IN A COLT'S SHADOW

 

This is a 1965 Euro Western, an early example of the genre that isn't as flamboyant as later, more famous entries. I viewed a fantastic-looking uncut widescreen version of this on YouTube. 

Riding to his latest job, gun-for-hire Steve Blaine (Stephen Forsyth) proclaims that he wants to put away his gun, settle down, and become a farmer. As soon as he says this, you just know circumstances won't allow this to happen. Steve and his older partner Duke (Cornado San Martin) are tasked with defending a Mexican village from bandits. In the confrontation with the villains Duke is shot and seriously wounded, and he has to stay behind and recuperate. Steve is in love with Duke's daughter Susan (Anna Marie Polani), and he plans to use his earnings to marry the girl and buy a farm. Duke doesn't believe that Steve can quit his gun slinging ways, and warns him that if he marries Susan, he will hunt him down and kill him. Steve goes off and meets up with Susan anyway, and they travel to a town called Providence. The town is run by powerful bankers Jackson (Franco Ressel) and Burns (Franco Lantieri), and Steve immediately gets into trouble with them. Instead of leaving, Steve is determined to buy a local farm and live how he wants to with Susan, despite the efforts of Jackson & Burns to chase him away and the fact that Duke will confront him eventually. 

IN A COLT'S SHADOW is more laid back than the typical Spaghetti Western. There isn't all that much action, and the characters are not particularly outrageous or outlandish. The climatic gunfight does feature some very nasty looking falls from rooftops (the stuntmen had their work cut out for them in this sequence). Director and co-writer Giovanni Grimaldi makes nice use of the Spanish landscapes, but considering all the things that Steve is up against, the overall tone isn't very dramatic. 

Stephen Forsyth's Steve has a very clean-cut look to him for being a rugged pistolero. Forsyth actually has more of a bad guy presence than that of a leading man-hero type--he was well cast as a murderous psycho in Mario Bava's HATCHET FOR THE HONEYMOON. One wonders why Steve doesn't just leave Providence, avoid all the trouble, and take Susan somewhere else (mainly because there would be no story if he did). One also wonders why Duke is so dead set against his trusted partner marrying his daughter (Duke has plenty of opportunities to eliminate Steve in the beginning if he really was afraid he'd marry Susan). 

The supporting cast is made up of a number of actors who would become familiar faces in the Euro Western cycle. Franco Ressel would go on to play plenty of bad guys in movies like SABATA. Providence's surprisingly honest sheriff is portrayed by Jose Calvo, who was Clint Eastwood's only friend in A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS. Genre legend Aldo Sambrell makes a very brief appearance as a bandit, but he's only onscreen for less than a minute before he bites the dust. 

The sultry Euro Cult fave Helga Line makes a big impression as a saloon hostess who happens to be Duke's love interest. She also desires Steve, and her jealousy over his relationship with Susan leads her to betray the couple. Line is so striking in the role that poor Anna Marie Polani as the innocent Susan gets overwhelmed in comparison. 

Mention needs to be made of Nico Fidenco's relentless music score, because it tries to out-Morricone Morricone. The gun and horse sound effects are the same as used in A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, and the main square of Providence is also the same used for San Miguel in Sergio Leone's breakthrough feature. 

IN A COLT'S SHADOW isn't a great Euro Western, but it's a decent enough film with some notable cast members.