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Roy Colt e Winchester Jack (1970)

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
OK lowbrow Eurowestern comedy with Brett Halsey, 20 November 2004

Author: django-1 from south Texas USA

Now that this is available in a beautiful letterboxed, subtitled DVD, ROY COLT AND WINCHESTER JACK can be enjoyed by anyone who wants to see it. Is it worth seeing? Well...what you have is basically a lowbrow Eurowestern comedy that belongs on the same shelf with STING OF THE WEST and IT CAN BE DONE AMIGO. The various supporting players are colorful, and there are two strong American leads in the charismatic Brett Halsey and the engaging Charles Southwood. Though hidden under a lot of makeup, Marilu Tolo is as sexy as ever. I've never found Italian western comedies to be that worthwhile (or western comedies in general, BLAZING SADDLES excepted)--for me, most of the best qualities of westerns are lost when they are played for laughs. There are a number of laughs in this film--Halsey and Southwood both play comedy well--but the viewer should be warned that the laughs are on a Bowery Boys/Police Academy-level. I like that kind of comedy, but you may not. The reason this film was reissued is that it was directed by Mario Bava; however, had I seen the film without knowing that, I would never have guessed. Bava scholars can no doubt find similarities, but I would not consider his direction a major element here (see my review of RINGO DEL NEBRASKA, one of Bava's two other westerns). Overall, this is an enjoyable Eurowestern comedy, with excellent and creative production design (now THERE is a Bava quality!) and good performances, but I don't really consider it essential, only for the serious Eurowestern fan or the Brett Halsey fan (of which I'm one).

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Bava's comedy western, 21 March 2008

Author: The_Void from Beverley Hills, England

The great Mario Bava will always be best known for his Gothic horror and Giallo films, but he was a very versatile director (like most Italian directors around the time) that made many films in genres outside of horror, and Roy Colt and Winchester Jack is his attempt at making a film within Italy's popular Spaghetti Western genre. This film is not widely liked amongst Mario Bava's fans and it's not hard to see why - the film really doesn't feel like a Bava film at all as it features none of his trademarks and the plot also has a lot of problems and elements that don't work. The film takes obvious influence from the greatest of all the Spaghetti Westerns; The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and focuses on the race to claim some buried gold. The main characters are a pair of outlaws named Roy Colt and Winchester Jack. They were once in a gang together, but Roy left to find honest work and ends up becoming sheriff of a small town. A bank owner there has some gold buried and after Jack and his gang steal the map, Roy heads out on their tail. A corrupt reverend and a devious Indian girl also join the party...

The film is obviously not meant to be taken seriously and Bava packs it with comedy. It has to be said that a lot of it completely misses the mark and isn't funny - but there are some laughs, and scenes such as the one that takes place inside a Brothel in "Wimpy City" work simply because it's so surreal. As the title suggests, this is a character driven western and the leads are both well designed and well acted by American actors Brett Halsey and Charles Southwood. Their relationship is one of the key elements of the film and the way they interact with each other is generally entertaining. The biggest highlight of the film for me was undoubtedly the beautiful and seductive Marilù Tolo who plays the Indian girl and steals every scene she's in - I would even go as far as to say that this film would not have worked without her in it. The only character that doesn't work too well is The Reverend, who is more irritating than amusing. There's some good fighting in the film - plenty of gunfights and fistfights and at eighty five minutes, there isn't really time for the plot to get boring. Overall, on the grand scheme of things; this is not a particularly good western or a particularly good Bava film - but it's entertaining enough and I did enjoy it.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Tongue lodged firmly in cheek, this western farce holds its own..., 8 October 2006

Author: ccmiller1492 (ccmiller1492@yahoo.com) from Falls Church, VA

If this film is judged only on its own merits, without reference to other entirely unrelated entries in the Mario Bava lexicon, it holds its own as light-hearted entertainment. Unlike most Italian comic westerns, this one holds the interest largely due to its three central players' well rendered characters and exploits. The cinematography is also far better than many others in the genre.

Charles Southwood is perfect as the scruffy, irrepressible Jack, in contrast to the stolid, lachrymose-faced Roy (Halsey)and both of them can be relied upon to out-cheat the other when they aren't busy beating the tar out of each other to show their mutual affection. Southwood is really quite outstanding and should have been in a lot more films.

