The Texican (1966) Online

A good example of Latino western genre from Spain. Wanted ¨Dead or alive¨ north of the border, Jess Carlin (Audie Murphy) lives safely in Mexico. Then he hears his brother was murdered in a gun-down . Knowning his brother never carried a gun he heads north to encounter his brother's assassin. Jess goes out to avenge his brother and trespasses Rio Grande frontier and after battling bounty killers ( Aldo Sambrell and Antonio Molino Rojo) . Jess arrives in Rimrock, a little town dominated by Luke Starr (Broderick Crawford) and his underlings. Escaped goes back to his old home town pursued by bounty hunters . Starr is owner of ¨Silver Ring Saloon¨ , furthermore is the man Jess wants but he unable to encounter some proof until he is given by Sandy (Luz Marquez), former brother's girlfriend, an item found on his brother's body . As Jess seeks vengeance against Luke , while his hoodlums kill , mistreat and harass townspeople . Meanwhile Jess falls in love with a Saloon-girl (Diana Lorys).

Offbeat Chorizo-Spaghetti Western co-produced between Spain and US and doesn't follows the Sergio Leone wake , but it is proceeded in American models . It's an exciting western with breathtaking gunfight between the protagonist Audie Murphy against the heartless Broderick Crawford and his hoodlums . Audie Murphy is fine, he ravages the screen, shoots, hit and run and kills . This movie is a lot of fun to watch. It's an acceptable story with a touch of peculiarity, some great characters, and an amazing music score. The picture also titled ¨The Texican ¨ is a tale of justice and revenge, as a man returns home to a little town after his breakout and looks for vendetta. The basic plot is typical spaghetti western fare, but what makes this movie stand out is its style . Broderick Crawford's performance in the movie is a bit wooden for the role of such an interesting character, but the fantastic performance by the always great Aldo Sambrell as the slimy, menacing outlaw make up for , here in his ordinary role as bandit and in a cruelly baddie character , he is terrific, and bears a hysterical and mocking aspect , subsequently he would play similar characters . Appears as secondaries the habitual in Spanish/Italian Western such as Victor Israel , Gerad Tichy , Antonio Casas, Antonio Molino Rojo and Frank Braña , both of them usual in Leone films.

The film packs violence , shootouts , high body-count and it's fast moving and quite entertaining . There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing some shoot'em up or stunts every few minutes. There is a very odd implementation of shots in the camera work during some particular scenes as the film approaches its climax , as in the final gunfights full of dust , wind and shots . The movie gets the usual Western issues, such as avengers antiheroes , violent facing off , exaggerated baddies, soundtrack with Morricone influence , among them . The sense of pacing is such that his film can be counted on to move quickly and smoothly . Good production design creating an excellent scenario with luminous outdoors, dirty and rocky landscapes under a glimmer sun and fine sets . The musician Nino Fidenco composes a nice soundtrack and well conducted , this turns out to be one of the most memorable parts of the movie; as it's full of enjoyable sounds and haunting musical background . The opening and ending songs are two of my favorites, and are of those unforgettable tunes that will play in your mind over and over long after the movie is realized. The soundtrack contributes tremendously to the atmosphere of the film, including an emotive leitmotif, the music score is perhaps the best part of this film . Striking cinematography by Francisco Marin , though is necessary a correct remastering . Interior scenes filmed in Spuglas De Llobregat , Barcelona outskirts and outdoor sequences with barren exteriors filmed in Spanish places located on Fraga (Huesca) , replacing Almeria . ¨Fraga¨ resulted to be the location where were shot lots of Western produced and directed by Catalan people as Alfonso Balcazar , J.J. Balcazar , Jose Antonio De La Loma , Juan Bosch, Ignacio F. Iquino and Julio Buchs , among others , because Almeria was too far and the landscapes bear remarkable resemblance . This motion picture is well produced by Alfonso Balcazar , being professionally directed by Lesley Selander . Selander is generally considered to be the most prolific director of feature Westerns of all time, with at least 107 to his credit between 1935 and 1967. He realized his first feature in 1936, a western , genre in which he would not only excel but one where he would spent much of the rest of his career. Although Selander couldn't be deemed an "A"-list director, his movies had a professionalism and a verve that many of those made by his fellow B directors lacked . He also filmed detective thrillers, action/adventure motion pictures and even a horror film or two . He finishes a close second with 106 horse operas helmed between 1917 and 1949. Rating : 5,5 . Acceptable and passable

