It’s hard to believe these days that westerns were once a
hit making genre when it came to movies in theaters. They were a mainstay for
so long, faded a touch and then in the sixties were reinvigorated when a group
of Italian and French directors began making westerns their way in tribute to
the ones they grew up with. Film fans are already aware of Sergio Leone for his
Man With No Name series of films but the rest for the most part were a footnote
in the history of film. But they’re being rediscovered and DVD companies like
Arrow are helping that rediscovery along with releases of some great Italian
westerns, more commonly referred to as Spaghetti Westerns, made by other
directors.
CEMETARY WITHOUT CROSSES isn’t found in the imdb.com
database but THE ROPE AND THE COLT is. It’s the same movie but the new release
goes by the first name. Directed by and starring French start Robert Hossein
the movie takes place in the ever lawless land of the west. When Ben Caine is
killed by the Rogers family to take over his land, his widow Maria (Michele
Mercer) seeks revenge. The one man she can count on to help her is past love
Manuel (Hossein). Living alone in a ghost town, Maria reaches out to him to be her
angel of vengeance. He may deny her request but we know he will follow through.
To do so Manuel endears himself to the Rogers family by
saving the lives of several brothers during a gun fight at the local saloon.
They take him home and he’s offered a job as a ranch hand. This leads to an
unusual but fun sequence involving the entire family and staff sitting down to
eat what has to be the noisiest dinner ever filmed. It leads you one way then
turns a different direction before it finishes. In the extras Hossein lets it
be known that this sequence was shot by Sergio Leone who was a friend.
Manual eventually draws out the Rogers family from their
ranch and while they’re away kidnaps the only daughter of Mr. Rogers. Taking
her to the ghost town she is brutalized by Maria’s two ranch hands before they
leave only to be captured by the Rogers family. In return for their lives they
agree to get the daughter and return her home. But all never goes according to
plan in movies like this.
The story seems fairly simple and indeed it is. But that’s
part of the beauty of it all. It doesn’t need tons of extras or a huge plot to
make it an interesting film that has you guessing from start to finish while
waiting to see the outcome of the actions of all involved. The story itself is
enough, one of revenge for wrongs done. There is no room for doubt as to the
endplay of the story but when the dust settles and all grievances are answered
for it all fits nicely into place.
The transfer here is done well, especially considering that
the odds of finding a mint condition copy of this near 50 year old film is
highly unlikely. The movie is offered in both original Italian language and
dubbed English. The extras are short for Arrow (who tend to offer quite a bit)
but chances are they are all that was available including short interviews and
TV reporting on the film.
If you’re discovering the spaghetti western and learning
just how entertaining they were then by all means pick up a copy of this one
for your collection. For western fans you’ll find much to enjoy here as well.
It’s a solid movie that entertains and offers just what you would expect from
the genre.
Click here to order.
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