Gunfight at Red Sands (1963)

Good concept, poorly executed.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

GUNFIGHT AT RED SANDS is a good-natured spaghetti western, made just one year before Sergio Leone's A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS helped to define the genre as we know it today. As such, GUNFIGHT is more in line with the kind of Hollywood westerns that were produced in the 1950s, such as HIGH NOON: it's neither as gritty nor as dark and violent as many of the spaghetti westerns made in the late '60s. Nevertheless, I'd recommend it as a film definitely worth a watch, because it has much going for it – not least another effective leading man performance from peplum actor Richard Harrison. Harrison, who made his name in equal numbers of westerns and historical adventures, is as tough and ready as he ever was on screen. He's no Eastwood, but he does a good job.My biggest complaint with this movie is the score by Ennio Morricone. This guy is one of my favourite composers, thanks to his iconic work on Leone's DOLLARS trilogy, but his music here sounds twee and dated, as if it came from some '30s melodrama than a '60s western. It seems he's constrained here by the producers, and the lack of experimentation hurts the movie a lot. Still, it's not all bad. The screenplay by future trash director Albert Band breathes life into old genre staples – i.e. the adopted son, the corrupt lawman, the criminal gang, the fiery love interests – and the action is well-handled, with plenty of nicely-choreographed brawls, shoot-outs, and gun battles. The chief villain role goes to Giacomo Rossi-Stuart and he fits it like a glove; I never did like this actor when I saw him playing the 'good guy', much preferring him as a slimy creep. Mikaela and Sara Lezana play opposing love interests, the former fiery while the latter sweet, although astonishingly I read somewhere that Lezana was born in 1948, which made her only 15 when she appeared in this film, kissing and frolicking with Harrison – surely an error?

Gunfight At Red Sands is an excellent early spaghetti western. It is probably the best pre-1964 eurowestern I have seen.I wouldn't be surprised if this spaghetti was the one that started it all, as far as the style goes. The other early examples of the genre I have seen seem to be lacking in the defining characteristics that make these films so great, but this movie has all of the stylistic elements in place. The ultra-bleak depiction of life in the west, a couple of oddball off-kilter characters, a great music score (by the master, Morricone, no less), some great suspense-building camera work, a dramatic showdown, and lots of rousing action really make this one stand out.The acting in the film is very good, and definitely above-average for a eurowestern. Richard Harrison is great in the role of "Gringo." Giacomo Rossi-Stuart also does an excellent job in the role of Sheriff Corbett. All of the other players are great as well. The character "Lisa," played by Sara Lezana, is one of the strongest female characters I have seen in a western. She's every bit as tough, and can shoot as well as any other character in the story, and she has a very prominent role in the most important action scenes of the film.The story is a very engaging one, and it moves along at a really good pace. There are no slow parts or fillers in this movie. There is also a strong element of mystery, as Gringo has to do a fair amount of detective work to figure out who murdered his father.All in all, this is a great movie that no spaghetti western fan should overlook.

An avenging stranger (Richard Harrison) seeks vengeance against killers who have murdered his father . He guns down a gang of ruthless outlaws in revenge for the murder of his family . He returns a little town called Carterville where rules steadily a sheriff (Giacomo Rossi Stuart) and a Saloon owner (Barta Barri) . At the saloon the starring meets his old flame (Mikaela) .This Chorizo Western packs violence , shootouts , high body-count 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 . It contains bits of campy and refreshing events with turns and twists . It's an exciting western with breathtaking showdown between the starring Richard Harrison and his enemies . Outdoor sequences shot on outskirts of Madrid , La Pedriza , Colmenar Viejo , and Hoyo De Manzanares . The producer Jose Maesso ordered to build a Western village called ¨Golden City¨ where were shot a lot of Western . Being built by Cubero and Jose Luis Galicia in charge of production sets and subsequently designed numerous Westerns . One year later , most technicians , secondary actors (Aldo Sambrell , Daniel Martin), Production ( Jolly , Constantin Film) , cameraman (Maximo Dallamano) , musician (Ennio Morricone or Dan Savio) would work in the notorious ¨For a fistful of dollars¨ that created Spaghetti. Even the main role was offered to Richard Harrison , but he turned down and explaining : Maybe my greatest contribution to cinema was not doing Fistful of Dollars, and recommending Clint Eastwood for the part.The picture is well starred by Richard Harrison , he is top notch as the brave hero who finds many dangerous situations while attempting to avenge his family and protect his true love played by Sara Lezana . Strong and robust Richard Harrison was a magnificent muscle-man . He was one along with Ed Fury, Brad Harris, Kirk Morris, Reg Park, Mark Forest, among others, whom to seek fortune acting absurdly muscle mythological figures, but anybody topped Steve Reeves and Gordon Scott in popularity. Harrison played in Hollywood some minor roles as ¨Kronos ¨ and ¨South Pacific¨ , while shooting another inferior character in ¨Master of world (1961)¨ produced by American International , he met producer James H. Nicholson's daughter and married her within six months. Frustrated at not being able to secure meatier roles in America , Harrison jumped at the chance when offered the first character in 1961 ,¨The Invincible Gladiator¨ , which was filming in Europe along with his greatest success ¨The seven Spartans¨. He wound up settling in Italy for the next two decades. His lead role, of course, immediately typed him as another Herculean type and, to avoid being penned in too much as a muscle man, he sought characters in routine spaghetti westerns as ¨Texas the red , Gringo, Reverendo Colt, Joe Dakota ¨ , Wartime genre as ¨Leopards of Churchill and 36 hours in hell¨ and spy intrigue as ¨Master stroke and 077 challenge to the killer's¨ . Once Italy closed down film production after the muscular craze had died down, he, like others, found himself unemployed. He did manage to scrape up work in Hong Kong, but a large portion of them were bottom-of-the-barrel Ninja movies.Screenplay with interesting premise about a gunfighter seeking justice was written by Albert Band and the same director Ricardo Blasco. The producer Jose G . Maesso with his Cia. ¨Tecisa¨ produced several Western as ¨The ugly ones , Minnesota Clay , Django , A train to Durango , Hellbenders¨ and financed various pre-Leone Western as ¨Tierra Brutal¨ and along with those Western directed by Joaquin Romero Marchent as ¨Three Implacables¨ , ¨The shadow of Zorro¨ created the birth of European Western , before Leone-boom .

This is a film for people with interest in the Western genre, mostly those who respect the European sub-genre, in the 1990's mostly connected to Italy, Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood but nowadays also related to director-names such as Sergio Corbucci and Sergio Sollima.Filmed before Sergio Leone's success of the dollar-films, Duello nel Texas has several motives in common with Leone's films. The film is said to be set in the same surroundings, the film has the same composer (Morricone of course) and the film's story is set near the border between USA and Mexico. I watched it as a small kid, with enthusiasm over the action packed plot and some colorful characters. 20 years later, I got the opportunity to see it again. No widescreen, bad colors, bad sound and a very scratchy picture. At least it was the film that I had been waiting for.Duello nel Texas doesn't start very promising but it grows. The Morricone-music is the best of it. The main antagonists holds the film together, and everything results in a conventional but great gunfight (that kind of direction looks so European/Italian-Western). You can find rather independent woman in the film, some anti-racism and a typical fist-fight (set in a bar). The plot is not as sophisticated as the ones in Leone's films, but it works good on it's own.Duello nel Texas is a must see for the "die-hard European Western- fan".Rating: 6 of 10.