''Sonny and Jed'' (, lit. "The Band of J. & S. - Criminal Chronicle of the Far West"), also known as'' Bandera Bandits'', is a 1972 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 ...

film about a sheriff's (Sheriff Franciscus, played by

Telly Savalas Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (; January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was a Greek-American actor. Noted for his bald head and deep, resonant voice, he is perhaps best known for portraying Lt. Theo Kojak on the crime drama series '' Kojak'' (1973� ...

) relentless effort to stop a robber (Jed, played by

Tomas Milian 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 with American and Italian citizenship, known for the emotional intensity and humor he brought to starring ...

) and his girlfriend (Sonny, played by Susan George). The film was 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 is noted for its music, scored by

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone ( , ; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, Orchestration, orchestrator, conductor, trumpeter, and pianist who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 film score, scores for cinema and televisi ...

Plot

Jed Trigado is a solitary bandit who steals from the rich to give to the poor, in the Mexican region of Bandera.

Cast

: Jed Trigado * Susan George: Sonny Trigado, née Lester *

: Sheriff Franciscus * Rosanna Yanni : Linda Moreno (as Rossana Yanni) *

Laura Betti Laura Betti ( Trombetti; May 1 1934 – 31 July 2004) was an Italian actress known particularly for her work with directors Federico Fellini, Pier Paolo Pasolini, and Bernardo Bertolucci. She had a long friendship with Pasolini and made a docume ...

: Betty *

Franco Giacobini Franco Giacobini (5 March 1926 – 27 December 2015) was an Italian actor. Born in Rome as Francesco Giacobini, he graduated at Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico in 1948, then started a prolific stage career, working in come ...

: Aparacito *

Eduardo Fajardo Eduardo Martínez Fajardo (14 August 1924 – 4 July 2019) was a Spanish film actor. He appeared in 183 films, 75 plays and made 2,000 television appearances between 1947 and 2002. Biography He was born in Meis, Pontevedra on 14 August 19 ...

: Don Garcia Moreno *

Herbert Fux Herbert Fux (25 March 1927 – 13 March 2007) was an Austrian film actor and politician. He appeared in more than 140 films between 1960 and 2007. Life Fux was born in Hallein, at the age of five he moved with his family to the city of Salzburg ...

: Merril * Gene Collins : Hotel Owner (as Gene Collings) * Werner Pochath : Pistolero (as Wernet Pochat) *

Álvaro de Luna Álvaro de Luna y Fernández de Jarava (between 1388 and 13902 June 1453), was a Castilian statesman, favourite of John II of Castile. He served as Constable of Castile and as Grand Master of the Order of Santiago. He earned great influence in ...

: Sheriff (as Alvaro De Luna)

Reception

The Spaghetthi Western Movie Database recalls that "The film was almost unanimously labelled as a failure upon its initial release" and considers that the film is "not an easy film. As a comedy it's often too crude to be funny, and as a western it's a bit short on action. There are moments of intense, violent action, but they're few and far between." However the same review praises "Morricone's unobtrusive, wistful score (that) serves the movie quite well" and depicts some visual aspects of the film as of " Fellinesque beauty".

References

External links

* {{Sergio Corbucci 1972 films Films directed by Sergio Corbucci Spaghetti Western films Films scored by Ennio Morricone 1972 Western (genre) films West German films 1970s Italian-language films English-language German films English-language Italian films English-language Spanish films 1970s English-language films Films shot in Almería 1972 multilingual films Italian multilingual films Spanish multilingual films German multilingual films 1970s Italian films English-language Western (genre) films Italian-language Western (genre) films