''A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die'' () is a 1968 Italian

Spaghetti Western The spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's filmmaking style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

. It is the fourth and last western directed by

Franco Giraldi Franco Giraldi (11 July 1931 – 2 December 2020) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Life and career Born in Komen from an Italian father and a Slovene mother, Giraldi spent his childhood and adolescence between the Carso, Triest ...

. 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 Film producer, producer. He was one of the main exponents of the Spaghetti Western genre during the 1960s and 1970s, with his most notable work ...

and the cast was to include also

Raffaella Carrà Raffaella Maria Roberta Pelloni (18 June 1943 – 5 July 2021), known professionally as Raffaella Carrà () and sometimes mononymously as Raffaella, was an Italian singer, dancer, actress, television presenter and model. She is often widely cons ...

and

Renzo Palmer Renzo Palmer (20 December 1930 – 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 stag ...

. 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. He was best known for his portrayal of Michael Coldsmith Briggs III, better known as Archangel, in 55 episodes of the American telev ...

as Clay McCord *

Arthur Kennedy John Arthur Kennedy (February 17, 1914January 5, 1990) was an American stage and film actor known for his versatility in supporting film roles and his ability to create "an exceptional honesty and naturalness on stage", especially in the origi ...

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 as Laurinda * Mario Brega 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 D ...

as Dr. Chase * Giampiero Albertini as Fred Duskin * Renato Romano as 'Cheap' Charlie * Franco Lantieri as Deputy Marshal Butler *

John Bartha János Bartha (6 February 1915 – 7 March 1991), better known as John Bartha, was a Hungarian 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 Sher ...

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 as Bounty Hunter *

Aldo Sambrell Alfredo Sánchez Brell (23 February 1931 – 10 July 2010), known as Aldo Sambrell, was a Spanish actor, director, and producer who appeared in over 150 films between 1961 and 1996. Biography Sambrell was born in Vallecas on 23 February 1931. ...

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. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

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., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

, 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 was a sub-label of CBS/Fox Video operating from 1984 to 1989. The company was responsible for release of some older, kids and family aimed Fox films, in addition to other things CBS/Fox Video had the rights to at the time. The com ...

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 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' 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

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Minute to Pray, a Second to Die 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