4 Dollars of Revenge (1966)

Powerful

People are voting emotionally.

I'll tell you why so serious

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Passable Western being well starred by ordinary genre stars as Robert Woods , Antonio Casas , Jose Luis Martin , among others . The film packs action , shootouts , drama , treason , high body-count and it's fast moving , being quite entertaining and approaching increasingly American style , but keeping some details that make it special in this particular genre . Colonel Jackson (Antonio Casas) assigns a dangerous mission to Capt. Roy Dexter (Robert Woods)of the U.S. Cavalry : to escort a fortune in Confederate gold coins . But outlaws ambush the little detachment and only Dexter survives the attack . At a martial court Roy was subsequently accused by a false witness (Antonio Molino Rojo) and a prosecutor (Gerard Tichy) ; being defended by a defending military lawyer (Miguel De La Riva) . Then , Roy is wrongly convicted to life prison and hard labor for the dark betrayal of his colleagues . After long time of heavy physical labor in a painful jail , the former soldier breaks out , carrying out a spectacular escaping from the infernal prison. After that , Dexter , helped by a Mexican bandit (Tomas Torres), sets about tracking down and exposing the true culprits . He becomes a two-fisted gunslinger desperately wanting to deliver justice and vengeance . It is an exciting Chorizo or Tortilla/Macarroni western that contains a story full of thrills , violence , good dramatic pace and slick direction . Agreeable Butifarra-Spaghetti Western mostly produced by Spain and Italy ; being proceeded in American style more than Sergio Leone wake , but also including close-ups , zooms , and choreographic duels . All in all, this film is predominantly a Spanish film rather than an Italian one and it results to be a special rendition inspired by The count of Montecristo by Alexandre Dumas . It's a two country co-production but is clearly dominated by the Spanish contingent and the traditional leanings of the Spanish producers of the time have their stamp on the entire proceedings . The Spanish westerns of this era were far more likely to try and emulate their American source material than cultivate a distinctive style of their own the way the Italians were doing but their product , though here is developed in the US wake with brief Spag remarks . It's a thrilling western with spectacular scenes and breathtaking confrontation among protagonist Robert Woods and heartless enemies as well as dubious US officers and nasty gunfighters . It's a middle-budget film with ordinary actors , professional technicians , adequate production values and pleasing results . As lighthearted as can be, "4 Dollars of Revenge" is very reminiscent of the bygone American western feature from the golden era of Saturday matinees with a twist of the "Euro" filmmaking style . If you've seen even one vintage B-Cowboy picture, you've probably figured the whole ending . Charismatic performance for the whole casting . "Four Dollars for Vengeance" is well starred by Robert Woods as cavalry captain sentenced to life in prison on the false belief he masterminded a criminal ambush . Robert starred several Tortilla/Ravioli Western as "Five Thousand Dollars on One Ace" , "Seven Guns for the MacGregors" , ¨Black Jack¨, ¨El Puro¨, "Gatling Gun" , among others .. The notorious Spaghetti actor , Antonio Casas as Colonel Jackson is good in his ordinary role as an important secondary , he is famous from his character along with Lee Van Cleef in ¨The good , the bad and the ugly ¨ by Sergio Leone . In the film appears familiar faces from Tortilla or Spaghetti Western such as Jose Luis Martin , Gerard Tichy , Angelo Infanti , Osvaldo Genazzani , Tomas Torres , Gustavo Re . Being mostly filmed in a Western village located in ¨Splugues De Llobregat¨ (Barcelona) , and in Fraga (Huesca) , both of them resulted to be the locations where were shot lots of Western produced and directed by Catalan people as Alfonso Balcazar , J.J. Balcazar , Jose Antonio De La Loma , Juan Bosch, Ignacio F. Iquino , Jose Maria Zabalza and Julio Buchs , among others , because Almeria was too far and the landscapes bear remarkable resemblance . There are many fine technicians , nice assistant direction and appropriate set design , creating an evocative scenario . It contains and some decent photography throughout . While the print used contains its share of imperfections , mostly minor , the overall presentation of the film is average . Attractive as well as energetic musical score by maestro Angelo Francesco Lavagnino , including catching leitmotif and a few enjoyable musical queues. Atmospheric and evocative cinematography by Victor Monreal . "4 Dollars of Revenge" was professionally directed by Juan Jose Balcazar , although with no originality ; he managed to make a fluid and acceptable SW , though sometimes mediocre . Juan Jose Balcazar alongside his brothers Francisco Balcazar and Alfonso Balcázar produced and directed a lot of Tortilla or Butifarra Western , most of them starred by Jorge Martin or George Martin , Luis Davila , Daniel Martin or Robert Woods ; such as 1972 The return of Clint , 1972 Judas... ¡Toma Monedas! , 1968 Sartana no Perdone or Sonora , 1967 With Death on Your Back, 1966 Dinamita Jim , 1965 Doc , Manos De Plata , 1965 Viva Carrancho , 1965 Five Thousand Dollars on One Ace . Rating : 5'5/10 . Average though some moments entertaining . If you like traditional Spaghetti westerns remains watchable .

