Spaghetti Westerns

[Robin Ellis]

Does anyone remember the Spaghetti Westerns that were in the boxes of films for ships in the 70's?

Every Shell Tanker I sailed on seemed to have its fair share of them and I became quite a fan of them in the end.

Now, 40 years later I have started to download some from the internet to watch all over again. But....... this is where I need your help.

I can remember that there was one typical Spaghetti Western that had, early on, a priest who was riding on a horse or donkey pulled wagon. When attacked by Indians/Bandits he lowered the canvas sides of the wagon to reveal a church organ. As the hoards galloped closer he played a hymn tune, the organ barrels lowered and became machine guns which slaughtered just about everything in sight.
At this stage there was an interuption in the form of an Engineers' Alarm, so I never got to see the end.

I would like to see this film to it's end and I have searched the IMDB and also various google searches but to no avail.

Is there anyone who can remember this film?

As an aside we were on the Acavus watching another Spaghetti Western when, as some cowboy was kissing a woman, about 10 seconds of hard porn appeared on screen, and then it switched back to the film.
After a shocked silence it was rewound again and again....
We all spent the rest of the film hoping there would be more 'additions', but no.
Did that happen to anyone else?

[Keith at Tregenna]

Do not think it is this one, but may do until the one sought is found.

LINK: The Gatling Gun - YouTube

K.

[happy daze john in oz]

The best ones were the one swith Clint Eastwood, Fistfull of Dollars, Fistfull more, Good Bad and Ugly, Two Mules for Sister Sarah, The Wild Bunch, all good one to watch again.

[Roger Dyer]

John, mate, must agree with your assessment of 'Spaghetti Westerns' as far as Clint Eastwood is concerned. At least, his presence in Italian produced westerns gave them a small degree of believability and respectability. Others, such as Lee Van Cleef and swivel-eyed Jack Elam (a favourite of mine) who were established actors of the western genre back in the U.S. also appeared in spaghetti westerns from time to time and although appreciated by Italian audiences neither had the same impact as the handsome Mr.Eastwood. For Clint who, earlier in his career, had appeared briefly in miniscule film parts ( 'Mr. Roberts' is one that, comes to mind) his weekly appearance on T.V. screens as 'Rowdy Yates' in 'Rawhide' gave him a chance to progress in the industry, but the big-screen exposure he gained from Italian productions, albeit of doubtful quality, gave him the necessary impetus to make the moguls of Hollywood sit up and take notice. As we all know, what followed would establish Clint as a Hollywood legend, both as actor and director/producer.

Johnny, mate, your belief that the movie 'The Wild Bunch' was also a spaghetti western is entirely understandable, for therein was the same gory disregard for human life so beloved by the Italians in their perception of the 'wild west'. However, had Sam Peckinpah (Director) and actors William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmund O'Brien, Warren Oates, Ben Johnson and Strother Martin been made aware of your rather ungenerous categorization, methinks they would have been 'a bit miffed'. In truth I think there were too many heavyweights in that cast to place them in the same class as Bud Spencer and Terence Hill. Sadly, they have all passed on now, which might be just as well for you, mate. After seeing what they did to that Mexican general and his army, I wouldn't want that crazy bunch of gun-slinging b------ds coming after me.

.....................Roger

[gray_marian]

Could it be " Gods Gun " starring Jack Palance & Lee Van Cleef who played the brother of a preacher?

[leratty]

Johnny no way was The Wild Bunch a spaggies western so far above in class & the photography for its time superb the acting from all top notch too. It is without doubt one of the greatest westerns of all times. Strother Martin playing a great role, real to life I suggest of the end of that era. Personally love the scene in the wine cellar, oh those vats oh those ladies & the look on the guys faces was I suggest very similar to our on the Sth American or Caribbean runs (: Of course the end was a classic, bit over the top but that Gatling gun sure did some damage. Sam Peckinpah without doubt a superb director the start of that movie with the children & the scorpion so true to life. What about the temperance mob?

[Robin Ellis]

Thanks for all the replies, glad to see so many others liked/knew about the spaghetti westerns. I thought it was only me as everyone else on board used to groan when they appeared.

Keith, No, its not that one.

John,
Yes I have to agree that those were the best! Have just watched The Good, The Bad and the Ugly! Great stuff.

Roger,
Wow, another afficionado of "Spagetti Westerns".

Gray,
No, Its not God's Gun either. I believe that film was shot in Israel.

I am still searching, all I can provide is the year I watched the first few minutes, which was 1973, so it must have been made before then.

[Keith at Tregenna]

Sartana transforms an organ into a sophisticated machine gun ?

LIGHT THE FUSE... SARTANA IS COMING (1971) aka UNA NUVOLA DI POLVERE... UN GRIDO DI MORTE... ARRIVA SARTANA (A CLOUD OF DUST... A CRY OF DEATH... SARTANA'S COMING) aka GUNMAN IN TOWN

TAKE A LOOK AT THIS LINK: Light the Fuse... Sartana is coming Review - The Spaghetti Western Database

Link also refers to the scène in Django, with Franco Nero digging up his machine gun from his coffin ?

Closest I have found thus far.

K.

[happy daze john in oz]

No I must agree the Wild Bunch was not a spaghetti western, but it had some great blood and guts.
Some of the esrly Clint Eastwood just after the spaghetti time were not a lot better, certainly not as good as Million Dollar baby, or The Cadilac. But some of his other westerns, Two Mules for Sister Sarah, Hang them High, and others were good and still worth a re-run. Dirty Harry was also good.
But whilst we are on about films with food if I recall there was one that featured Baked Beans. Now waas that paint Your Wagon, another good Eastwood, or something else.

[Roger Dyer]

Hi John (Happy Daze),

I think the 'baked beans' movie you refer to may have been the 1974 over-the-top western parody
'Blazing Saddles'. If I tell you it starred Gene Wilder, Mel Brooks (who also co-wrote the screen- play), Madeline Kahn & Slim Pickens etc., it might give you some idea of the zany comedy that was served up. Personally, I thought the film was pure self-indulgence by a congregation of talented comic actors who set out to prove to the world how excruciatingly funny they were and in so doing, raised the bar on Hollywood's attitude towards 'earthy' humour, including comedic reference to the natural bodily functions of man. This was witnessed in a scene where, having fed off a surfeit of baked beans, a group of good ole boys gathered round a camp-fire and commenced to try and out-fart one another. The movie-going public of the day loved it and flocked to see it in their hundreds of thousands. Although the film was not without some genuinely funny moments, as a lover of westerns, I was left wishing they had chosen another movie genre with which to prove a point and thereby enlighten Hollywood.

...........Roger