Angel del Pozo in The Big Gundown (1966)

''The Big Gundown'' ( it, La resa dei conti, lit=The Settling of Scores) is a 1966

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 film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

film directed by

Sergio Sollima Sergio Sollima (17 April 1921 – 1 July 2015) was an Italian film director and Screenwriter, script writer. Biography Sollima graduated from the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in 1935. During World War II he was in the Italian Resistanc ...

, and starring

Lee Van Cleef Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef Jr. (January 9, 1925 – December 16, 1989) was an American actor. He appeared in over 170 film and television roles in a career spanning nearly 40 years, but is best known as a star of Italian Spaghetti Westerns, partic ...

and

Tomas Milian Tomas Milian (born Tomás Quintín Rodríguez-Varona Milián Salinas de la Fé y Álvarez de la Campa; 3 March 1933 – 22 March 2017) was a Cuban-born actor and singer with American and Italian citizenship, known for the emotional intensity and ...

Plot

Possessing a reputation for bringing criminals to justice, ready-to-retire bounty hunter Jonathan Corbett (

) is summoned to a party by a

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

railroad tycoon by the name of Brockston ( Walter Barnes), whose daughter is getting married. Brockston plants the seed that Corbett should consider a run for the Senate, but not before doing one last bounty hunt. Brockston offers Corbett his political backing in exchange for tracking down a 12-year-old girl's accused rapist and murderer, who goes by the name of Cuchillo (

), a Mexican who is fleeing back to his native land. Cuchillo means "knife" in Spanish, which is the rascal’s weapon of choice. Corbett expects it to be easy, even offering to do it as a wedding gift. Corbett sets out in pursuit of Cuchillo, who is not as dumb as he acts, and who is rather crafty at vexing Corbett at every turn. Corbett pursues Cuchillo into Mexico, where he is arrested when a fight starts in a brothel. Brockston pulls strings to free Corbett from jail and intercepts him, hiring a gang of mercenaries to find Cuchillo. Corbett learns that Cuchillo is innocent and in fact the witness that Brockston's alcoholic son-in-law, Chet Miller (

Ángel del Pozo Ángel del Pozo (born 14 July 1934) is a Spanish actor. He appeared in more than seventy films since 1960. He retired in 1980, and from 1990 to 2008 he worked as a executive producer and public relations on Gestevisión Group, from Mediaset Espa ...

), was the rapist. Corbett misleads the mercenaries to confront Cuchillo with Chet himself. In the final showdown, Corbett provides a knife to Cuchillo to kill Chet, then killing Brockston himself. The two ride together from the scene before parting ways.

Cast

as Jonathan "Colorado" Corbett *

as Manuel "Cuchillo" Sanchez * Walter Barnes as Brokston *

Nieves Navarro Nieves Navarro García (born November 11, 1938) is a retired Spanish-born Italian actress and fashion model. Navarro worked extensively in Italian cinema appearing alongside actors such as Totò and Lino Banfi in the 1960s and 1970s. She later ad ...

as the Widow *

Gérard Herter Gérard Herter, also known as Gerhard Haerter, Gerard Haerther, Gerald Herter, Gerard Herter, and Gerhard Herter (born 12 April 1920 in Stuttgart, died 6 February 2007 in Munich) was a German actor of the 1950s and 1960s who played many villains ...

as Baron von Schulenberg (as Gerard Herter) * María Granada as Rosita Sanchez *

Robert Camardiel Roberto Camardiel Escudero (29 November 1917, in Alagón, Zaragoza – 15 June 1989, in Zaragoza) was a Spanish theatre director and actor. He appeared in ''Culpables'' and ''Bajo el cielo andaluz'' (1960), both directed by Arturo Ruiz-Castill ...

as Sheriff Jellicol (as Robert Camardiel) *

as Chet Miller (as Angel del Pozo) *

Luisa Rivelli Luisa Rivelli (10 February 1931 – 12 June 2013) was an Italian film actress. She appeared in 50 films between 1951 and 1994. Rivelli died in Guidonia Montecelio on 12 June 2013, at the age of 82. Selected filmography * '' La figlia del diavo ...

as Willow Creek Prostitute *

Tom Felleghy Tom Felleghy (born Tamás Fellegi; 26 November 1921) is a Hungarian-born Italian actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films since 1958. Filmography References External links * 1921 births Possibly living people Hungarian ma ...

as Father of Chet Miller (as Tom Felleghi) * Calistro Calisti as Mr. Lynch *

Benito Stefanelli Benito Stefanelli (2 September 1928 – 18 December 1999) was an Italian film actor, stuntman and weapons master who made over 60 appearances in film between 1955 and 1991. Biography and career Stefanelli is best known in world cinema for his ...

as Jess, Widow's Ranchero *

Nello Pazzafini Nello Pazzafini (15 May 1933 – 9 January 1996) was an Italian actor who appeared in a very large number of Peplum movies, Spaghetti Westerns and Poliziotteschi. He was an ex-bodyguard and often played a "tough guy" character. Partial filmog ...

