A Taste of Spaghetti...Westerns

The long dusters. The dirty towns. Extreme close-ups. Lengthy stares. Dubbed dialogue. And, of course, the Morricone music. I love a good Spaghetti Western! Here are my top 10 films in this popular genre from the 1960s and 1970s.

Bronson as Harmonica.

1. Once Upon a Time in the West - I never cared for the slang term "horse opera," but "operatic" definitely describes what I consider to be Sergio Leone's masterpiece. This sprawling saga of a dying West boasts interlocking stories, some marvelous set pieces, a terrific Ennio Morricone score (with unique themes for each of the four leads), and memorable characters (which both support and defy Western film stereotypes). My favorite parts are the opening (it's a long wait but I love the payoff) and the almost over-the-top showdown between Charles Bronson's mysterious Harmonica and Henry Fonda's vile villain Frank.

Lee Van Cleef.

2. For a Few Dollars More - My favorite of the Leone-Eastwood collaborations is almost a rehearsal for Once Upon a Time in the West. In the latter film, Charles Bronson wears a harmonica around his neck--and we learn why in the flashblack that explains his need for revenge against Henry Fonda's character. In For a Few Dollars More, Lee Van Cleef carries a watch that serves the same purpose. Eastwood's sarcastic humor and Van Cleef's steely resolve make them a great pair.

It's hard to see Hill's "Paul Newman"
blue eyes in this photo.

3. Trinity Is Still My Name - The sequel to They Call Me Trinity is funnier than the original, with Terence Hill and Bud Spencer back as the West's most unlikely--and filthiest--brothers. Hill became a big European star, but his success never translated in the U.S. (though he tried in movies like March or Die with Gene Hackman). His oddball humor works very well in the Trinity Westerns, especially playing against the gruff, burly Spencer. Hill (real name Mario Girotti) and Spencer (Carlo Pedersoli) appeared as a team in numerous films, including other Spaghetti Westerns and contemporary action comedies.

There are five...count 'em!

4. The Five Man Army - I'll admit upfront that I'm a sucker for movies where someone assembles a team to accomplish a mission (e.g. The Adventures of Robin Hood, TheMagnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen). So, here we have Peter Graves--who knows something about impossible missions--assembling a team of specialists to rob a moving train. Horror film maestro Dario Argento co-wrote it (he and Bertolucci also worked on Once Upon a Time) and Morricone contributed yet another memorable score. Plus, where else can you find James Daly and Bud Spencer in the same film?

5. Red Sun - OK, it may not technically be a Spaghetti Western, since it was made in Spain with an international cast. Also, I confess there's not much of a plot (a valuable Japanese sword is stolen and everyone goes after it). But Charles Bronson and Tohiro Mifune make a fine odd couple, Alain Delon does his patented good/bad guy, and Ursula Andress...well, she's just there. Still, it's surprisingly entertaining and holds up well.

6. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - Most Spaghetti Western buffs probably list this in the No. 1 or No. 2 spot. I might have, too, until I watched it recently. Certainly, the cast is excellent (especially Eli Wallach) and Morricone's score is his most famous. Many critics highlight how the plot plays out against an elaborate backdrop of the Civil War. Actually, that's the part I don't like; it lengthens the film for me and detracts somewhat from the interplay between the three stars. Still, many of the battle scenes are impressive. And, yes, I know I'll take some heat for placing a classic at No. 6...

Franco Nero as Django. Note the
crosses in the background.

7. Django - The plot recalls A Fistful of Dollars (see #10), with a mysterious stranger coming between two warring factions in a small town--but the similarities end there. Religious images abound, starting with the film's protagonist dragging a coffin through the mud and ending with Django, both hands crushed, trying to balance his pistol on a cross as he awaits a graveyard showdown with a band of bad guys. It's an uneven, violent picture (banned in some countries), but the climax may be surpassed only by Once Upon a Time among Spaghetti Westerns. 

8. My Name is Nobody - Another unlikely Leone teaming: this time between Henry Fonda as a veteran gunslinger and Terrence Hill as an up-and-coming one. (Techincally, Leone did not make this film, but his influence is all over it and some sources claim he directed some scenes). More an essay on celebrity than a Western, it benefits from an offbeat sense of humor.

9. Sabata - Van Cleef made other Spaghetti Westerns (including Death Rides a Horse, which I haven't seen), but this one probably confirmed him as Eastwood's successor as a solo star. It also helped popularize the "trick weaponry" used in other Westerns (e.g., Sabata carries a pistol that fires from the handle).

10. A Fistful of Dollars - Obviously, it's my least favorite of the Leon-Eastwood films, even though it was inspired by Kurosawa's Yojimbo. Still, it's historically significant and the final shootout is a classic.

The 5 Best "Let's Form a Team!" Movies

Call it the Robin Hood Syndrome. But ever since I saw The Adventures of Robin Hood as a wee lad, I've been intrigued by movies where the hero forms a team to go battle the bad guys, steal something valuable, or liquidate a witch. It's important to note that the team can't be formed already at the beginning of the film--the fun is with watching the assorted characters join up one by one. Here are the five best films in this made-up genre:

Robin meets Little John.

1. The Adventures of Robin Hood. It's the one that started it all, so it has to be No. 1. Plus, it boasts one of the finest casts ever assembled and features some of the genre's best meets--the scenes where each individual joins the team. We're treated to the fight on the bridge between Flynn's Robin and Alan Hale's Little John, followed by the swordfight between Robin and Eugene Pallette's Friar Tuck. It doesn't get any better!

