts to make a deal with a Mexican bandit to split a shipment of stolen gold, resulting in a brutal game of double-cross between the two parties.

Director:

Luigi Vanzi (as Vance Lewis)

Writers:

Warren Garfield (screenplay), Giuseppe Mangione (screenplay) (as Jone Mang, John Mangione)

Stars:

Tony Anthony, Jolanda Modio, Raf Baldassarre

Cast

Cast overview:
Tony Anthony	...	The Stranger
Jolanda Modio	...	Chica (as Yolanda Modio) (as Jolanda Modìo)
Raf Baldassarre	...	Corgo
Aldo Berti	...	Marinero
Lars Bloch	...	Captain George Stafford
Enrico Capoleoni
Arturo Corso
Antonio Marsina	...	Aguilar Henchman
Salvatore Puntillo	...	Priest
Fortunato Arena	...	Captain Cordoba
Rossella Bergamonti	...	Village Woman (as Rosella Bergamonti)
Ugo Carboni	...	(as Ugo Carbone)
Giovanni Ivan Scratuglia	...	Aguilar Henchman (as Ivan Scratt)
Gia Sandri	...	Maruka
Frank Wolff	...	Aguilar (as Frank Wolf)

Storyline

Unknown to anybody else but himself The Stranger arrives in an abandoned town where he witnesses the slaughter of Mexican soldiers by a gang led by Aguila. The Stranger threatens Aguila to denounce him if he does not accept to let him take part in the theft of a shipment of gold. The plan is a success but when The Stranger claims his due, he gets a good beating instead. However The Stranger manages to escape with the gold. The bandits, who want his skin, pursue him. But The Stranger is not the kind to get caught so easily...

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Plot Keywords:

italo western | the stranger | gold | soldier | gang | 

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Taglines:

Tempt him... whip him... brand him... break him... but make damn sure the stranger doesn't crawl out of town alive!

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Western

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy USA

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

24 April 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Stranger in Town

Box Office

Budget:

$190,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Primex Italiana, Taka Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) (Metrocolor: US prints)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

In interior sequences, Chica's baby son has a plentiful amount of hair. In exterior scenes, the child has less hair, likely indicating that different babies were used.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Paco: Psst. Hey - c'mere.
[the Stranger walks over to him]
Paco: Get out, and don't stop 'till you're out of town ten miles.
The Stranger: Why?
Paco: Ten miles!
The Stranger: Look, I'm tired and I wanna sleep.
[Paco pulls a switchblade on him]
The Stranger: Ten miles. Trouble is, my horse out there is even more tired than I am. I don't think I can get the poor fella to take another step. And I don't want any trouble. 'Kay, boss?
[smashes a liquor bottle against Paco's head, killing him]

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Connections

Followed by The Silent Stranger (1968)

User Reviews

"Fair" film playing off the Cliché of the Dollars TRilogy

"A Stranger in Town" is the first of Tony Anthony's "Stranger" films - a character heavily borrowed from Eastwood/Leone's "Man With No Name". As I understand it, the aim of these films was to take the European vision of a western to a wider American audience. Which it successfully achieved.

The Stranger (Anthony) arrives in town to witness a brutal massacre of Mexican soldiers by a gang of bandits led by Aguila (Frank Wolff). Before the execution, Aguila assures the soldiers that he is "a fair man" - a regularly uttered pronouncement throughout the film. The death of so many men demonstrates otherwise.

The Stranger agrees to work with the bandits, who are now clad in the soldiers uniforms, to help steal gold from the US army. The plan is successful, but the Stranger is soon double-crossed once he arrives to collect his 50% share (despite Aguila being "a fair man"). After a beating, he escapes with the gold, and is pursued by the gang......

Whilst there are obvious similarities between this movie and the Dollars Trilogy - in particular a Fistful of Dollars - this is an enjoyable film in its own right. It lacks the class of Leone, and the cool of Eastwood, but Anthony and Director Luigi Vanzi never tried to mimic these aspects, concentrating instead on the action and violence. Indeed, Anthony's Stranger never appears invincible, and remains likable throughout what is a very simplistic story.

The star of the show however is Frank Wolff - a man that does not know the meaning of a bad performance. Based largely on Volente's Ramon, Aguila is equally as barbaric, but just a little more clumsy. And "a fair man!". Of course!

There is very little dialogue in the whole movie, playing on the cliché of what we (or I imagine, more realistically, what the general American audience of that time) expect from a Spaghetti Western. Quite intentionally. The fact that there are few words puts great pressure on the quality of Benedetto Ghiglia's score - which thankfully stands up to this task.

All in all, A Stranger in Town makes up for what it lacks in class and story with entertaining characters and good fight sequences. The beginning sequence where the Mexican soldiers are led into town by a group of singing monks - who soon cast off their robes and reveal themselves as Aguila and his gang - immediately persuades the viewer that this will be an enjoyable film. The final confrontation between the two main stars is equally as effective.

It is not (and doesn't pretend to be) one of the greatest Spaghetti Westerns. In fact, Aguila would probably proclaim it as a "fair" film. And this time he wouldn't be lying. Good fun, and recommended.