''Those Dirty Dogs'' ( it, Campa carogna... la taglia cresce, es, Los cuatro de Fort Apache, also known as ''Charge!'') is a 1973 Italian-Spanish

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 written and directed by Giuseppe Rosati and starring

Gianni Garko Gianni Garko (born Giovanni Garcovich; 15 July 1935), often billed as John Garko and occasionally Gary Hudson, is an Italian actor who found fame as a leading man in 1960s Spaghetti Westerns. He is perhaps best known for his lead role as Sartana ...

and

Stephen Boyd Stephen Boyd (born William Millar; 4 July 1931 – 2 June 1977) was a Northern Irish actor. He appeared in some 60 films, most notably as the villainous Messala in '' Ben-Hur'' (1959), a role that earned him the Golden Globe Award for Bes ...

. The film was made in the later part of the

boom. As such it features such latter-day genre elements as self-parody, guffaw humour, near-

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such a ...

fight scenes (with accompanying sound effects), machine guns hidden in everyday household items, and bombastic villains.

Plot

In Arizona, a nasty but capable bandit, Angel Sanchez, working for a mad Mexican boss who likes being called "El Supremo", leads the boss's ragtag bandit army in stealing several hundred army rifles, along with ammunition, from a U.S. army wagon-train. They kill all the army soldiers and abduct the daughter of a prominent local doctor. Three American soldiers, Captain Chadwell, Lieutenant Junger and Sergeant Smith, are sent by Washington to recover the weaponry, or failing that to destroy them so they cannot be used against the army. They get help from a blond adventurer, Koran, a bounty hunter who carries a pink umbrella and quotes extensively from the Moslem holy book (or so he claims it to be), whose primary interest is in capturing and turning in Angel Sanchez for the $1,000 price on his head.

Notes

The film was scored by Italian soundtrack composer

Nico Fidenco Nico Fidenco (artistic name Domenico Colarossi; 24 January 1933 – 19 November 2022) was an Italian singer and film soundtrack composer who gained considerable popularity in 1960 with the release of the song "What a Sky" (Italian: "''Su nel cie ...

. He and co-star Stephen Boyd co-wrote the song “The Wind in My Face”, which runs during the film's opening credits. Boyd also sang the song.

Cast

as Korano *

as Cpt. Chadwood Willer * Howard Ross as Lt. Younger *

Simón Andreu Simón Andreu Trobat (born 1 January 1941) is a Spanish actor. He has appeared in more than 180 films and television shows since 1961. In 2013 he was awarded with the Nosferatu Award at the Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalu ...

as Angelo Sanchez * Harry Baird as Corp. Washington Smith *

Teresa Gimpera Teresa Gimpera Flaquer (born 21 September 1936) is a Spanish film and television actress and former model of the 60s and 70s. Biography Teresa Gimpera Flaquer was born in Igualada, province of Barcelona, on 21 September 1936. Her parents were ...

as Miss Adams *

Alfredo Mayo Alfredo Fernández Martínez (17 May 1911 in Barcelona – 19 May 1985 in Palma de Mallorca) better known as Alfredo Mayo was a Spanish actor. Biography After studying medicine, in 1929 Mayo made his debut in the theatre with the company of ...

as General Mueller, El Supremo *

Helga Liné Helga Liné (; born Helga Lina Stern on 14 July 1932) is a German-born Portuguese-Spanish-American film actress and circus acrobat best known for her work in the horror genre of film. She made 132 appearances mostly in film between 1941 and ...

as Maria * Mirella Dogan as Manola *

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 Doctor *

Gabriella Giorgelli Gabriella Giorgelli (born 29 July 1941) is an Italian film and television actress. She appeared in more than 70 films between 1960 and 1998. Biography Early life Born in Fossola, a frazione of Carrara, Giorgelli was the daughter of a busines ...

as Mexican Woman * Andrea Scotti as Mexican Man *

Daniele Vargas Daniele Vargas, stage name of Daniele Pitani (20 April 1922 – 7 January 1981) was an Italian film actor. Life and career Born in Imola, a small town in the district of Bologna, after attending high school with Pier Paolo Pasolini, Daniel ...

as Major * Lee Burton as Corporal *

Furio Meniconi Furio Meniconi (22 February 1924 – 12 December 1981) was an Italian film and television actor. Life and career Meniconi was born in Rome into a family active in the cinema industry in the technical cast, or engaged in the general organizatio ...

as Boarding House Owner *

Nazzareno Zamperla Nazzareno Zamperla (25 April 1937 – 19 March 2020) was an Italian actor and stuntman. Career Born in Treviso into a circus family, Zamperla came to Rome in 1949 and worked primarily in the 1950s and 1960s as a stunt performer. His focus was on ...

as Soldier (uncredited)

References

External links

* 1970s Italian-language films English-language Italian films English-language Spanish films 1970s English-language films Spaghetti Western films 1973 Western (genre) films 1973 films Films directed by Giuseppe Rosati Films shot in Almería Films scored by Nico Fidenco 1973 multilingual films Italian multilingual films Spanish multilingual films 1970s Italian films {{1970s-Italy-film-stub