Ballata per un pistolero

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Ballata per un pistolero (Italy, West Germany 1967 / Director: Alfio Caltabiano)

BallataPerUnPistolero DatabasePage.jpg
More on this film:
  • Runtime: 97 min
  • Release Date: 19.4.1967
  • Filming Locations: Yugoslavia

Also known as

Rocco - der Einzelgänger von Alamo (Germany) | Ballad of a Gunman | The Loner of the Alamo | Balada para um pistoleiro (Portugal) | Pistoleros (U.S.A.) | Pisotla nelle polvere (Italy) | Ballada de un pistolero (Spain) | Ballade d'un pistolero (France) | Tva mot alla (Sweden) | Ofthalmon anti ofthalmou (Greece) | Ringo, Pray to Your God and Die

Cast and crew

  • Cast: Dragomir Bojanic (Anthony Ghidra)(Rocco/Blackie), Angelo Infanti (Hud/Kud Nigros), Mario Novelli (as Anthony Freeman)(Chiuchi/Chinchi), Alfio Caltabiano (as Al Northon)(El Bedoja), Dante Maggio (as Dan May)(Explosion/Knallgrosch), Monica Teuber (Maruja), Ivan Scratuglia (Martinez), Lanfranco Ceccarelli (sheriff), Pietro Ceccarelli (as Peter Jacob)(Toro), Hermann Nelson (banker), Ellen Schwiers (Maruja's mother), Fernando Sanchez Polack (saloon owner), Giovanni Cianfriglia (gambler), Nicola Balini
  • Story: Alfio Catlabiano
  • Screenplay: Alfio Caltabiano, Ernest R. von Theumer
  • Cinematography: Guglielmo Mancori [Eastmancolor, Ultrascope 2,35:1]
  • Music: Marcello Giombini
  • Song: "Ballata per un pistolero" sung by Peppino Gagliardi
  • Producers: Alfredo Nicolai, Ernest R. von Theumer

The Film

Two bounty hunters are on the track of a notorious bandit, one is after the reward, the other one has a personal score to settle. The younger of the two (Infante) proposes a partnership, but the older one (Ghidra) refuses, because he hates bounty hunters. Infante nevertheless stays on Ghidra’s track, even saving his life a few times. Ghidra’s behaviour changes when he notices Infante wears a hanger in the shape of a pistol. The two men finally become partners and together they hunt down the merciless bandit and his brother. Then Ghidra explains to Infante why he hates bounty hunters so much, and why he wants Infante to give up this profession ...

Comment

At first this only seems a more violent retelling of For a few dollars More, but director Alfio Caltabiano surprises with a thoughtful, even religious movie, that is at the same time a comment on Leone’s masterpiece: he shows that bounty hunting was a dirty job and that the people doing it, couldn’t keep their hands clean. Ghidra and Infante are a nice couple of bounty killers and obviously they have practiced quite a lot with the gun: especially Ghidra’s trick of ‘shooting behind his back’ is impressive. No wonder if you know that Caltabiano was one of the greatest ‘maestro d’armi’ (master of arms) of the Italian film industry of the sixties, along with Benito Stefanelli: those guys showed numerous actors how to handle a gun. - Scherpschutter

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