Marilu Tolo is very effective here (much more than she is in most of her roles) as the feisty and very resourceful Indian prostitute who is determined to coerce someone into marrying her, preferably Jack or Roy. Don't miss the sequence when she hooks up with Southwood and forces him at gunpoint to take a bath before becoming a "client." Under protest, Southwood descends to the cellar and has to break the ice on the water before stripping off his smelly long-johns to take the plunge. By the shrunken state of his retracted genitals, the water is cold indeed. The shotgun pointed at him by the comely Tolo probably helped, too. Now there's a touch you would never have seen in an American-made western.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Roy Colt And Winchester Jack (Mario Bava, 1970) **, 25 November 2007

Author: MARIO GAUCI (marrod@onvol.net) from Naxxar, Malta

While this comic Spaghetti Western was nowhere near as bad as its low reputation amidst the director’s canon would seem to suggest, it can’t possibly hold a candle to Sergio Leone’s classic THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY (1966) – and it would be puerile for anyone to attempt comparisons of this sort!

It’s the last of Bava’s three such genre efforts but, actually, the first I’ve watched; I used to think that he was constrained within the number of relatively low-brow peplums he made, but even those showed greater commitment – and vigor during the action sequences. Here we get plenty of brawling and shooting, to be sure, but the handling throughout is decidedly sloppy…as if Bava, rather than be inspired by these traditionally ‘big’ moments, wanted to get such genre requirements out of the way!

That said, despite utilizing a wide variety of locations in its plot about two rival outlaw gangs’ quest for gold, these don’t seem to have stimulated the director’s trademark compositional skills; even worse, the comedy element comes across as heavy-handed most of the time, resulting in a flat and drawn-out film (even if it runs for a mere 85 minutes)!

Brett Halsey (from Bava’s FOUR TIMES THAT NIGHT [1969]) and Charles Southwood don’t exactly generate fireworks in the title roles and, in fact, the best in the cast are Marilu' Tolo as Winchester’s spirited (and shrewd) Indian girl and Teodoro Corra' as The Reverend, the atypically buffoonish baddie – a Russian émigré who still can’t get over the cold of his native land. Isa Miranda (who would work again with Bava when he treaded more familiar ground in BAY OF BLOOD [1971]) appears as the brothel Madame in what is perhaps the most slapsticky and forced set-piece in the entire film.

Hardly memorable in itself, there are still a few mild highlights in this reasonably agreeable, innocuous yet patchy genre offering: the spastic gunman at the beginning, the obviously fake snake which menaces Winchester (reminiscent of the one in Fritz Lang’s THE Indian TOMB [1959]), the exploding villain, and the final shot with the heroes’ feet up in the air as they engage in yet another fisticuff. Piero Umiliani’s lively score certainly contributes to the film’s characteristically light touch.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
always something to like about spaghetti westerns, 5 May 2007

Author: Lee Eisenberg (eisenberg.lee@gmail.com) from Portland, Oregon, USA

Knowing that Mario Bava spent most of his career directing horror flicks, it may come as a surprise that he also directed a western. Well, not only did he direct one, it came out quite cool. Portraying a pair of outlaws splitting up and meeting again after one of them has gone straight, "Roy Colt & Winchester Jack" plays everything for all that it's worth. As can be expected, there's plenty of gunfights (I suspect that the Old West was like that). But what I notice was different about this movie that wasn't true about any other spaghetti westerns - at least the ones that I've seen - was the whole brothel scene; it was probably fun to film all that! Leave it to the Italians to stick something like that in a western.

Anyway, this is one movie that makes no pretense about being anything other than pure, unadulterated fun. Some of the characters - particularly the Reverend - seemed a little annoying. But the movie's quick pace makes up for any problems. I liked the movie. And not just because Manila was really hot! PS: Brett Halsey, who played Roy Colt, had earlier co-starred with Vincent Price in "Son of the Fly" and "Twice-Told Tales".

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Not as bad as all that. 6 out of 10, 15 August 2003

Author: FINSLAW from United States

This is the first and so far only Mario Bava western that I have seen, and after hearing such bad reviews I was sure this would be a travesty on the order of his Dr. Goldfoot stinker bomb. I was relieved to find it a breezy, charming and often humorous movie that was not as much a chore to watch as many of Mario's other more notable films (as much as I like Lisa and the Devil, I can't but falling asleep halfway through.) This film is a continuation/ripoff of the previous years two-names-western-buddy-film (Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid), only with added Bavaesque elements of humanities greediness and lack of concern for others (see Bay of Blood.) Designed as a spoof but without Naked Gun style gags or even a script (according to other sources Mario hated the original script and decided to ad lib) the film comes off as a empty yet jovial party on film similar to Rush Hour 2, only that movie had the privilage of a multi-million dollar budget. Watch it if you are a Bava fan or a fan of Italian westerns.

