La Colt è la mia legge

Alfonso Brescia is one of my favorite of the Euro genre directors, a filmmaker who's name has come to be equated with mediocrity on a colossal scale: His STAR WARS derived science fiction potboilers from the late 1970s are stalwart examples of bargain basement cinema at it's most profoundly inept level, so inept in fact that they are appealing in the way that a lost, retarded little puppy endears itself to the heart. My personal favorite of his Westerns is WINCHESTER BILL from the year just after this remarkably dodgy old film was made, and was a leap up the evolutionary ladder of the genre to say the least.

THE COLT IS MY LAW is kind of a Euro Western throwback to the classic era of Western B movie fare, with a "masked avenger" type hero that clearly has more in common with the Lone Ranger than anything from the Sergio Leone/Sergio Corbucci realm of Spaghetti Westerns where style and attitude became more important than substance of story. By contrast this movie is all about substance and story to the point of actually being quaint. It is from the era of European made Westerns when the cowboys all dressed in color coordinated costumes that looked fresh out of the studio wardrobe department, the women were all matronly boarding house madams or freshly-scrubbed damsels in distress. There is even time for a rousing musical/dance number, and in the end the good guys win and the bad guys are led off to prison for their dastardly deeds.

The story revolves around one of those odd looking Euro Western frontier towns built out on the studio lot where a rash of gold robberies is plaguing the honest folk. Two strangers arrive in the weekly stagecoach with markedly different intentions: One is a ne're do well rough-houser looking for work, the other a prim dandy. Soon the gold robbers find themselves opposed to a heroic masked hero who wages a one-man war against their crooked schemes, winning the heart of the pretty leading lady and the admiration of the town bigwigs, though just which one of the two is our heroic masked man remains a mystery until the end.

There are shootouts, fistfights, lots of desperate rides to save the day -- In other words the usual standard Hopalong Cassidy kind of thrills & chills, which for an Italian made Western is a rarity indeed. As such for my needs this is a pretty interesting example of the Euro Western in it's transitional era when it evolved from trying to ape the classic 40s/50s approach to making a Western and became an art form unto itself. There is a visual tension to the fabric of the film where the arty atmosphere of Euro film-making style is contrasted by the downright ordinariness of the movie's execution. Even the music is somewhat forgettable which is surprising given the importance that the Italians usually placed music with in their Westerns. Here it just works to flavor or color the action taking place on screen rather than being a storytelling motif unto itself ala Ennio Morricone, even though it superficially sounds similar to his DOLLAR film scores and the movie superficially resembles the Leone approach.

But only to a certain degree. If you contrast this film with WINCHESTER BILL, for example, you find characters in that film who are genuinely larger than life and a visual language that is more based on stylistic dynamics rather than a slave to the needs of the plot. There is only one shot in all of this film that stands outside of the need to tell the story and that is the final one of a pistol lying forlornly on a boulder overlooking a valley, perhaps a visual metaphor for how Brescia had sensed the genre changing while making the movie. His next Western would instead be made in the new frontier of Spaghetti, though that's not meant to be a detraction from this effort. It's not necessarily a bad movie, it just wasn't concerned with the artistic intent that would make the genre special.

5/10

Middling Italian-Spanish Western with habitual actors , customary scenarios and realized in Chorizo/Spaghetti style . The film displays thrills , noisy action , violence , shootouts , final twist and being enough entertaining . The movie contains typical particularities Spaghetti , as it is full of fury , sadism : bloodbaths , and close-ups of grime-encrusted faces . This is an average Spaghetti Western with some moments genuinely entertaining if you can avoid thinking too much . The town of San Felipe is plagued by robberies . There arrives George Benson (Ángel Del Pozo as Anthony Clark) , a good-looking and elegant gentlemen to marry the niece (Luciana Gilli) of the powerful land baron of the turbulent city and a Pistolero called Ringo (Miguel de la Riva aka Michael Martin) . One of whom is a foppish , and the other one results to be a gunslinger who flees from justice . There are several assaults on stagecoaches , robbing gold railway , though the thieves find Malaga wine bottles . The major suspect turns out to be a local landowner , the businessman Henry O'Brien, (Peter White) . As Ringo works on his ranch , the other , Benson , becomes his daughter's fiancé.

This Western is a passable outing because it displays thrills , emotion , shoot'em up , saloon brawls , intrigue , riding pursuits and many other things . It's a medium budget Spaghetti film with acceptable actors , technicians , production values and pleasing results . Agreeable Spaghetti Western follows the American models as well as Sergio Leone style . The film blends frenetic action , crossfire , violence , blood , and it is fast moving and quite entertaining . The picture is a tale of justice in which two strangers , who are really two Federal Agents , are sent to investigate stagecoaches robbing , and delivering peace and order ; the basic plot is typical spaghetti western fare , but what makes this movie stand out is its style . There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing some shots or stunts every few minutes . The starring called George Benson is decently played by Angel Del Pozo , here gives better acting than other films , his character is a coward , shy , foppish man who is humiliated at every turn , but subsequently he dons a dark outfit and wearing scarf , he becomes into the masked rider , Zorro-alike . Del Pozo played several Maccaroni/Tortilla Western as "Fort Yuma Gold" , ¨The hawk and the prey¨ , ¨Savage Pampa¨, "Face to Face" , "A Bullet for the President" and ¨El Condor¨. While his pal , Miguel De La Riva , also performed numerous Westerns playing usually secondary roles as "I'll Kill Him and Return Alone¨, "Four Dollars for Vengeance" , ¨Dynamite Jim¨, "One Dollar of Fire" , "Shoot to Kill" and ¨Oeste Nevada Joe¨ . Angel Del Pozo and Miguel De La Riva take law on his own arms , executing thespian skills , bounds and leaps and shooting and throughly enjoying themselves . Support cast is pretty well , including familiar faces from Spaghetti/Chorizo Western as Milo Quesada , Livio Lorenzon , Jose Riesgo , Germano Longo , among others . Atmospheric and evocative cinematography by Eloy Meya , shot on ordinary locations in Colmenar Viejo, La Pedriza , Manzanares El Real, Madrid and Elios studios , Lazio , Rome . Enjoyable musical score by Carlos Castellanos , adding Spaghetti sounds in Ennio Morricones style .

The motion picture was professionally directed by Alfonso Brescia , though contains some flaws and gaps . Al Bradley was a craftsman who directed all kind of genres . Alfonso Brescia or Al Bradley was born in Rome , 1930, and died in 2001 . He was a director and writer, known for directing Westerns as : Days of Violence , White Fang and the Hunter , Killer Caliber and The Colt Is My Law . Alfonso began directing muscle-men epics as The Conqueror of Atlantis , The magnificent gladiator , La Rivolta dei Pretoriani . He also directed Sci-Fi and Sword and witchery genre as Iron Warrior , Sette Uomini D'Oro Nello Spazio , The war of the robots ; Adventure as Zanna Bianca , Amazons against Supermen and Wartime films such as Objetivo Rommel , Misiones Ardientes and Hell in Normandy .