The Texican is directed by Lesley Selander and written by John C. Champion and Jose Antonio de la Loma. It stars Audie Murphy, Broderick Crawford, Diana Lorys, Luz Marquez and Antonio Casas. A Technicolor/Techniscope production with music by Nico Fidenco and Robby Poitevin and cinematography by Francisco Marin.

Murphy and Crawford find themselves in Spain making a Paella Western that quite frankly is for completists only. Plot essentially has Murphy as a man seeking the truth of what happened to his recently deceased brother. Crawford is the town bully, resplendent with scowls and henchmen, a collision course is inevitable.

It's professionally enough mounted and has the requisite pasta flavourings; clumsy dubbing, parched vistas, catchy music, moral ambiguity and etc etc. It's not a bad film by any stretch of the imagination, it's just very lazy and not challenging, either narratively or for the named stars. In the traditional sense it's a throwback to the American "B" Westerns of the 1950s, only it lacks zip for the action scenes and the stars are going through the motions. But fair credit to Murphy, he looks in great condition, as slick as ever, something which belies the problems he was having with his mental health off screen. Crawford on the other hand looks ill and fumbles through his dialogue with boredom evident.

Average fare here all told. 5/10

To get some enjoyment from this movie you at least have to like Audie Murphy and be rather uncritical about westerns. I qualify on both counts. Besides, this movie also has Broderick Crawford as the tough-talking bad guy.

Past his Hollywood prime, Crawford here looks tired, overweight, and generally long in the tooth--but nobody talks tough like Broderick Crawford! The inimitable voices of these two actors--Murphy's gentle Texas voice and Crawford's gravelly growl--stand out in this movie, which otherwise is cast with Spaniards who are dubbed. The dubbing is occasionally distracting, and in the case of Antonio Casas as Frank Brady it is downright ludicrous.

Filmed in Spain, "The Texican" has a decidedly non-American score, sounding something like the music in Italian spaghetti westerns. There are a lot of surging crescendos and an ominous-sounding vocal chorus.

The less said about the actual story, the better. The fun is in watching Audie Murphy and Broderick Crawford do their thing. Murphy was a cowboy hero of mine when I was a boy in the 1950s, and of course in WW II he was a real hero--the most decorated soldier of the war.

They say Audie Murphy worked very hard to develop a fast draw, and in "The Texican" there are some examples of his fine hand with a pistol. Here, some 18 years after his first movie, he still seems like a "nice young man"--neatly dressed, slim and trim, courteous when he can be, gentle-voiced.

How did such a gentle man turn out to be so deadly with a gun--not just in the movies but in real life?

You can tell by the actors (minus Audie Murphy and Broderick Crawford) and the pretty fake gunshot sound effects that this movie is a low-budget production, but in fact, it's quite an enjoyable movie. A rather decent plot (back in 1966, which this film was made, almost all Westerns, even the big-sellers, had simple plots), somewhat believable dubbing for those who spoke Spanish, and a few very enjoyable gunfights. I can't really say which is my favorite part, since, in my opinion, none of the scenes were dull. I just simply like this Western. I haven't seen a whole lot of Audie Murphy Westerns, but enough to say that this is my favorite out of all of them.

Audie Murphy, the highest decorated U. S. soldier of WWII, gives a subtle and likable performance as Jess Carlin in the 1966 Spain-made spaghetti western, "The Texican", one of Murphy's last films.

