This is one hell of a good Western. So the dubbing not great and it might have sounded better and its initial Italian but who gives a damn. The actions freaking fun and the poster actually shows events which will happen in the film. A man does use a sewing machine as a Gatling gun. It's the most wonderful thing that's ever been seen in cinema.
Whoever did the English voice acting tried a little bit. They convey the emotions they're supposed to and it still comes off with all the same comedic effect.
So just putting it out there definitely worth watching. Don't read my stupid review go watch the film. I don't know if it's legally owned by anybody or if it's in the public domain but it can be found on YouTube in pretty decent quality.
Alright so the story goes like this. There's a group of revolutionary Mexicans who are trying to fight against the Imperial forces of Emperor Maximilian*. They only require two things, weapons and finance. This one random Bandit by the name of Hallelujah has been told that a convoy heading to the US border is carrying a chest of Imperial jewels. The jewels in question belong to the emperor and if they fell into the hands of the Revolutionary Mexicans could be used to buy weapon from this weird American guy who somehow got his hands on a whole whack of Gatling guns.
Now the Caravan ends up in this Franciscan looking Monastery where they're supposed to be greeted by some monks with a friendly meal and a prayer. But it turns out all the monks are actually Bandits and they kill the Royal Convoy and strip The Carriage of all its Essentials in search of the jewels.
Hallelujah uses this as an excuse to break into the monastery and steal the jewels for himself. From this point on Hallelujah travel from place to place with the jewels encountering all kinds of colourful characters. Such as the mercenary revolutionaries, The Franciscan Bandits, the American Merchant with the guns and this one woman who's posing as a nun.
That's until we meet perhaps the second best character in this whole film.
He has a Balalaika with a cannon inside of it. How can you not love that. He too is searching for the jewels and decides to make a few on if not intriguing deals with Hallelujah.
The two men have a blatant disregard for the world around them. It doesn't matter if bullets are flying, knives are being thrown or just a group of savages or trying to attack them. They all talk to one another as if they were sitting at a table playing a nice game of Baccarat.
The focal point of the entire film is the jewels themselves. As it seems everybody wants said Jewels, but here's the fun part every time they stumble upon the jewels they discover that they're fakes. Some people even start to debate if there were any Jewel to begin with.
It's only at the end of the film that we discovered the devious plot twist to all of this.
Despite being an early seventies Western with a provocative poster the whole sexual angle is surprisingly Play Down.
At an hour and 30 minutes it's definitely not overstaying its welcome. Pacing is constant and the story evolves just enough to keep you entertained without ever overwhelming you. As I had stated at the top of this, it's worth the watch. You need to go watch it right now regardless of what you're doing.
Also the secondary characters along with the main antagonist really aren't the point of the film. Most of them get very little screen time and even when they do there just kind of there. The whole film is just a giant set piece for one action event after another.
*Emperor Maximilian was the brother to the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria. He was given the title of Emperor of Mexico because of his family ties and because the Mexican Government at this point was trying to reclaim it monarchy status. He wasn't Emperor for very long only consisting of a few years in the 1860s.
But it's this small window of time that makes for one of the most fascinating moments in Mexican history. You have an old and corrupt government trying to reinvigorate itself by any means necessary.
A new Mexican government that recognized self as a republic ruled by a President, constant revolutionary forces all buying for power in this large Mexican state.
The United States (the Union) was embroiled in a Civil War and thus un-able to enforce the 'Monroe Doctrine' that under any other circumstance would have stopped ''Maximilian I'' from becoming the Emperor of Mexico.
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