Lone and Angry Man (1965)

People are voting emotionally.

Absolutely the worst movie.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Mysterious stranger Shenandoah has only one thing on his mind, revenge. He infiltrates a band of murderous bandits in the hope to finding the man who killed his wife during a stagecoach holdup. However his cover is soon blown after a failed raid on a ranch, causing the bandits to realise they have a traitor in their midst...Like many early Spaghettis, this one has a Hollywood feel. Anthony Steffen is the "lone and angry man" of the title who faces off against a gang of vicious cutthroats, one of whom is played by a superbly fanatical Eduardo Fajardo. It's a while before the plot actually materialises and for the most part everything is pretty workmanlike. The sun baked Spanish locations make for a fine atmosphere and the soundtrack is decent, the title song is catchy too. The action sequences are routine, but enjoyable nonetheless with a tense final showdown in a deserted street.An above average time passer. 6/10

Una bara per lo sceriffo (AKA: A Coffin for the Sheriff/Lone and Angry Man/Tomb for the Sheriff) is directed by Mario Caiano and written by David Moreno and Guido Malatesta. It stars Anthony Steffen, Eduardo Fajardo, Fulvia Franco, George Rigaud and Armando Calvo. Music is by Francesco De Masi and cinematography by Julio Ortas.In the grand scheme of things as regards Pasta Westerns, Mario Caiano's Oater is strictly routine. The plot is the basic lone gunman out for revenge theme, where in the weathered scuzzy frontage of Anthony Steffen, it involves the infiltration into a gang of scum-bags to get said revenge. It's atypical of the genre around this time, it's a picture more concerned with raising the pulse rather than making any sort of thematic statements. There's no great style to praise, the dubbing is poor, the fight choreography weak, while all the foxy women on show are given short shrift big time. However, the action is never far away, thus ensuring the pic is never ever dull. Steffen makes for a cool dude under pressure, the actor would make a telling contribution to the genre with director Caiano, and he's given a number of scenes to hone his gruff rough and tough persona. The villains, fronted by an excitable Lupe Rojo (Calvo) and a maniacal Murdoch (Fajardo) are great fun. There's a great score from De Masi to help things along, and a super title song warbled by Peter Tevis lands in the ears and stays there. Hell! There's even a comedy old geezer doing his best Moore Marriott impression to keep us perky.It's clichéd, it doesn't utilise the locales or the Widescreen format and it is scared to deviate away from the Spag Western film making 101 play book. Yet sometimes for genre fans this sort of fare is enough for a good time to be had, and so it proves. 6.5/10

If you have seen your share of spaghetti westerns as I have, odds are that you will find a lot of what's in "Lone and Angry Man" to be extremely familiar. There is the evil gang lead by a cackling Mexican with facial hair, there's the mysterious stranger who has a secret (and ultimately easy to figure out) reason for joining up with the gang, there is a scene with the hero being beat up by the gang and finding the strength and smarts to defeat the gang... must I go on? This is not only a very familiar story, but it's also executed with little flair to make it stand out from other spaghetti westerns using these familiar story elements. And there's also far too much talk and not enough action. What action there is on display is okay, the musical score is nice (including a cool opening credits song), and I wouldn't call this movie BAD. But it's so familiar that it hardly seems worth the effort, even if you are a spaghetti western lover like myself.