Although Murphy was awarded every medal for valor available by the United States Army for his incredible bravery in combat (the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, three Purple Hearts, among others) and is credited with the elimination of over 240 enemy soldiers, he was lightly regarded as an actor in Hollywood circles. Many of his performances were dismissed as "wooden" or "stoic". But in "The Texican", Murphy uses his two decades of action acting experience (almost exclusively as a Universal International contract player were he was a dependable money machine) to make this film entertaining and interesting to watch.

Performing all of his own stunts, Audie rides like the wind (bareback in a chase scene!), fights ferociously, and shoots (regarded as one of if not the fastest draw in Hollywood) his way to avenge the murder of his newspaper publishing brother, Roy Carlin. In some excellent casting concerning physical similarities to Murphy, Victor Vilanova gives a strong performance as Roy Carlin. He holds his own and then some opposite Best Actor Oscar Winner Brodrick Crawford, who delivers a rather pedestrian performance as the movie's antagonist, Luke Starr, the corrupt kingpin of the Texas town called Rimrock.

The movie's diamond in the rough is Diana Lorys, who plays bookkeeper Kit O'Neal, looking after her deceased father's interest in Starr's Silver Ring Hotel. Her acting is in fine emotional range from scornful to alluring, and as a result comes off as quite attractive. She is a definite plus for the film, and together with Murphy they generate a nice romantic electricity.

Notable acting comes from Aldo Sambrell as the hired gun, Luz Marquez as Sandy Adams, and Gerald Tichy as Boyd Thompson.

The script by John C. Champion and Jose Antonio de la Lama is tight and usually doesn't lag. It is somewhat choppily directed by Lesley Selander in a hurried fashion (not enough close ups as used so effectively by Sergio Leone), but he captures some fine steely-eyed looks from Audie during confrontational moments. More focus on the avenging aspect concerning character development was needed here. The locations in Spain are adequate to good and lend to that authentic Old West feel that made spaghetti westerns such a world-wide phenomenon. The musical score by Nico Fidenco is fairly good and avoids the copycat tones of Ennio Morricone that have marred many westerns. Changes that could have enhanced concern Murphy's wardrobe that is off the Gene Autry rack, and the cinematography by Francisco Marin is competent, but should have been more creative. The editing by Teresa Alcocer is pretty smooth.

So, pop some corn and pull up a chair for some vintage Audie in "The Texican" !

I enjoyed this film. The atmosphere is effective, Audie Murphy gives a good performance and the script is none too bad. The action is well handled and the supporting cast glowers and/or simpers in all the right places. The loss of two stars is down to the dreadful performance of Broderick Crawford as the 'heavy'. He sleepwalks through his role and appears to be 'worse for wear' at times. It's a pity Audie died so young because he was lined up to play Scorpio in 'Dirty Harry'. That could have taken his career into a new direction which, for fans like me, would have been exciting. Audie delivered some great performances, notably in 'Red Badge of Courage' and 'No Name on the Bullet', and carried numerous routine westerns on his back, lifting them to a level of enjoyment rarely seen in oaters. The only other actor able to do this regularly in low budget westerns was the great Randolph Scott. Audie held his own opposite acting giants like Jimmy Stewart, Michael Redgrave and Burt Lancaster .... it would have been interesting to see him up against Randolph.

Although this movie was made in Europe with a predominately Spanish cast, you can tell this movie was made with stateside distribution in mind.Especially when you have Audie Murphy and Broderick Crawford in the leading roles.Good story about a fugitive who crosses back into the United States from Mexico to avenge his brother's death and clear his own name.This movie was directed by one of my favorite western directors, Lesley Selander.It has great widescreen photography. The dubbing of the supporting actors is better than usual.Far from original, but fast moving and well acted.Not as good as "No Name On The Bullet" or "Night Passage", but worth a look.

Wanted man Audie Murphy risks his life returning to Texas in order to avenge his newspaperman brother who was murdered by sleazy town boss Broderick Crawford and his number one hired killer Aldo Sambrell.

Essentially American made, this is different than most U.S. helmed westerns shot in Spain in that it uses a primarily local crew and supporting cast, making it seem more like a real spaghetti western than other films Hollywood passed off in those days as Italian or Spanish made.

