This is a well-mounted 1969 Euro Western that, while it doesn't offer any surprises, comes off as an above-average action-adventure heist flick. Peter Graves plays a character only referred to as "The Dutchman", a soldier of fortune who brings together four other associates for the purpose of robbing a Mexican army train during that country's revolution. The other four are the big, burly Mesito (Bud Spencer), a dynamite expert (James Daly), a Japanese samurai (Tetsuro Tanba) and a young hothead (Nino Castelnuovo).
The amount of money on the train happens to be half of a million dollars--which, as expected, creates some friction within the group, since the sum is supposed to go to Mexican rebels. Almost the entire second half of this film is taken up with the train robbery, which is staged and edited rather effectively (helped by the fact that it's the main actors themselves clambering about the locomotive and its cars.)
THE FIVE MAN ARMY appears to have been designed to reach more of a general audience than the usual Spaghetti Western. It lacks any outlandish or ridiculous set-pieces, and it reminds one of numerous more famous films, such as THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, THE DIRTY DOZEN, and THE WILD BUNCH. The characterizations are paper thin--none of the five main actors get a chance to stand out, and the Dutchman only reveals his past as part of a climatic plot twist. There's no main overall villain, just a bunch of faceless Mexican Federales, and there's not even one major female character. There's plenty of shootings & killings, but the overall violence is generic in scope (the movie originally had a PG rating in America.)
Nevertheless, if you're looking for an action story that doesn't have any annoying or intrusive flourishes, this one's for you. Don Taylor (Mr. Hazel Court) is credited on-screen as director, but various sources say he didn't finish the film, or barely started on it; those sources also mention that producer Italo Zingarelli or even co-screenwriter Dario Argento directed most of it. I certainly don't know what happened, but THE FIVE MAN ARMY doesn't feel like a troubled production--the train robbery sequence has a fair amount of suspense, and the entire effort has a solid look to it. (Producer Zingarelli and cinematographer Enzo Barboni would go on to make the original TRINITY films.)
THE FIVE MAN ARMY might rank a higher place in Euro Western history if it had a more suitable leading man. Peter Graves gives a competent performance, but he seems too clean-cut and out of place--it's as if he arrived at the set of the wrong movie. It must be noted that Bud Spencer is not dubbed in this, and he's actually speaking English. Tetsuro Tanba played the head of the Japanese Secret Service in the 007 outing YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE.
One big element of THE FIVE MAN ARMY is the music score by none other than Ennio Morricone. It contains one of the Maestro's best main themes, and the score is probably better known than the movie itself. THE FIVE MAN ARMY isn't as good as the many films it takes after, but it's an easy near two hours of entertainment.