Mario Bava’s ROY COLT AND WINCHESTER JACK – The Blu Review

Review by Roger Carpenter

It is arguable exactly when the first so-called spaghetti western was filmed (some critics go all the way back to 1943), but there isn’t much argument about when the genre was popularized, and that was with Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars, released in 1964 and quickly followed by even more commercial success with 1965’s For a Few Dollars More.  Of all the Italian film genres, spaghetti westerns may have been the most popular worldwide, and literally hundreds were produced, spawning subgenres like Zapatas (political films that criticized imperialism), gunslingers (featuring bounty hunters), betrayal stories, tragic heroes, and even comedy westerns.

The height of the spaghetti western craze was 1968, with 1969 seeing a marked decrease in these types of films being produced.  Even though the cycle lasted well into the 1970’s—and some of the best of the genre were produced during that time—the genre was beginning to feel a bit tired by 1970.  A few directors tried injecting comedy into their features with the first major success being They Call Me Trinity, released at the tail-end of 1970.  The film proved so popular that a sequel was released in 1971.  These films created a mini-boom in comedic spaghetti westerns.  However, Mario Bava released his take on the comedic spaghetti western several months before Trinity was introduced to Italian film fans.  But like many of Bava’s features, it received rather poor distribution and was neither a critical nor a commercial success.

The film opens with Roy (Brett Halsey) and Winchester (Charles Southwood), co-leaders of a gang of thieves, duking it out just for fun.  The viewer believes he or she is seeing a fight between enemies but it is quickly revealed the two are actually good friends who simply like a challenge.  Since they are both good fighters, they fight with each other, swapping the title of best fighter as frequently as they swap jabs to each other’s noses.  But shortly thereafter, Roy decides to quit the gang of thieves and try honest work.  Though the two buddies go their separate ways, they are eventually drawn together again in the search for a cache of gold coins.  Along the way they also must compete for the love of a Native American woman (Marilu Tolo), all the while trying to avoid the deadly clutches of the evil and dangerous maniac known as The Reverend (Teodoro Corra) who is also searching for the gold.

Mario Bava, who specialized in supernatural and gothic horror, made an odd choice by directing this picture.  It wouldn’t be his only spaghetti western and, indeed, he would occasionally stray from his cobwebbed castles and black-gloved killers to make films in other genres, including sex comedies and poliziotteschi.  While his love was for gothic chillers, even the great Mario Bava, who was consistently plagued with shoestring budgets and poor production executives, had to occasionally make a concession in order to put food on the table.  The result is an uneven film that would probably be overlooked today if it wasn’t a Bava film.

The opening scenes are classic Bava, with deserts enshrouded by fog much like the ancient, musty cemeteries in his chillers.  This motif continues occasionally through the feature, reminding one that Bava was never really far from his next horror film.  But aside from this and the occasional odd splash of unexplained color used to light a back alley, the film isn’t readily recognizable as a Bava vehicle.

It may be simply personal preference, but Italian comedy doesn’t seem to always translate well for non-Italian audiences.  In fact, I find Italian comedy to be tiresome instead of funny.  This was true for this film as well.  For instance, early in the film there is a showdown between “Twitch” and another cowboy.  Twitch is so-named because he has a nervous tic which he puts on ample display as he threatens his nemesis.  But when Twitch is gunned down he goes through a series of convulsions so exaggerated the comedy seems clubbed into the viewer’s head.  In another gag there is a screen which covers a stripper in the saloon so all you can see is her shadow.  Predictably, the screen is torn during a bar fight to reveal a transvestite who is exaggeratedly upset at being “exposed”.  Others may disagree but I simply find the comedy more silly and infantile than funny.  There is plenty of action however, with many fistfights and chases.  And The Reverend seems to always be ready to throw a stick of dynamite to enliven the proceedings.

Brett Halsey stars as Roy Colt, a basically good-hearted fellow who tried the outlaw life but found it lacking.  Halsey was a popular television and soap star in the 1950’s and continued to act in both American film and television while occasionally jumping over to Europe to star in low-budget genre pictures.  He starred in several of Lucio Fulci’s later features as well as in Demons 6, directed by low-budget superstar Luigi Cozzi.  He was familiar with both American and spaghetti westerns and does an excellent job as the good-hearted bandit Roy Colt.  Charles Southwood co-stars as Winchester Jack, the not-so-smart and very stubborn bandit who continues his thieving ways despite the inability to make a decent living at it.  Southwood is the comedic foil to Halsey’s more sincere character, bumbling his way through the film and allowing everyone to take advantage of his laziness and lack of vision, including the Native American woman, Manila, who, in another comic scene, steals his gun and forces him into a very cold bath before they sleep together.  Marilu Tolo co-stars as Manila, the conniving Indian who will sleep with whomever is strongest and has the most money.  In a variation of notching the stock of a gun with the number of kills, she carries a wooden totem she uses to keep up with her transactions and what her various clients owe her.  Tolo isn’t a Claudia Cardinale, but she is pretty and, though she is represented as a schemer, she is also a strong woman who has learned how to manipulate others and take care of herself in a man’s world.  Finally, much of the comedy comes from the over-the-top whining of Teodoro Corra as The Reverand, a mean-spirited bandit who is always put-upon and treated unfairly—at least according to him—and who lights sticks of dynamite to amuse himself and to rid himself of his enemies…which is practically everyone.  It’s a typically Italian comedic shtick that grows repetitive and tiresome pretty quickly as he whines incessantly about everything.  It also leads to what is supposed to be the comedic set piece of the film which ends up being predictable and typical instead of funny as he “forgets” he’s lit a stick of dynamite when he discovers a bag of gold dust is leaking.  In typical fashion, he drops bag and dynamite to exclaim to the desert sky about the unfairness of his life until…well, you know what happens.

Bava was a master of shoestring budgets (famously, the money for Kill, Baby…Kill! ran out midway through production and the cast and crew finished the film for free out of devotion to the director).  His ability to milk production value from primitive means is the stuff of legend.  But those techniques are exposed in Roy Colt and Winchester Jack.  Bava’s attempts at expanding his desert locations are woefully inadequate and easily identified here.

In the end, this certainly isn’t one of Bava’s best films nor even a particularly strong entry into the spaghetti western genre.  But it’s fairly painless and relatively short at 85 minutes with strengths in acting, cinematography, and music.  Kino Lorber has released a significant upgrade of the film with this Blu-Ray.  Previously available only in basic DVD releases with no extras, Kino Lorber has seen fit to put the film through a 2K restoration from the original 35 MM negative, and the film certainly looks terrific.  It is presented in Italian with optional English subtitles and a partial English soundtrack is also available.  A fine audio commentary by Tim Lucas, Mario Bava biographer, is also present and is both enlightening as well as entertaining.  This is definitely the premiere release of the film, so Bava fans and spaghetti western fans should be pleased.  The film can be purchased through Kino Lorber at kinolorber.com or through Amazon.