Into the film's heavy atmosphere walks a strangely out of place Audie Murphy. Short, neat, clean-cut and all-American, he's the last person you'd expect to see in a dirty, gritty spaghetti western town. He's almost like a visitor from a parallel universe! That said, it is interesting to see him in something different.

Fitting right in though is Crawford, playing the type of seedy character he built his Academy Award winning career upon and Aldo Sambrell, one of the most recognizable faces in European westerns, though virtually unknown by name.

As a film, The Texican isn't the most memorable of the genre, but it's pretty good with a nice wind-swept finale.

Audie Murphy, as usual, was believable in his role. The addition of Broderick Crawford added to "weight" of the characters. I found it to be a good and enjoyable movie.

A clean-cut Audie Murphy stars in veteran western director Lesley Selander's gritty shoot'em up "The Texican" as a man confined in exile in Mexico because the authorities have placed $500 dollars bounty on his head in Texas across the Rio Grande. In the first scene, Jess Carlin (Audie Murphy of "The Cimarron Kid") turns over a horse thief to an American lawman, U.S. Marshal Dick (Luis Induni of "The Mysterious Island of Captain Nemo"), who meets with him at a rendezvous point on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande. Dick warns Carlin that as long as Carlin stays below the border that the law won't bother him. Initially, Carlin has no plans to cross over the border; he is cooling his heels in Mexico somewhat like Errol Flynn did in the 1945 Warner Brothers western "San Antonio." However, the idyllic paradise that Jess Carlin has grown accustomed to in the form of a pretty senorita, Elena (Marta May of "Seven Pistols for a Gringo") and a noisy little Mexican game of pitching stones at firecrackers on rocks to see who can set off the largest number retreats in his fond memories of the past after he learns from another American taking a siesta in Mexico that his upright, well-meaning brother Roy Carlin has been murdered.

John C. Champion and Jose Antonio de La Loma never clearly indicate what our protagonist did to get himself exiled to old Mexico. Villainous Luke Starr framed him for something, but that something is left unspecified. One day a down-on-his-luck American tries to pay for his liquor with a double-headed coin and Pablo, an irate Mexican barkeep, nearly beats him to a pulp. Jess helps the cowboy recover. At this point, our peace-loving protagonist learns from the cowboy that his brother, crusading Clarion newspaper editor Roy Carlin (Victor Vilanova of "The Killer with a Thousand Eyes"), has died in a gunfight. In the previous scene, the thoroughly repugnant and unrepentant Luke Starr (Oscar winning actor Broderick Crawford of "All the King's Men") guns Jess Carlin's brother Roy down in cold-blood and then arranges things so that appears like Roy shot it out with another gunman. Actually, the other gunman could have cleared Jess of Luke's charges, but neither he nor Roy survive their secret rendezvous as a stagecoach station twelve miles out of Rimrock.

Luke Starr's right-hand gunslinger Gil Rio (ubiquitous Spaghetti western star Aldo Sambrell of "Navajo Joe") guns down the other man. No sooner does Jess cross the border than a couple of bounty hunters descend on him. Jess wounds one, a bounty hunter who says he is after him because he needs money for his sick wife, and kills the other one outright. Later, that evening, three gunmen shoot up Jess' camp and he has to high-tail bare back on his horse to escape them. At an apparently deserted ranch, Jess leaves $40 for a saddle, but the owner Sandy Adams (Luz Marquez of "Three Sergeants of Bengal") catches him in the act. She relents when he explains his difficulty and then he rides into town. Since there is no law in the town run by Luke Starr, Jess doesn't have to concern himself with the authorities or bounty hunters. Jess and Luke circle each other for the remainder of this trim 81-minute horse opera lensed in Spain with a largely Hispanic cast. Eventually, Jess squares off with Luke's gunslingers on a main street shoot-out in a sandstorm and then he takes care of Luke.

