Gunfighters of Casa Grande

Last updated

Gunfighters of Casa Grande
Gunfighterscasa.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Roy Rowland
Written byStory:
Borden Chase
Patricia Chase
Screenplay:
Borden Chase
Patricia Chase
Clark Reynolds
Produced by Sam Abarbanel
Lester Welch
Starring Alex Nicol
Jorge Mistral
Dick Bentley
Steve Rowland
Phil Posner
Mercedes Alonso
Diana Lorys
Maria Granada
Roberto Rey
Aldo Sambrell
Cinematography Jose Aguayo
Manuel Marino Metrocolor, CinemaScope
Edited by George A. Lee
Music by Johnny Douglas
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release dates
  • April 1, 1964 (1964-04-01)(U.S.)
  • May 1, 1964 (1964-05-01)(West Germany)
  • January 18, 1965 (1965-01-18)(Sweden)
  • April 15, 1965 (1965-04-15)(Denmark)
  • September 30, 1965 (1965-09-30)(UK)
Running time
92 minutes
CountriesUnited States
Spain
LanguageEnglish
Box office19,939,562 ₧ (ESP)

Gunfighters of Casa Grande (Spanish : Los pistoleros de Casa Grande) is a 1964 Eurowestern film, co-produced by American and Spanish producers. Based on a story by Borden and Patricia Chase, it was later developed into a screenplay with the assistance of screenwriter Clark Reynolds and directed by Roy Rowland, the last film he made for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Contents

The film starred Alex Nicol, Jorge Mistral, Dick Bentley, Steve Rowland (son of the director), Phil Posner, Mercedes Alonso, Diana Lorys, Maria Granada, Roberto Rey and Aldo Sambrell. Antonio Mayans and José Manuel Martín both had minor appearances in the film, Martin having an uncredited role. [5]

The film's trailer was originally narrated by voice actor Don LaFontaine in his first credited role. He had been working as recording engineer and copy writer when, after the original announcer failed to appear for the scheduled recording, LaFontaine agreed to record the trailer. [6] [7] [8] [9]

Plot

Joe Daylight is on the run along with members of his outlaw gang, The Kid, Doc and Henri. After fleeing from a bank robbery, they manage to elude the posse chasing them after crossing into Mexico. The gang had agreed to meet up later to divide up the money, however Daylight instead tells them that he has used the money to buy a hacienda, the Casa Grande. Although several of them protest, the gang agrees to follow Daylight to the ranch. He also enlists a mystical Mexican gunfighter called ”Viajero” (Traveller) – who knows the neighbourhood and comes from a haciendero family (though few know this) – to help him fit into the role of a Mexican hacienda owner, a hidalgo.

In effect, Daylight has won the hacienda in a poker game and his plan is to keep the gang together and use the ranch as a cover to rustle cattle from his neighbors and sell them at inflated prices across the border. However, his comrades soon adapt to life on the ranch. The Traveller and The Kid meet two women named Dona Maria de Castellar and Pacesita, with whom they eventually fall in love.

Daylight's plans are temporarily threatened by another bandit gang led by Rojo, who begins stealing cattle from numerous ranches in the area including his own. Organizing the local ranchers against the bandits, they succeed in destroying Rojo and his men. This has an unintended consequence however as Daylight's men have decided to remain at Casa Grande. He and his men begin to argue and, during the course of events, shoots and kills Doc causing The Traveller to kill Daylight in turn. With their former leader dead, the men stay on the ranch and The Traveller and Maria begin a new life on the Casa Grande. [10]

Cast

Reception

Gunfight at Casa Grande was released in Spain during early 1964 and premiered in the United States on April 1, 1964; it was later released in Europe between May 1964 and September 1965. Moderately successful, the film earned 19,939,562 ₧ (US: $189,608) during its initial run in Spain. As of September 1, 1965, the film was still running in American theaters and appeared in the New York-area as a double feature along with She . [11]

The film was aired on television in the United States during the late 1960s until the mid-1970s and again during the early-to-mid-1990s. The film was released on DVD during the early 2000s, although this was on a limited scale and consequently remains one of the more obscure and hard-to-find westerns.

