Overlooked Movies: A Pistol for Ringo (1965)

I had a hunch that this was the first Spaghetti Western I ever saw, and when I watched it again recently, I was sure of that because I remember some of it vividly and know that I watched it the first time at my sister's house in 1969 or '70, years that I spent a lot of time there.

But that bit of nostalgia aside, A PISTOL FOR RINGO is a pretty darned good movie. It was made when the Italians were just starting to make Westerns and is a little closer to American Westerns in its look and attitude. Giuliano Gemma (billed as "Montgomery Wood") is a gunfighter named Ringo who is recruited to infiltrate a gang of bank robbers when the outlaws take over a hacienda and hold the owner and his beautiful daughter hostage. It's a fairly simple plot, but there are a few twists and turns and double-crosses in the script by director Duccio Tessari, and after a while it's a little difficult to figure out whose side Ringo is really on.

The action scenes are consistently good, the scenery is spectacular, and the music is Ennio Morricone, so you know it's top-notch. Gemma is a handsome, athletic, likable hero, and Nieves Navarro, playing a female outlaw named Dolores, is just gorgeous. All the bad guys are suitably despicable.

You might not think so, but A PISTOL FOR RINGO is actually a Christmas movie, as the characters mention frequently. Some of the Christmas decorations at the hacienda actually play a significant role in one of the action scenes. It's not IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE or MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET, by any means, but if you want some offbeat Christmas viewing, you could do worse. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and I'm glad to have seen A PISTOL FOR RINGO again after 50 years.

Sons of Ringo: The Great Spaghetti Western Heroes - Fred Blosser

I’m not sure which Spaghetti Western was the first one I ever watched, but I think it may have been A PISTOL FOR RINGO, which came out in 1964 and starred “Montgomery Wood”, actually Italian actor Guiliano Gemma. I remember watching it on TV at my sister’s house in 1969 or ’70. But whether that was the first one or not, I’ve seen plenty of ’em since then and nearly always enjoyed them. Sure, they’re not at all realistic, but neither are the American B-Westerns that I love so dearly. The Spaghetti Westerns have different but interesting sensibilities and traditions.

You won’t find a better examination of the genre than Fred Blosser’s new book SONS OF RINGO: THE GREAT SPAGHETTI WESTERN HEROES. Blosser knows these movies very well and probably has seen more of them than anyone else I know, and he writes about them extremely well, discussing the actors, writers, and directors who made them and tracing the evolution of the genre over the years of its popularity. What you get is a very readable volume that’s both informative and entertaining. This book makes me realize there are still a lot of Spaghetti Westerns out there that I haven’t seen yet and really makes me want to watch them. I suspect I’ll be doing so soon. In the meantime, if you’re a fan of these movies, you can’t go wrong with SONS OF RINGO. I give it a high recommendation.