The sight of Audie Murphy riding across the arid plains of Spain to composer Nico Fidenco's first-rate orchestral western score in an above-average oater is enough of a reason to watch "The Texican." Selander directs in his usual style, letting the cast play out their roles in long shot so that we can see them in relation to one another. Selander takes advantage of the sprawling Spanish scenery and incorpoates it into the action, particularly when our hero displays his superb horsemanship skills by taking his animal down a steep ridge. The sets look authentic enough, and the wagons have the right size wheels on them. Were it not for some of the accents, you'd have no way of telling that this revenge western wasn't of the domestic variety. Some quotable dialogue enhances the action, and gravelly voiced Broderick Crawford is slimy villain who gets what he deserves in the end.

Call me chauvinistic, but I really don't think Europeans ought to be doing westerns. Clint Eastwood being the exception, spaghetti westerns are the place where all good western stars go to end their careers. The western is the American original film genre and it ought to stay here.

I think that's what Audie Murphy probably felt after doing this one. Audie did so much better work over here in the states. The Texican has Audie as a fugitive down in Mexico who hears that his straight arrow brother has been killed in a gunfight. The brother was a newspaper editor who never even carried a gun, but was doing some journalistic exposes of town boss, Broderick Crawford.

Of course Audie's out for blood and I don't think I have to say any more, I'm sure you know how this one will go.

Broderick Crawford was the only other name player in this film from the USA and purportedly he was drunk most of the time making The Texican. Not that Crawford needed much excuse to drink, he was one of Hollywood's legendary tipplers. The story goes that Murphy watered down Crawford's liquor so that he could get through the day's shooting.

Sounds like a W.C. Fields routine, but I'm not sure Fields could have done much with The Texican.

At forty two, Audie Murphy looked considerably younger in this revenge tale of an outlaw crossing the Mexican border back into Arizona to avenge the murder of his newspaper editor brother. Jess Carlin's (Murphy) criminal past is never elaborated on in the story, so you have to take it on faith that he was a wanted man, at least in the town of Rimrock where most of the action takes place. Rimrock is run by town boss Luke Starr (Broderick Crawford), behind the murder of Roy Carlin, and making life difficult for younger brother.

There's a cool early scene in which Jess Carlin enters a saloon and one of the poker table chairs is empty. A man strumming a guitar sings a line of a song warning Jess not to sit in on the game, advice taken by the gunslinger. Right after that, Carlin guns down two bounty hunters, leaving the first one alive, a former friend who needed the bounty money for a sick wife. Murphy plays the scene with a conviction that he didn't need to kill his opponent once the dust settled, something you don't see very often in a Western.

You know, there wouldn't have even been a story here if one of Starr's henchmen had been a better shot with his rifle. From a fairly good vantage point, the outlaw missed and Jess Carlin escaped the ambush attempt to make his way to Rimrock. Now here's what bothered me about the story. The bad guys were willing to take out Carlin early on, but once he was in town at close range, even face to face at times, none of the henchmen ever made a play. They could have ganged up on Carlin at any point leaving Luke Starr unscathed, just the way they did with whiskey salesman Boyd Thompson (Gereard Tichy). But then I guess, the hero wouldn't have made it to the end of the picture.

A couple other observations - before he had to press the point with the Woodstock Hotel desk clerk, Jess was offered a room at three dollars a day with plenty of windows and a bed with springs. Can't you just see Best Western using that as a selling point in one of their ads today? And I really have to search my memory for what point in time it became OK to show a nude woman on screen in a theatrical film. Not a live actor, but that painting of a reclining woman with a breast exposed displayed over the bar of the Silver Ring Saloon seemed rather scandalous for a 1966 movie. They didn't show naked women at Woodstock until 1969.

Times were getting hard for Audie Murphy in the '60s. He started getting financial problems, his personal life was going to hell, and the kind of westerns that had made him a star were starting to dry up. So he went to Spain to make this Spanish western. That fact did not bother me when I heard about this movie. Many of my favorite westerns are European westerns, so I was pretty intrigued to see what Europeans would do with a Hollywood star like Murphy.

