Giuliano Carnimeo’s very first undertaking as a director was with this film. Once Enzo G. Castellari, who had collaborated with Tito Carpi in writing the screenplay, chose to not direct the movie, this was his first film as an independent director. The film features an amiable gunslinger paired with his irritable assistant and is somewhat frequently regarded as an early version of the Trinity films. Despite the reference to the amiable gunslinger, it is important to take notice that it is still a rather brutal film: The entire film is shot cheekily and instead of aiming for his chin, Barnes employs the tactic of hitting the man atop his skull. Even though there isn’t much slapstick present, the violence portrayed is nauseatingly brutal. The jokes have a sadistic component in them, for instance, if one of the villains gets shot while sitting on a rooftop resulting in a great fall, the use of Lewis Carrol’s Humpty Dumpty becomes appropriate.
In a Southern western town, Judge called upon two gunmen, Lord and Bull, to trace a gold reserve that was hidden by a Confederate colonel in the last years of the Civil War. The worth of the gold was estimated at $500,000. The Judge was promptly killed as soon as they reached, leaving behind clues: The colonel’s advantaged daughter Regina and his favorite book, Camelot. The uncle of the girl is the town’s boss Forester who has imprisoned her at a secret location outside the town. Forester has hired an entire army of gunmen to deter all others. In a series of shootouts, Lord and Bull’s side eliminated all of them, yet there are more villains than usual.
Carnimeo labeled his film as a ‘western with a thriller twist’. While it’s a classic treasure hunt tale, the narrative style is similar to a detective mystery accompanied by complex clues, dubious figures, and spine-churning turns of events. The movie seems to feature two of the more prominent cliches of the thriller genre. Two detectives feature in the story, one being rather ill-suited for the role, whilst the more competent one figures everything out. The final twist was also shocking which is a pleasant surprise for viewers who didn’t know what to expect. The darker tone is set with the help of scenes that take place at night and a lengthy gunfight in a slaughterhouse which gives the film its unique sense of gothic culture. The stark differences between the two leads are astonishing, for example, Hilton appears unaffected in the movie, even in a scene where he is surrounded by corrupt criminals. Barnes on the other hand, seems to be very much grounded and perhaps even overcomes all challenges, but still remains rather delicate. This is a crucial point in the movie where Hilton saves the day by wiping out Forester’s thugs in the slaughterhouse, while Barnes is on the verge of being beaten to death in an unknown torture chamber and makes a narrow escape from certain death after a last burst of needed energy.
Stelvio Massi’s filmography includes proper and interesting angles and frames although there is a sense of ‘static theatricality’ to the film due to the few scenes that were filmed locally. Ironically, the few outdoor scenes are the best, especially the very first one when Hilton and Barnes stop at the “secret” spot where the colonel’s daughter is kept prisoner (we get a brief sight of her). Some of these location scenes are set in the Tolfa mountain range, near Civitavecchia, and the Grotte di Salone which are close to Rome (where Clint Eastwood recuperated after his beatings in A Fistful of Dollars). One wonders why there were not more location scenes. It could be budgetary one of the producers pulled out when Castellari said he did not want to direct the film. Personally, I find the film too drawn-out (even the end sequence in the slaughterhouse is dragged out) but with a rather interesting and simple plot and a few decent performances lifts the film above mediocrity. Loni Von Friendl, however, deserves credit for her charming performance as the colonel’s disabled daughter, a Regina (queen) with a will of her own.
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