La resa dei conti (1966)

Unofficial lawman John Corbett hunts down Cuchillo Sanchez, a Mexican peasant accused of raping and killing a 12-year-old girl.

Director:

Sergio Sollima

Writers:

Franco Solinas (story), Fernando Morandi (story)

Stars:

Lee Van Cleef, Tomas Milian, Walter Barnes

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lee Van Cleef	...	Jonathan 'Colorado' Corbett
Tomas Milian	...	Manuel 'Cuchillo' Sanchez
Walter Barnes	...	Brokston
Nieves Navarro	...	The Widow
Gérard Herter	...	Baron von Schulenberg (as Gerard Herter)
María Granada	...	Rosita Sanchez
Roberto Camardiel	...	Sheriff Jellicol (as Robert Camardiel)
Ángel del Pozo	...	Chet Miller (as Angel del Pozo)
Luisa Rivelli	...	Willow Creek Prostitute
Tom Felleghy	...	Father of Chet Miller (as Tom Felleghi)
Calisto Calisti	...	Mr. Lynch
Benito Stefanelli	...	Jess, Widow's Ranchero
Nello Pazzafini	...	Hondo - Ex-Union Outlaw
Antonio Casas	...	Brother Smith & Wesson
José Torres	...	Paco Molinas

Storyline

Jonathan Corbett is a gunman so brave to have eliminated all the bandits of Texas. For this he is proposed for the candidacy to the Senate of the United States. In exchange he has only to support the construction of one railway line. Only after he accepts does he come to know that the Mexican Cuchillo has raped and killed a 12 year old girl. Corbett leaves on a long manhunt during which he gets to know his adversary better and discovers a variation on the crime for which the accused Cuchillo may not be as guilty as he first thought.

---

Plot Keywords:

shoulder holster | shoulder | holster | sonora mexico | sonora | 

---

Taglines:

Strange enemies... in a deadly game... of turnabout...

---

Genres:

Western

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

Italy Spain

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

29 November 1966 (Spain)

Also Known As:

The Big Gundown

Filming Locations:

Cabo de Gata, Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

Produzioni Europee Associate (PEA),Tulio Demicheli P.C.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min 80 min (edited) 89 min (original U.S. theatrical release) 95 min (Blu-ray extended special edition)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is one of Quentin Tarentino's favorite spaghetti westerns.

---

Goofs

When Cuchillo is outside the ranch house betraying the ranch hands, and one of them confronts him from behind a rock, the ranch hand has just worked the action on his single action rifle. You can see that because it leaves the trigger in the back/fire position and that is clearly shown. The camera pans to Cuchillo for about three seconds, and when it comes back to the ranch hand, the hammer is down on the rifle.

---

Quotes

Cuchillo Sanchez: By yourself, you couldn't catch a limping snail!

---

Alternate Versions

The original Italian cut of the film is approximately 110 minutes (approximately 105 minutes PAL) and was distributed in several European countries theatrically and on video formats. However, upon its US and UK release (and possibly Japanese release), the film was cut down to approximately 90 minutes. While most of these cuts involved trimming down dialogue, some entire scenes were cut, such as Corbett in the Sherrif's office after killing the three criminals in the opening, Cuchillo and Corbett's visit to a Church, and Cuchillo in bed with his wife Rosita. While most of this footage is thought not to have been dubbed in English, a few scenes, such as the church scenes and Cuchillo/Rosita scene were dubbed in English for some markets outside of the US and UK. As of now, only the 90 minute cut has had any official distribution in the US, while a fan made DVD known as the "Franco Cleef Edition" has made the rounds in the US featuring the Italian cut with English language and subtitled Italian for the scenes in which English audio could not be obtained.

---

Connections

Referenced in Inglourious Basterds (2009)

---

Soundtracks

Run, Man, Run
Music by Ennio Morricone
Lyrics by Audrey Nohra
Performed by Maria Cristina Brancucci (as Christy)

User Reviews

Reasonably good Italian western with a political message

Lumpy and uneven production hurt an interesting story. It's a shame that this isn't better but if you consider the conditions films like this were made under it's a good job.

Van Clief does a variation of his role in "For A Few Dollars More" and succeeds. He carries the film, without him the movie would probably be unwatchable. Milan is his usual "poor everyman" but is less assured in the role. His character seems to be aimed at defiant 14 year old boys which is at odds with the more adult themes the film is based on.

The cinematography ranges from very good to harsh. The music is a Morriccone classic but is crudely edited during the course of the film. THe final showdown is strange as there are really two showdowns. The dubbing is passable but doesn't help.

Not counting the Leone films this is a top level Italian Western.