I was disappointed with this movie in the end, however. I will admit that the sets are fine, and there is some good desert scenery. But I found the story surprisingly slow and dull. Murphy's character knows who the culprit is that murdered his brother, but he does pretty much nothing about it until the very end of the movie. Until that happens, the audience is treated to endless (and boring) chat, a bland villain, and a pretty bland hero as well.

The faults of this movie can probably be explained that while this was a European western, there was no Italian involvement. The Italians were the ones who really made European westerns shine, from the music to the scripts. Watch one of these kinds of European westerns instead of "The Texican", even if it doesn't contain a star as big as Murphy. You'll most likely be greater entertained.

This is a good Audie Murphy western for one reason only; it is a spaghetti western. The writers didn't know Audie Murphy and did not write a western script FOR him. They wrote a western script. Unlike anything Hollywood ever did for Murphy,this script has a plot, a story, some depth and real characters. The only distractions, and they are not small, are the ridiculous whistleing sounds made by 45 Long Colt revolvers and the nagging, irritating background music. Where the Italians came up with the ridiculous idea that a 45 Long Colt revolver makes a whistling sound beats me. I know the sound of a 45 Long Colt. I own several. It is triple the sound of a Dodge 440 Magnum backfiring. They do not whistle. And the asinine, continuous, nagging, dragging music that is supposed to be dramatic but is just a pain in the butt. Whoever dreamed that up should have been sentenced to listening to railroad cars coupling and uncoupling continuously for twenty years and then forced to listen to their own "music" for another twenty. The only Audie Murphy western I think comes as close to being enjoyable as The Texican is Ride a Crooked Trail. And only because of the outstanding work done by Walter Matthau.

Wanted for murder, a Texas fugitive (Audie Murphy) has been living in Mexico, returning to America to even a score: the murder of his gun-less newspaper editor brother at the hands of brutal killer, Lucas Starr (Broderick Crawford). In the opening minutes, we get a good taste of exactly what kind of bastard Starr is as he shoots an unarmed man in cold blood, having his gunman blast a rider (a witness to Starr's criminal behavior, the "man who knew too much") in the back as he was given permission to ride his horse out of a relay station near a town of Rimrock (Crawford allows the victim to get a little ahead just so he could think he was about safe!). Shot in Barcelona, Spain, it gives this western an exotic Spaghetti western flavor, with Murphy able to escape the usual stock B-movie studio film. Laconic and steely-eyed as always, Murphy, even as he is thin and short, is appealing to me for those very unique features—somehow, even though he doesn't necessarily "look the part", Murphy, because we know of his heroism on the battlefield in war, manages to rise above what many would conceive as weaknesses in stature on screen. While not a man one would perceive as scary to outlaws and cutthroats based on his looks alone, because we know of his courage in real life, it translates on screen. Still, I like how he often had characters who made mistakes, were flawed and had dabbled in crime, yet contained a humanity and acceptance of responsibility for their actions, willing to admit fault and wanting forgiveness, Murphy's gunslingers achieved a level of sympathy. But without a solid heel, a real nasty villain to oppose him, I'm not sure Murphy's B-oaters would have the same appeal to me. I hope to see one of those in the future to judge for myself. This film does follow the traditional western story and the shootouts (particularly at the end) lack the "Leone touch" other Italian directors had adopted rather effectively (the use of the zoom lens, the quick cut editing showing how quick the anti-heroes are on the draw, the coverage of setting). Director Selander, despite instances where the film feels like it wants to be a spaghetti western, directs "The Texican" as close to a standard Audie Murphy film as possible. You always see him clutch the shot glass of whiskey, never drinking it, Murphy confronts his foes without cowardice, there's the unfair, let-it-all-hang-out barroom brawl where Murphy must take on more than one man (and win), the oft-used "investigation" where Murphy's flawed hero looks for the man who shot his brother in cold blood (a concho from a leather gun belt the evidence tying the murder to Crawford), the love interest (Diana Lorys) that develops for the aggressive Murphy who goes out of his way to court her, etc. For some reason, the final gunfight lacks oomph even when Murphy guns down three men "Man with No Name" style and goes into Crawford's saloon waiting to get a piece of his adversary's hide…it just lacks that va va voom we have come to expect in a western that builds to what should be an epic showdown. It kind of whimpers out. In actuality, this film pads a pretty simple story out using the Lorys romance (and Murphy's scenes with his dead brother's leather-repairing, cattle selling fiancé); the film really could be a one hour western episode of "Have Gun Will Travel" to tell you the truth. While his methods are cruel and heartless, Crawford seems uninspired here, going through the motions, maybe it is because he is in a western that kind of disappears into the crowd of 60s westerns, not solid enough to stand out in any way.

