Ballad of a Gunman

Last updated
Ballad of a Gunman
Pistoleros.jpg
Original Italian Poster
Directed by Alfio Caltabiano
Written by Ernst R. von Theumer  [ de ]
Produced byErnst R. von Theumer
Starring Antony Ghidra
Angelo Infanti
Cinematography Guglielmo Mancori
Edited byAlberto Gallitti
Music by Marcello Giombini
Release date
  • 1967 (1967)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryItaly
LanguageItalian

Ballad of a Gunman, also known as Pistoleros and Ringo, Pray to Your God and Die (Italian : Ballata per un pistolero) is a 1967 Italian Spaghetti Western directed by Alfio Caltabiano and starring Antony Ghidra. [1]

Contents

Plot

The criminal brothers El Bedoja and Chiuchi have each their own gang. Together they rob a stagecoach. After they've just got rid of all witnesses by killing the passengers, they are already about to plan the next coup together. This time they want to do the bank of Mallintown. Its safe is considered unbreakable but it does open automatically shortly at certain times. The two gang leaders use the stagecoach as a kind of Trojan Horse to get gang members unrecognised into the town and moreover to have a big chest put into the strongroom. When the time has come for the safe to open, Chiuchi attacks the town as a diversionary tactic and lures the guards away. Then El Bedoja carries out the actual strike with his own gang, taking the now scarcely protected bank by surprise. Here he unites with the other gang members who have arrived with the stagecoach already.

El Bedoja and his men get away with a great deal of booty and bring a wounded accomplice to a farm where they coerce a woman into removing a bullet. Meanwhile, a travelling gunman named Hud, who happened to see the massacre in Mallintown, has followed them. He puts down all of El Bedoja's men but El Bedoja himself eludes. On hot pursuit Hud teams up with bounty hunter Rocco. They discover that the criminal siblings hide in an old mine and hire an old miner to close the entrance with dynamite. Yet El Bedoja and Chiuchi are on their guard. Hud wants to keep El Bedoja alive because he needs him as a witness to correct a miscarriage of justice. The bounty hunter on the other hand just wants to get the bounty and for that El Bedoja is worth dead just the same.

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 filmmaking 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>The Good, the Bad and the Ugly</i> 1966 film directed by Sergio Leone

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood as "the Good", Lee Van Cleef as "the Bad", and Eli Wallach as "the Ugly". Its screenplay was written by Age & Scarpelli, Luciano Vincenzoni, and Leone, based on a story by Vincenzoni and Leone. Director of photography Tonino Delli Colli was responsible for the film's sweeping widescreen cinematography, and Ennio Morricone composed the film's score, including its main theme. It was an Italian-led production with co-producers in Spain, West Germany, and the United States. Most of the filming took place in Spain.

<i>For a Few Dollars More</i> 1965 film directed by Sergio Leone

For a Few Dollars More is a 1965 Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone. It stars Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef as bounty hunters and Gian Maria Volonté as the primary villain. German actor Klaus Kinski plays a supporting role as a secondary villain. The film was an international co-production between Italy, West Germany, and Spain. The film was released in the United States in 1967, and is the second instillment of what is commonly known as the Dollars Trilogy.

<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>The Grand Duel</i> 1972 film by Giancarlo Santi

The Grand Duel, also known as Storm Rider and The Big Showdown, is a 1972 Italian-language spaghetti Western film directed by Giancarlo Santi, who had previously worked as Sergio Leone's assistant director on The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West. The film stars Lee Van Cleef as a sheriff who seeks justice for a man accused of murder.

<i>The Big Gundown</i> 1967 film by Sergio Sollima

The Big Gundown is a 1967 spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Sollima, and starring Lee Van Cleef and Tomas Milian.

<i>Crocodile Hunter</i> (film) 1989 Hong Kong film directed by Wong Jing

Crocodile Hunter (專釣大鱷) is a 1989 Hong Kong action comedy film written and directed by Wong Jing, and starring Andy Lau as an ace police officer who teams up with his less than competent subordinate to capture a group of wanted thieves with bounties on their heads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lorenzo Robledo</span> Spanish film actor (1918–2006)

Lorenzo Robledo was a Spanish film actor, who made over 85 appearances in film between 1956 and 1982. He is a familiar face in Italian westerns, having appeared in a total of 32 Spaghetti Western films throughout the 1960s and early 1970s.

<i>If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death</i> 1968 film

If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death is a 1968 Spaghetti Western film directed by Gianfranco Parolini. The film stars Gianni Garko, William Berger, Fernando Sancho and Klaus Kinski, and features a musical score by Piero Piccioni.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Braña</span> Spanish actor (1934–2012)

Frank Braña was a Spanish character actor.

<i>The Stranger and the Gunfighter</i> 1974 film by Antonio Margheriti

Là dove non batte il sole, also known as The Stranger and the Gunfighter and El kárate, el Colt y el impostor, is a 1974 kung fu Spaghetti Western comedy film directed by Antonio Margheriti and starring Lo Lieh and Lee Van Cleef. The film is based upon an original screenplay by Barth Jules Sussman who received sole screenplay credit as can be seen in the film credits. The names of the other writers listed elsewhere in this article were attached after production ended, to take advantage of Italian tax rebates. It was produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio in collaboration with an Italian company, and filmed on location in Hong Kong and Spain. For English-language release, the film was retitled The Stranger and the Gunfighter and Blood Money.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Django (character)</span> Film character

Django is a fictional character who appears in a number of Spaghetti Western films. Originally played by Franco Nero in the 1966 Italian film of the same name by Sergio Corbucci, he has appeared in 31 films since then. Especially outside of the genre's home country Italy, mainly Germany, countless releases have been retitled in the wake of the original film's enormous success.

<i>Elephant White</i> 2011 film by Prachya Pinkaew

Elephant White is a 2011 American action-thriller film starring Djimon Hounsou and Kevin Bacon. Filming took place in Bangkok, Thailand.

<i>A Sky Full of Stars for a Roof</i> 1968 film

A Sky Full of Stars for a Roof is a 1968 Italian Spaghetti Western comedy film.

<i>Per 100.000 dollari ti ammazzo</i> 1967 film

Per 100.000 dollari ti ammazzo is a 1967 Italian Spaghetti Western film. It represents the directorial debut film of Giovanni Fago. On the set of this film Gianni Garko got to know Susanna Martinkova, a Czechoslovakian actress at her debut in an Italian production, who little later married the actor and had a daughter with him.

<i>The Ugly Ones</i> 1966 film

The Ugly Ones is a 1966 Spanish-Italian spaghetti Western film directed by Eugenio Martín.

<i>California</i> (1977 film) 1977 film by Michele Lupo

California is a 1977 Italo-Spanish Spaghetti Western film directed by Michele Lupo. The film was generally well received by critics and obtained a good commercial success at Italian box office.

<i>Django Shoots First</i> 1966 film

Django Shoots First is an Italian Spaghetti Western film directed by Alberto De Martino.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José Canalejas (actor)</span> Spanish actor

José Canalejas was a Spanish actor. He appeared in more than 100 films and television shows between 1960 and 1997. He died on 1 May 2015 at his home in Madrid at the age of 90.

References

  1. "Ballata per un pistolero". spaghetti-western.net. Retrieved 2014-05-11.

Releases

Wild East released the film in a limited edition Region 0 NTSC DVD with the title "Pistoleros" on the cover art though the actual title on the film is "Ballata per un pistolero." DVD is currently out-of-print.