In his investigation of narrative structures in Spaghetti Western films, Fridlund writes that Gunfighters of Casa Grande basically conforms to the "Classical Plot" in Will Wright's analysis of US Westerns, and Traveller is a "Classical" hero who comes from the outside, saves society (first from Rojo and then from Daylight) and then stays inside. [12] However, the cunning manipulator and unpredictable psychopath Daylight shows a close affinity to many main characters in the wave of Spaghetti Western films about to emerge on the screens. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spaghetti Western</span> Film genre

The spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most of these Westerns were produced and directed by Italians.

<i>Dollars Trilogy</i> 1964–1966 Western films directed by Sergio Leone

The Dollars Trilogy, also known as the Man with No Name Trilogy, is an Italian film series consisting of three Spaghetti Western films directed by Sergio Leone. The films are titled A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). Their English versions were distributed by United Artists, while the Italian ones were distributed by Unidis and PEA.

<i>A Bullet for the General</i> 1966 Italian film directed by Damiano Damiani

A Bullet for the General, also known as El Chucho Quién Sabe?, is a 1966 Italian Zapata Western film directed by Damiano Damiani and starring Gian Maria Volonté, Lou Castel, Klaus Kinski and Martine Beswick. The film, a Zapata Western, tells the story of El Chuncho, a bandit, and Bill Tate, a counter-revolutionary contract killer in Mexico. Chuncho soon learns that social revolution is more important than mere money.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aldo Sambrell</span> Spanish actor (1931–2010)

Alfredo Sánchez Brell, known as Aldo Sambrell, was a Spanish actor, director, and producer who appeared in over 150 films between 1961 and 1996.

<i>Branded</i> (1950 film) 1950 film by Rudolph Maté

Branded is a 1950 American Technicolor Western film starring Alan Ladd, Mona Freeman, Charles Bickford, and Robert Keith. It was adapted from the novel Montana Rides by Max Brand under pen name Evan Evans. A gunfighter on the run from the law is talked into posing as the long-lost son of a wealthy rancher.

<i>Savage Guns</i> (1961 film) 1961 film

The Savage Guns is a 1961 Eurowestern film, an international co-production by British and Spanish producers. Based on a specially commissioned screenplay, The San Siado Killings, written by Peter R. Newman and directed by Michael Carreras, the film is credited as the first traditional Spaghetti Western.

<i>A Pistol for Ringo</i> 1965 film

A Pistol for Ringo is a 1965 Spaghetti Western, a joint Italian and Spanish production. Originally written and directed by Duccio Tessari, the film's success led to a follow-up, The Return of Ringo, later that year, which, in spite of sharing the same name for the titular character, is not a sequel to this film and deals with an entirely new character and storyline.

<i>In a Colts Shadow</i> 1965 film

In a Colt's Shadow is a 1965 Italian Spaghetti Western film directed and written by Giovanni Grimaldi.

<i>Requiem for a Gringo</i> 1968 film by Eugenio Martín, José Luis Merino

Requiem for a Gringo is a 1968 Italian-Spanish Spaghetti Western film directed by Eugenio Martín and José Luis Merino and starring Lang Jeffries, Fernando Sancho and Femi Benussi. It is most known for the gore and psychedelic elements. It is the only western film of the Eurospy and peplum film genre star Lang Jeffries. The film is partially based on Masaki Kobayashi's film Harakiri.

<i>Silver Saddle</i> 1978 film directed by Lucio Fulci

Silver Saddle is a 1978 spaghetti Western. It is the third and final western directed by Lucio Fulci and one of the last spaghetti Westerns to be produced by a European studio. The film was based on an original story written by screenwriter Adriano Bolzoni and directed by Fulci for the Italian studio Rizzoli Film Productions.

<i>Five Thousand Dollars on One Ace</i> 1965 film

Five Thousand Dollars on One Ace is a 1964 Spanish Spaghetti Western film directed by Alfonso Balcázar, scored by Angelo Francesco Lavagnino and Don Powell, and starring Robert Woods, Fernando Sancho and Helmut Schmid.

<i>Arizona Gunfighter</i> 1937 film by Sam Newfield

Arizona Gunfighter is a 1937 American western film directed by Sam Newfield and starring Bob Steele, Jean Carmen and Ted Adams. It was produced and distributed by Republic Pictures.

<i>A Bullet for Sandoval</i> 1969 film by Julio Buchs

A Bullet for Sandoval is a 1969 Spaghetti Western film. It is a co-production between Italy and Spain. The film was generally well received by critics. For years, it was thought that famed Italian horror film director Lucio Fulci directed this western, but that was later disputed by the film's lead star George Hilton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José Manuel Martín</span>

José Manuel Martín Pérez was a Spanish film and television actor, radio broadcaster, and screenwriter. He was a popular character actor in Spanish cinema during the 1950s and 60s, best remembered for playing villainous henchmen, appearing in more than 100 film and television productions.

