In a Colt’s Shadow [All’ombra di una colt] (1965)
AKA Pistoleros
Starring Stephen Forsyth, Conrado San Martín, Anna Maria Polani, Helga Liné, Eugenio Galadini (as Graham Sooty), Franco Ressel (as Frank Ressell), Aldo Sambrell, José Calvo (as Pepe Calvo), Javier de Rivera, Andrea Scotti (as Andrew Scott), Rafael Albaicín
Directed by Giovanni Grimaldi
Expectations: Moderate. I’ve never heard anything one way or the other on this one.
On the general scale:
On the B-Movie scale:
In a Colt’s Shadow isn’t your average Spaghetti Western. Not like Cemetery Without Crosses‘ thoughtful difference though, instead this one has a romantic through-line that drives the entire film and it takes as much influence from American westerns as it does from the work of Sergio Leone. This makes for an interesting film and one that is definitely entertaining for genre fans, but one that falls short of both cinematic ideals by choosing to go the hybrid route. The film opens with a stylized, painted credits sequence that is stunningly rendered and sets the stage for a colorful, unique western. Over the images is one of the strangest (and therefore lovable) western themes I’ve ever heard. While the soundtrack pumps out emotive, jangly guitar and whistling that evokes the musical styles of Ennio Morricone, the vocalist speaks his lines instead of sings them. Lines such as:
I wanna feel between my fingers
the warm wood of a plow
the prickly ears of grain
the silky soft hair of my woman
But I can’t…
‘Cuz I gotta kill.