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Mario Bava's spirited spoof of Spaghetti Western movies, 27 March 2008

Author: Woodyanders (Woodyanders@aol.com) from The Last New Jersey Drive-In on the Left

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Stoical smoothie Roy Colt (affable Brett Halsey) and his more scruffy wild card buddy Winchester Jack (the equally engaging Charles Southwood) go searching for a fortune in gold. Shrewd spitfire Native American prostitute Manila (winningly played by the lovely Marilu Tolo) tags along. Meanwhile, irascible Russian villain the Reverend (robustly essayed with lip-smacking brio by Teodora Corra) also tries to find the gold. Director Mario Bava cheerfully pokes fun at the Spaghetti Western genre in this lively and amusing send-up that neatly combines elements from both "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." Moreover, Bava relates the wacky story at a constant brisk pace, gives the picture a suitably dirty'n'dusty look, and stages the stirring shoot-outs with considerable rip-roaring flair. This movie reaches its gut-busting peak during a hysterical sequence set in a brothel called Wimpy City. Halsey and Southwood display a loose, funny and appealing chemistry as our titular bumbling outlaw duo while Tolo almost steals the show with her wonderfully fiery portrayal of the cagey and enticing Manila. Kudos are also in order for Antonio Rinaldi's slick, often dazzling cinematography and Piero Umiliani's supremely funky'n'twangy score. A hugely enjoyable hoot.

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1 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Lower Bava, 29 February 2008
Author: MichaelElliott1 from Louisville, KY

Roy Colt and Winchester Jack (1970)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Spaghetti western directed by Mario Bava about two outlaws (Brett Halsey, Charles Southwood) trying to find a treasure. Outside some nice cinematography this film is pretty much a wasted effort for everyone involved, especially the director. I'm a fairly big fan of Bava but this here certainly ranks down at the bottom of his filmography. The film goes for way too many laughs, which is okay if any of them were actually funny. In the end the film is basically a rip of The Good, The Bad and the Ugly as well as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. There are a few good moments but not enough to make it worth watching.

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1 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Hit and miss from Bava, 15 July 2006

Author: bensonmum2 from Tennessee

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Reading various comments on the internet about Roy Colt and Winchester Jack, you would think that it was the worst movie ever made. I've now seen most of Mario Bava's films (23, to be exact) and I've seen my fair share of Spaghetti Westerns. While Roy Colt and Winchester Jack isn't a very good example of either, it's hardly the worst film Bava made (see Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs) or the worst Spaghetti Western I've watched (see God's Gun). In fact, there are moments and certain set-pieces in the movie that I really enjoyed. The best example that comes to mind is the film's finale. Without giving it away, I'll just say that it's a nice twist that worked for me. The film's soundtrack is interesting. I wouldn't call it a traditional Spaghetti Western, but it's enjoyable enough anyway. Brett Halsey and Charles Southwood are okay in the title roles, but Marilu Tolo stands out in the role of Manila. More of Tolo would have been a good thing. Finally, while some of the more eccentric characters in the movie don't work, the gunfighter in the opening scenes with Tourettes Syndrome is a real hoot.

I actually would have enjoyed Roy Colt and Winchester Jack more and rated it higher if it weren't for two things. First, the movie hardly feels like a Bava film. There are none of the great director's flourishes of color or unique camera tricks I look forward to seeing. It's all rather flat and dull looking. Second, and my biggest complaint with the movie, is the character called The Reverend. A more annoying character I can't think of at the moment. He's not funny, he's not threatening, and his idiosyncrasies are downright painful to watch. Similar to what I wrote about Tolo, less of The Reverend would have been a good thing.

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2 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
a fun little western, 4 September 2005

Author: spider89119 from United States

This is the only western that I know of that was directed by the great Italian horror director Mario Bava. He directed quite a few non-horror movies, but his true talent is mainly exhibited within the categories of horror and giallo. His other films usually aren't meant to be taken very seriously, and this one is no exception. That having been said, this film is still lots of fun to watch, especially if you are a spaghetti western fan.

The music score is great. The trumpet, guitar and organ music set the proper tone for a spaghetti western.

The acting seems about average for a Eurowestern. Marilu Tolo is beautiful as Manila, and she steals the show by doing the best acting out of the entire cast, as well as being so nice to look at. The character called "the reverend" is very annoying, and suffers from some very corny translation in the subtitles. I probably would have given this movie a higher rating if it had been dubbed in English, since I prefer watching westerns that way. They could have at least done a better job with the subtitles! This movie is a bawdy, humorous spaghetti western, not the dark and vengeful kind one might expect from a director of horror movies. The humor misses in a couple of parts, but works pretty well in general if you recognize this as a light-hearted film. The story is one of those in which everyone double crosses one another in the search for gold. It is typical, but engaging and fun. There is a twist at the end, but I saw it coming about 10 minutes into the film.

This one's not bad, and all connoisseurs of the spaghetti western should see it at least once.

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