<i>The Texican</i> 1966 film produced and written by John C. Champion and directed by Lesley Selander

The Texican is a 1966 American Techniscope Western film produced and written by John C. Champion and directed by Lesley Selander. It is a paella western remake of their 1948 film Panhandle adapted for the persona of Audie Murphy that featured Broderick Crawford as the heavy. The film was re-titled Ringo il Texano in Italy to coincide with the popularity of the Ringo Spaghetti Western film series.

<i>Son of a Gunfighter</i> 1965 film by Paul Landres

Son of a Gunfighter is a 1965 Spanish-American Western film directed by Paul Landres. It was the last MGM film to be shot in CinemaScope.

<i>Il tempo degli avvoltoi</i> 1967 film

Il tempo degli avvoltoi is a 1967 Italian Spaghetti Western film directed by Nando Cicero.

<i>Per il gusto di uccidere</i> 1966 film

Per il gusto di uccidere is the 1966 Italian Spaghetti Western film debut directed by Tonino Valerii. It is also the first film to use the camera system known as 2P. It was filmed in Almería. It is produced by Francesco Genesi, Vincenzo Genesi, Daniele Senatore, Stefano Melpignano and Jose Lopez Moreno, scored by Nico Massi and edited by Rosa G. Salgado.

<i>Romance of the Rio Grande</i> (1941 film) 1941 film by Herbert I. Leeds

Romance of the Rio Grande is a 1941 American Western film directed by Herbert I. Leeds and written by Harold Buchman and Samuel G. Engel. The film stars Cesar Romero, Patricia Morison, Lynne Roberts, Ricardo Cortez, Chris-Pin Martin and Aldrich Bowker. The film was released on January 17, 1941, by 20th Century-Fox.

<i>The Hell of Manitoba</i> 1965 film

The Hell of Manitoba is a 1965 West-German-Spanish-Italian western film directed by Sheldon Reynolds and starring Lex Barker, Pierre Brice and Gérard Tichy. In the United States it was released under the alternative title of A Place Called Glory.

References

  1. Writers Guild of America. Who wrote the movie and what else did he write?: An index of screenwriters and their film works, 1936-1939. Los Angeles: The Academy, 1970. (pg. 280)
  2. Garfield, Brian. Western Films: A Complete Guide. New York: Rawson Associates, 1982. (pg. 183) ISBN   0-89256-218-8
  3. Halliwell, Leslie. The Filmgoer's Companion. New York: Avon, 1977. (pg. 139) ISBN   0-380-50419-7
  4. Quinlan, David. The Illustrated Guide to Film Directors. Totowa, New Jersey: Barnes & Noble Books, 1983. (pg. 280) ISBN   0-389-20408-0
  5. Matuszak, David F. The Cowboy's Trail Guide to Westerns. Redlands, California: Pacific Sunset Publishing, 2003. (pg. 242) ISBN   0-9633582-5-1
  6. Barker, Joan. Secrets of Voice-over Success: Top Voice-over Artists Reveal How They Did It. Boulder, Colorado: Sentient Publications, 2005. (pg. 18) ISBN   1-59181-033-7
  7. Arrillaga, Pauline (March 31, 2007). "Hey, there's "That Announcer Guy From the Movies"". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011.
  8. Farley, Aaron (2008). "Don LaFontaine". Swindle Magazine.
  9. Wood, Sandy; Kara Kovalchik (May 4, 2004). "In a world beyond imagination... lurks a voice known to millions, but a face known to far fewer". Mental Floss. Archived from the original on April 26, 2008.
  10. Crowther, Bosley (2009). "Movies: Gunfighters of Casa Grande (1965)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Archived from the original on July 15, 2009.
  11. Reid, John Howard. CinemaScope 3: Hollywood Takes the Plunge. Lulu, 2006. (pg. 219) ISBN   1-4116-7188-0
  12. Will Wright, Sixguns & Society. A Structural Study of the Western. University of California Press, 1975.
  13. Fridlund, Bert: The Spaghetti Western. A Thematic Analysis. Jefferson, NC and London: McFarland & Company Inc., 2006 pp. 66-8.