Despite the presence of Bruno Corbucci with this production, "Four Dollars Of Revenge" is for the most part your typical spaghetti western. Now, I have to admit that I like spaghetti westerns, so I was fairly entertained by this. But on the other hand, the movie is not really that exceptional in any way that will attract viewers who are not fans of spaghetti westerns. It's not a movie to introduce people to the genre. Still, the movie moves at a fairly breezy pace, never becoming boring at any moment. There are several okay action sequences, including a final action sequence of a kind that you will probably not expect for a western, spaghetti or otherwise. So if you're a spaghetti western fan, you'll probably enjoy this modest effort.

In the waning days of the Civil War, politically ambitious Cavalry officer Robert Woods is ambushed by bandits, while transporting captured Confederate gold. Before long, part of the stolen loot mysteriously resurfaces at his home, leading to court-martial, imprisonment, escape and vengeance.There's nothing really new here and no real bankable stars. However, the Count Of Monte Cristo-like story is engaging enough. It's short and unpretentious, with colorful action sequences, a great score, and pretty good photography, all making this worth watching for fans of Italian westerns. A few good plot twists don't hurt either.Co-writer Bruno Corbucci went on to create, with his brother Sergio, some truly great westerns, Italian or otherwise.

Composer Angelo Francesco Lavagnino contributes a lively orchestral score to "Fistful of Diamonds" director Jaime Jesús Balcázar's derivative continental western "Four Dollars for Vengeance" about greed, betrayal, and murder. Scenarists Bruno Corbucci of "Django," Aldo Grimaldi of "Paths of War," and Giovanni Grimaldi of "Johnny Colt" have penned a thoroughly formulaic screenplay about a wrongly accused cavalry officer who is framed for a robbery that he did not commit. Corbucci and the two Grimaldis conceal the identity of the dastard who set him up until the last scene. Just to spice thing up a bit, they pull a slick trick on the villain that you may not see coming. The production values, where the Union cavalry uniforms and rank insignia are concerned, are laughable. The dialogue translation is equally inferior. For example, detachments of cavalry are referred to as "squadrons." Nevertheless, the gunslinging action is swift, sure, and deadly. Aside from the obvious European names of the cast and crew, you know that you're watching a Spaghetti western because the gunshots have that characteristic sound. Tino Santoni's color cinematography is a notch above average, and some of the opening credits imagery of cavalry riding along the skyline at sunset is quite striking. Indeed, those shots look straight out of a John Ford western. However, nothing really distinguishes this oater aside from it being a Euro-western.U.S. Cavalry Captain Roy Dexter (Robert Woods of "Battle of the Bulge") and Captain Barry Haller (Angelo Infanti of "The Godfather" begin as friendly rivals for the affections of the beautiful Mercedes (Dana Ghia of "Burn!), but she singles out Dexter as her choice. Before they are married, Dexter receives orders to escort a fortune in Confederate money, but Colonel Jackson (Antonio Casas of "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly) provides Dexter with only seven men and a scout. During their journey along the Rio Grande, Dexter and his command discover a wrecked covered wagon and some corpses. Too late they learn that they have blundered into a clever trap. The dead man springs back to life and starts gunning down cavalrymen. Bandit leader Manuel de Losa (José Manuel Martín of "A Bullet for Sandoval") and his murderous bandits ambush Dexter's command. Our hero barely gets away with his life. He reaches town but he is in no shape to do anything. Afterward, Clifford Hamilton (Gérard Tichy of "El Cid") handles the prosecution of Dexter for stealing the money and wiping out his own men. Hamilton forces Dexter's spineless, alcoholic, debt-ridden cousin Dave Griffin (Antonio Molino Rojo of "Fistful of Dollars") not only to testify against Dexter but also incriminate him. Dave tells the court that he found the blood money in Dexter's house.Incredibly, Dexter's rival for political office, Hamilton, handles him at a military court-martial. Our hero's impressive war record convinces the authorities to commute Dexter's sentence to life in prison. Colonel Jackson refuses to believe that Dexter committed treason. Once Dexter winds up in prison, the villains try to kill him. Initially, a convict topples a huge boulder that misses our hero. Eventually, Dexter manages to escape. During the pursuit, the prison guards chase him to a high cliff and he plunges to his death when he leaps off the mountain. Little do the prison guards and the villains realize that Dexter has survived. Masquerading as a Mexican himself, Dexter joins up with the gang of Mexicans that bushwhacked his men. He surprises his unscrupulous cousin and tries to pry the information out of him, but Dave tries to kill Dexter. Dave dies before he can reveal who engineered the conspiracy to send him to prison.Robert Woods makes a serviceable swift-shooting hero in a role. George Hilton and he are virtually interchangeable in the mysterious stranger role. This Italian & Spanish co-production qualifies as a low-budget, mid-brow western, a level before the seminal Spaghetti westerns like "Fistful of Dollars," "Django," "The Mercenary," and "A Bullet for the General." This is a largely straight-forward epic with little flippant humor. "Four Dollars for Vengeance" boasts an adequate enough body count. The Spanish scenery is suitably rugged with lots of vistas.