''A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die'' ( it, Un minuto per pregare, un istante per morire) is a 1968 Italian Spaghetti Western. It is the fourth and last western directed by

Franco Giraldi Franco Giraldi (11 July 1931 – 2 December 2020) was an Italian director and screenwriter. Life and career Born in Komen, Giraldi spent his childhood and adolescence between the Carso, Trieste and Gorizia. During the Second World War, still ...

. It was originally intended as being directed by

Sergio Corbucci Sergio Corbucci (; 6 December 1926 – 1 December 1990) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed both very violent Spaghetti Westerns and bloodless Bud Spencer and Terence Hill action comedies. He is the older bro ...

and the cast was to include also

Raffaella Carrà Raffaella Maria Roberta Pelloni (18 June 1943 – 5 July 2021), better known as Raffaella Carrà (), was an Italian singer, dancer, television presenter, actress and model. She was well known in Europe and Latin America as a result of her man ...

and

Renzo Palmer Renzo Palmer (20 December 1929 – 4 June 1988) was an Italian film, television and stage actor. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1957 and 1988. Life and career Born in Milan as Lorenzo Bigatti, Palmer was the adopted son of the ...

. The American version of the film was heavily cut, with a runtime 16 minutes shorter than the original version and featuring a different ending.

Plot

Clay McCord is a wanted criminal. He frequently suffers with fits which hinder him to defend himself. His condition seems to deteriorate continuously. Seeking shelter he enters the lawless town Escondido although it is currently under siege by a high-ranked law enforcement officer. There he gets to know the young Laurinda and finds a doctor who discovers the reason for his fits. Unlike he feared he's not epileptic and can be cured for good. Yet he's still an outlaw and that is in the end his downfall.

Cast

Alex Cord Alexander Viespi Jr. (May 3, 1933 – August 9, 2021), known professionally as Alex Cord, was an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Michael Coldsmith Briggs III, better known as Archangel, in 55 episodes of the television series '' ...

as Clay McCord * Arthur Kennedy as Tuscosa Marshal Roy W. Colby *

Robert Ryan Robert Bushnell Ryan (November 11, 1909 – July 11, 1973) was an American actor and activist. Known for his portrayals of hardened cops and ruthless villains, Ryan performed for over three decades. He was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...

as New Mexico Gov. Lem Carter *

Nicoletta Machiavelli Nicoletta Machiavelli (1 August 1944 – 15 November 2015) was an Italian film actress, also known as Nicoletta Rangoni Machiavelli and Nicoletta Macchiavelli. Life and career The daughter of a Florentine father and of an American mother, Mach ...

as Laurinda *

Mario Brega is a character (arts), character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in ...

as Krant *

Enzo Fiermonte Enzo Fiermonte (17 July 1908 – 22 March 1993), sometimes credited as William Bird, was an Italian actor and boxer. Early life Vincenzo "Enzo" Fiermonte was born on 17 July 1908 in Casamassima, a rural village near Bari, in southern Italy to Do ...

as Dr. Chase *

Giampiero Albertini Giampiero Albertini (20 December 1927 – 14 May 1991) was an Italian film, television and voice actor. Biography Born in Muggiò, Albertini started his career as stage actor at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan, under the guidance of Giorgio Strehle ...

as Fred Duskin * Renato Romano as 'Cheap' Charlie * Franco Lantieri as Deputy Marshal Butler *

John Bartha János Bartha (6 February 1915 – 1991), better known as John Bartha, was a Hungarian film actor who appeared primarily in Spaghetti Westerns in the 1960s and 1970s. He is probably most recognizable in western cinema for his role as the Sheriff ...

as Cittadino * José Canalejas as Seminole - Bounty Hunter * Daniel Martín as Father Santana *

Antonio Molino Rojo Antonio Molino Rojo (14 September 1926 – 2 November 2011) was a Spanish film actor who appeared primarily in Spaghetti Westerns in the 1960s and 1970s. Biography He made nearly 90 appearances in film between 1955 and 1988 but is probably mos ...

as Sein *

Lorenzo Robledo Lorenzo Robledo (3 July 1918 – September 2006) was a Spanish film actor, who made over 85 appearances in film between 1956 and 1982. He is a familiar face in Italian westerns, having appeared in a total of 32 Spaghetti Western films throughou ...

as Bounty Hunter * Aldo Sambrell as Jesús María * Antonio Vico as Jonas

Release

''A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die'' was released in 1968. According to

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

records, the movie made a loss of $165,000. The film has also been released as ''Dead or Alive'', ''Outlaw Gun'', and ''Escondido''. The film's title was ''A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die'' on its distribution in Canada and the United States, while foreign prints, released by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

, extended the film's runtime and featured a different ending. The film was released on VHS and Betamax in 1988; it is the only release on the

Playhouse Video Playhouse Video (formerly known as CBS/Fox Children’s Video) was a sub-label of CBS/Fox Video operating from 1983 to 1989. The company was responsible for release of some older, low-quality Fox films, in addition to family films, animated fil ...

label to be rated R by the MPAA.

Reception

In a contemporary review, "Murf." of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' stated that like other Italian Westerns, "brutality is laid on with a trowel, but herein with at least a modicum of taste and plot motivation." A review in the ''

Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with ...

'' noted that "there are moments in this rather rambling Western which suggest that, given a more coherent script, Franco Giraldi might at least emerge as a front runner in the Italian imitation stakes" noting an "imaginatively directed gun battle set in a church" in the beginning of the film.

References

Footnotes

Sources

External links

* 1968 films 1960s Italian-language films English-language Italian films Spaghetti Western films ABC Motion Pictures films Films directed by Franco Giraldi Films scored by Carlo Rustichelli 1968 Western (genre) films Films shot in Almería 1960s Italian films {{1960s-Western-film-stub