Audie Murphy's career was winding down by 1966. Like many a veteran western star in the sixties, he went to Europe for a paycheck. This one is a hybrid remake of the 1948 Allied Artists sepia Rod Cameron programmer, Panhandle, with the same screenplay and even director, Lesley Selander, but filmed in Spain with a Euro supporting cast. The result I found a slight improvement over the original due to the color and widescreen plus a superior score and main cast.

The stale plot has an outlaw hiding in Mexico returning to the states to hunt down the murderer of his brother. This plot would have been moldy back in the William S Hart era.

Rod Cameron was a fine western lead, but Murphy is the slightly more expressive of the two stoic actors. The two feminine roles are close to a wash, with the voluptuous Diana Lorys giving the edge to the remake.

The biggest improvement is the villains. Reed Hadley looked the part of a western villain, but never projected much personality or menace. His career is mainly remembered for his stentorian narrator turns. A young Blake Edwards was out of place as a trigger-happy punk gunslinger. In this remake Broderick Crawford was aging and going to fat, but even past prime made a more threatening boss villain than Hadley. Euro vet Aldo Sambrell was every inch the vicious henchman and a big improvement over Edwards.

Despite using the same screenplay as the 1948 original, with only a few needed tweaks, this one really doesn't seem that out of the channel of Euro westerns of the time, which also often depended on revenge plots.

For me, a decent programmer western which should appeal mainly to Audie Murphy fans. For those not that much into westerns, this one is at best of borderline interest.

and annoying sound track. this western simply sucks big time. the dialog, my, is one of the worst. audie's small mouth still bothered me a lot, his acting still not quite up to the level as lot of the other greater western actors in that era. the screenplay also is just so pretentious that sometimes i just felt it might not know how to continue. the annoying sound track didn't matching the scenes, just moronically played on and on. don't even know why this movie got to be shot in spain. those locally recruited actors were just bad as those non-talented b-movie guys today. but the worst of the worst i think was still the sound track and audie's lousy acting. there's nothing great or even worth talking about. so actually, i'm wasting my time here.

There really isn't much to get excited about in this film. Cheaply done with an infantile script and bad dubbing, and a typical story of revenge. With that said, Murphy does a decent job and comes across as likable enough. Miss Lorys from Spain is gorgeous and its amazing that she never made it big. Mr. Crawford is wasted here and its sad to see him reduced to this type of film.

This movie wants to be a movie if and when it can. You have two named stars who could pull it off but fail to do so and the Director needs directing himself too. I kept thinking of a Clint Eastwood movie spaghetti film while watching this and I saw how this movie tried that format but couldn't quite get a toe hold. This movie comes across like slow-motion i.e. you want something to happen before it happens because you know it should but the movie moves at its own pace. Thus the viewer and the film never connect. I watch Audie and Broderick two veterans of the film world go through tired motions and got the feeling that their paychecks where holding them up. Even the horses, woman and whiskey (apple juice) in this movie looked tired and depressed. Bottom line? This movie should not even be shown but the lure of the two movie stars allows it to live on. I like to eat during films but this makes you slow down to the point where eating is the movie and this is a distraction. Too bad. This reminds me of the cliché "if you can't say something nice don't say anything at all". The strangest thing worth sharing is as follows. I have a movie collection of DVD's for years and I was desperate for something to watch with nothing being on cable or Netflix that interested me and I discover this in my collection. I don't even know how it got there LOL