as Hondo, Ex-Union Outlaw *

Antonio Casas Antonio Casas (11 November 1911 – 14 February 1982) was a Spanish footballer turned film actor who appeared in film between 1941 and his death in 1982. Casas originally began as a footballer for Atlético Madrid, but entered film in 1941 and ...

as Brother Smith & Wesson * José Torres as Paco Molinas *

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 Widow's Ranch Hand (as Molino Rojo) * Spartaco Conversi as Prison Guard Mitchell *

Romano Puppo Romano Puppo (25 March 1933 – 11 May 1994) was an Italian stuntman and actor. Life and career Born in Rome, Puppo debuted in 1961 in the Mauro Bolognini's drama '' Careless'', and after a number of very minor roles he soon became a regular ...

as Rocky, Widow's Ranch Hand *

Fernando Sancho Fernando Sancho Les (7 January 1916 – 31 July 1990) was a Spanish actor. Biography He was born in Zaragoza, in Aragon, Spain on 7 January 1916 and died at Hospital Militar Gómez Ulla in Madrid on 31 July 1990 from a liver failure during o ...

as Captain Segura

Production

''The Big Gundown'' was shot in

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city gr ...

in late 1966.

Release

''The Big Gundown'' was released in Italy in March 1967 with a running time of 105 minutes. On its release in Spain, the climactic cane-field chase was shortened. In the United States and United Kingdom, the film was 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 ...

in 1968. Most English-dubbed prints have a runtime of 89 minutes; the cuts therein serve primarily to tighten the film's pacing and remove sequences that do not directly serve the film's plot, although Corbett's character is made to appear to more quickly resort to violence compared to his level-headed characterization in the Italian version. Another English version of the film, which runs for 85 minutes, removes all references to the rape and murder which drives the story. The film was a moderate success during its US theatrical run, grossing $2 million. In December 2013,

Grindhouse Releasing Grindhouse Releasing is a Hollywood-based independent cult film distribution company led by film editor Bob Murawski and co-founded by Sage Stallone. Grindhouse digitally remasters, restores, and produces bonus materials and video documentaries f ...

, in association with original rights holder Columbia/

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

, re-released the film with two different cuts, the original 110-minute Italian version, and a 95-minute "expanded US cut", which includes three scenes (which also appear in the Italian version) that were prepared for showing on television despite not being present in the original theatrical prints.

Critical reception

In a contemporary review, 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 a ...

'' stated that "at least this makes for a variation on the familiar solitary superman theme, and the two protagonists are given time to create characters with some personality", noting that "the violence is on the whole less gratuitously excessive than usual; and though the plot tends to ramble, there are several impressively staged sequences to keep interest alive-in particular a manhunt with the wily Mexican pursued through cane fields by dogs and an army of trackers". In a retrospective review,

Stuart Galbraith IV Stuart Eugene Galbraith IV (born December 29, 1965) is an American film historian, film critic, essayist, and audio commentator. Early life and education Raised in Livonia, Michigan, Galbraith first worked professionally as a film reviewer and ...

remarked that the film was "unusually fine" noting its "taut, intelligent screenplay" and "Lee Van Cleef's marvelous screen presence" and "especially the outstanding musical score by the great

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classica ...

.“ Daryl Loomis of DVD Verdict commented: “The story, written by

Sergio Donati Sergio Donati (born 13 April 1933) is an Italian screenwriter. He has written for more than 70 films since 1952. He was born in Rome, Italy. He started as a writer and had some of his books optioned for film. He is well known for his collaborati ...

(''

Duck, You Sucker ''Duck, You Sucker!'' ( it, Giù la testa, lit. "Duck Your Head", "Get Down"), also known as ''A Fistful of Dynamite'' and ''Once Upon a Time ... the Revolution'', is a 1971 epic Zapata Western film directed and co-written by Sergio Leone and ...

''), is strong, with a darker framing story than one often sees, and a lot of wit and humor throughout... Great performances and some amazing music, combined with strong direction, gorgeous locations, and top-notch camera work (by Carlo Carlini, ''

Death Rides a Horse ''Death Rides a Horse'' ( it, Da uomo a uomo, lit=As man to man) is a 1967 Italian Spaghetti Western directed by Giulio Petroni, written by Luciano Vincenzoni and starring Lee Van Cleef and John Phillip Law. Plot Bill (John Phillip Law), a boy ...

'')... is among the best work of any of the participants' careers... There's no question that, had more people seen ''The Big Gundown'', it would be clearly recognized at the pinnacle of the genre. Luckily,

has graced us with one of the best Blu-ray packages I've seen in a long time... With the extras, the commentaries, and especially the soundtrack CD, this is my pick for Blu-ray release of the year.”

References

Footnotes

Sources

* * *

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Big Gundown, The 1966 films 1960s buddy films Spaghetti Western films Mormonism in fiction Films directed by Sergio Sollima 1966 Western (genre) films Films scored by Ennio Morricone Films with screenplays by Sergio Donati Films produced by Alberto Grimaldi Italian buddy films Films shot in Almería Films with screenplays by Tulio Demicheli 1960s Italian films