''Speedy Gonzales – noin 7 veljeksen poika'' () (1970) is a Finnish

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

directed by Ere Kokkonen, and written by Kokkonen with Spede Pasanen and Vesa-Matti Loiri. The title refers to Pasanen's 1968 film '' Noin seitsemän veljestä'', though the movie does not otherwise link to it in any way. Neither has it anything to do with the cartoon character

Speedy Gonzales Speedy Gonzales is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. He is portrayed as "The Fastest Mouse in all Mexico" with his major traits being the ability to run extremely fast ...

. The basic premise of the movie is to poke fun at the conventions and clichés of

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 ...

s, which is accomplished by the juxtaposition of serious elements with the parody that Pasanen was famous for. The resulting film is considered both a tribute and a mockery of westerns as a whole.Film review at Leffatykki.com
/ref> The film was a success, which led to the creation of a sequel, '' Hirttämättömät'', released the following year.

Synopsis

The outlaw Speedy Gonzales rides into town in New York to investigate the death of his brother, Mooses. Despite being met by resistance from the locals, he is determined to solve the crime. Meanwhile, two of the world's worst gunslingers are matching their skills and the desperate desperado Clyde is trying to rob a bank with abysmal success...

Cast

*Spede Pasanen as Speedy Gonzales and Mooses Gonzales * Tarja Markus as Rita * Pertti Melasniemi as Clyde * Esko Salminen as Manolito * Ville-Veikko Salminen as Bat Masterson * Simo Salminen as Hämeen hitain ("the slowest gun in

Häme Tavastia (; ; ; also called ''Yam'' (Ямь) or ''Yem'' (Емь) in Russian sources) is a historical province in the south of Finland. It borders Finland Proper, Satakunta, Ostrobothnia, Savonia and Uusimaa. History The province has been ...

") *

Olavi Ahonen Kauko Olavi Ahonen (21 July 1923 in Tikkakoski – 1 September 2000 in Helsinki, Finland) was a Finns, Finnish film actor. Ahonen first appeared in film in 1954 and made many appearances in Finnish film between then and 1997. He also appeare ...

as the bartender

Production

The film's Western town sets were re-purposed from the Finnish TV skit-show Kivikasvot (from the segment ''Päivä Lännessä'', "A Day in the West"). It was the sixth Spede feature to be directed by Ere Kokkonen. Vesa-Matti Loiri intended to play the part of Clyde but broke his leg in an accident and was replaced by Melasniemi just prior to filming. He appeared in the film's sequel '' Hirttämättömät'' a year later, which he wrote and directed along with Pasanen. Jukka Virtanen, who has a minor role in the film as the town drunkard, also wrote the lyrics for the two songs in the film: ''Haaskalinnut saalistaa'', performed by Spede, and ''Hämeen Hitain'', performed by Salminen and released as a stand-alone single but not heard in the actual movie.

References

External links

* 1970 films Spede Pasanen 1970s Western (genre) comedy films Finnish comedy films 1970 comedy films Finnish black-and-white films 1970s Finnish films {{Finland-film-stub