Ravioli/Chorizo Western with a prolific Italian director and two main actors from Spaghetti . It deals with an avenger named Joe Logan aka Shenandoah (Anthony Steffen) who arrives in Richmond town , a location dominated by a corrupt sheriff (Miguel Del Castillo) and a lawyer (Arturo Dominici) . In that place there is a dangerous band led by Lupe Rojo (Armando Calvo) and his hoodlums (Frank Braña , Miguel De Riva) , they carry out bank's hold-up and attack stagecoach and ranch . Lupe Rojo is wanted : ¨5000 dollars , Dead or Alive¨ . Then Joe intrudes himself in the criminal bunch posing as an outlaw . Offbeat ravioli/tortilla Western follows the Sergio Leone wake , as it is proceeded in Spaghetti models . It's an exciting western with breathtaking gunfight between the protagonist Anthony Steffen against the heartless Armando Calvo and his nasty hoodlums , in addition a stirring ending fight in the saloon and town square . This movie is a lot of fun to watch. It's an entertaining story with a touch of peculiarity , some great characters, and an amazing music score . The picture is a tale of justice and revenge , as a tough man seeks vendetta and his objective results to be a bloody revenge . The basic plot is typical spaghetti western fare , but what makes this movie stand out is its style . Steffen is appropriate in his usual character , he ravages the screen , shoots , hit and run and kills . The picture is well starred by Anthony Steffen . His acting is often accused of being wooden, but in many manners is ideally suited to playing the steely-faced gunslinger synonymous with the genre . His others successes include features as Seven Dollars to Kill, The last Mohican¨, ¨Train for Durango¨, ¨Gentleman Jo¨ , ¨Four dollars for Django¨, ¨Shango¨, ¨Arizona colt¨, ¨Apocalypse Joe¨ and several others . Steffen's performance in the movie is a bit wooden for the role of such an interesting character , but the fantastic performance by the always great Eduardo Fajardo as the slimy, menacing outlaw make up for , here in his ordinary role as bandit and in a cruelly baddie character , he is terrific, and bears a hysterical and mocking aspect , subsequently he would play similar characters . There appears as secondaries the habitual in Spanish/Italian Western such as Frank Braña , Luis Barboo , George Rigaud , Tomas Torres , Santiago Rivero, Miguel De La Riva , among others .The film packs violence , shootouts , high body-count , full of horse ridding , pursuits and shots and it's fast moving and quite entertaining . There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing some shoot'em up or stunts every few minutes . There is a very odd implementation of shots in the camera work during some particular scenes as the film approaches its climax , such as in the final gunfights . The movie gets the usual Western issues , as avengers antiheroes , violent facing off , exaggerated baddies and spectacular duels , among them . The sense of pacing is such interesting that his film can be counted on to move quickly and smoothly . Good production design creating an excellent scenario with luminous outdoors , dirty and rocky landscapes under a glimmer sun and fine sets by expert set designers Cubero and Galicia who designed several Westerns as Spanish as international ones . The musician Francesco De Massi composes a nice soundtrack and well conducted , this turns out to be one of the most memorable parts of the movie; as it's full of enjoyable sounds and haunting musical background . The opening and ending sounds are two of my favorites, and are of those unforgettable tunes that will play in your mind over and over long after the movie is realized . The soundtrack contributes tremendously to the atmosphere of the film, including an emotive leitmotif, the music score is perhaps the best part of this film . Striking cinematography by Julio Ortas , though is necessary a correct remastering . Outdoor sequences with barren and rocky exteriors filmed in Spanish places located on outskirts Madrid , Hoyo De Manzanares and La Pedriza , replacing Almeria . Colmenar Viejo and Hoyo de Manzanares where was built a Western village by the producer Eduardo Manzanos called 'Golden City' and resulted to be the locations in which were shot lots of Western produced and directed by Spanish and Italian and occasionally American people , because Almeria was too far and the landscapes bear remarkable resemblance .Mario Caiano's direction is well crafted, here he's less cynical and humorous and more inclined toward violence and packs too much action , but especially this thrilling Western contains long shot'em up and violence . He directed this acceptable western , genre in which he would not only excel but one where he would spent much of the rest of his career , as he directed several Spaghetti : ¨Brandy¨, ¨Avenger of California¨ , ¨Ringo, face of revenge¨ , ¨Bullets don't argue¨, ¨Lone and angry man¨, ¨A train to Durango¨. Caiano is a craftsman who has directed all kind of genres as Peplum as ¨Ulisse vs Ercole¨, ¨I due Gladiatori¨, ¨Maciste Gadiatori di Sparta¨ and Terror : ¨Nightmare castle¨, ¨ Eye in the labyrinth¨ and even Pornonazi as ¨Nazi love camp 27¨. Although Caiano couldn't be deemed an "A"-list director, his movies had a professionalism and a verve that many of those made by his fellow B directors lacked . Muddle and uneven Western but will appeal to Spaghetti aficionados . Rating : 5,5 , riotous Western in which there's too much violence , action and enough excitement