Yul and Steve, the first two of the Seven.

2. The Magnificent Seven. With apologies to Mr. Kurosawa, I prefer the supporting characters in this Western remake of The Seven Samurai: James Coburn is the quiet, deadly knife-thrower; Robert Vaughn the gunfighter who has lost his nerve; Charles Bronson the tough guy who loves kids; and Horst Bucholtz the young whippersnapper eager to join the team. Throw in Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, and an awesome Elmer Bernstein theme and you have a film that challenges Robin for the top spot. (For the record, Brad Dexter is the seventh team member...but he's the one no one remembers.)

3. The Andromeda Strain. When a satellite returns to Earth with an unknown (alien?) organism, a team of scientists converge on a biological threat containment lab in Nevada, The Wildfire team consists of: Jeremy Stone (Arthur Hill), the leader; Ruth Levitt (Kate Reid), the cynic; Mark Hall (James Olson), the passionate physician; and Charlie Dutton (David Wayne), the skeptic who wonders if their goal should be destroying Andromeda. You could say that there’s a fifth member of the team and that’s the Wildfire lab itself. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is a virtual tour of the five-level, underground facility as the team goes through decontamination and immunization procedures.

Savalas, Bronson, and Trini Lopez.

4. The Dirty Dozen. Tough-as-nails Army major Lee Marvin recruits 12 convicts--doing hard time or sentenced for hanging--to go on a suicide mission during World War II. Overall, the cast and characters aren't as memorable as the preceding films, but it's an incredibly entertaining picture with an amusing first half and an exciting finish. The members of the Dozen who stand out include Telly Savalas, Clint Walker, Bronson again, and John Cassavetes.

5. The Five Man Army. A Spaghetti Western (co-written by Dario Argento) in which Peter Graves plays a mysterious man called The Dutchman (he's not Dutch, though) who recruits four other guys to rob a train guarded by most of the Mexican Army. The cast is "B" grade, but the characters and performers mesh quite well, including James Daly as The Colonel, Tetsuro Tamba as a samurai, and Bud Spencer in his typical role of gruff brute. The train robbery itself is worthy of a heist from Graves' TV series Mission: Impossible.

Special Honorable Mention: The Wizard of Oz. This classic would rank in the list above if Dorothy had set out to intentionally form a team. Still, she does form a team, the members bond together, and--when one of their own is captured--the remaining teammates execute a rescue mission. As with Robin Hood, the splendid cast embodies the lovable characters perfectly and the "meet scenes" are the most memorable in this genre.

Other Honorable Mentions: The Asphalt Jungle, Kelly's Heroes.

The Five Man Army: A Spaghetti Western Variation of "Mission: Impossible" Courtesy of Dario Argento

The CBS Late Movie was a viewing staple during my high school years; I watched it every Friday night during the school year and every week night during summer vacation. Its diverse menu of films ranged from Hammer horrors (always shown on Friday) to action programmers (like Darby’s Rangers) to obscure Westerns.

Among the latter was The Five Man Army (1969), a low-budget Spaghetti Western made by American journeyman director Don Taylor. Its biggest stars were veteran TV performers Peter Graves (on vacation from Mission: Impossible) and James Daly (Chad Everett’s boss on the TV series Medical Center). In short, there was no reason to harbor any expectations for The Five Man Army…and yet, I thoroughly enjoyed the film. I’ve seen it twice since—including an uncut, letterboxed version on TCM—and it holds up remarkably well.

Parts of its appeal for me is the old “rounding up the gang” theme. As in The Adventures of Robin Hood and The Magnificent Seven, we meet our protagonists one by one as a young thief informs them that “The Dutchman” (Graves) has a job requiring their services. Frankly, anything seems better than their current occupations: The Colonel (Daly) is a low-rent gambler; the Samurai (Tetsuro Tamba) throws knives in a traveling roadshow; and the massive Mesito (Bud Spencer) performs menial chores like feeding chickens.

The Dutchman’s “job” is a daunting one: These five men will rob a Mexican train carrying $500,000 in gold—which is guarded by a troop of soldiers, a machine gun, and a cannon. Except for an unlikely capture and escape sequence, The Five Man Army is basically a heist film masquerading as a Western. It’s this unlikely mixture of genres that makes the film so surprisingly diverting.

The caper, which comprises about a third of the running time, smartly blends tension and humor. A little boy almost gets The Dutchman captured before the heist even begins. An unexpected accident results in one of the five falling off the top of a speeding rail car. The arrival of unexpected visitors threatens to throw off the split-second timing required to pull off the elaborate heist.

The always likable Graves, though probably not the best choice for the main role, is believable as the never-flustered leader. The other four performers acquit themselves nicely, especially Bud Spencer in a role similar to his Bambino in the Trinity films. The memorable music score by the famed Ennio Morricone ranks among his three best (topped by Once Upon a Time in the West and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly). The screenplay, co-written by future horror maestro Dario Argento, wisely keeps dialogue to a minimum.

The Five Man Army will never be mistaken for a genre classic. But it’s smartly-made escapist fare and, like the Western mystery Five Card Stud, deserves kudos for stretching the six-shooter formula. Stripped of its Western trappings, the intricate heist sequence could have been lifted from an episode of Mission: Impossible…which I suppose justifies why Peter Graves was cast as the unlikely action hero.