This fairly late entry to the western genre is fairly typical of its sort, kept lively thanks to some interesting characters and well-staged shoot-outs in the desert. The twisty-turny plot - almost episodic in nature - concerns the trials and tribulations of the bizarrely named Roy Blood, who began his life at 10 years old when he witnessed his father getting shot dead in cold blood by a crook. Picking up his father's fallen gun, he shot the man in the back and thus the legend of the "Silver Saddle" was born, a man who brings death and destruction wherever he goes.
Director Lucio Fulci (taking a break from his more usual horror fare) keeps the events pacy and invests the many shootings and murders with his trademark penchant for exaggerated violence, with bullets entering faces and chests, although don't expect any of the gory special effects he brought to the crime thriller CONTRABAND. He also keeps the eye close-ups and zooms to a bare minimum, although the film is not totally lacking in them. The fast-paced story concentrates on incident over dialogue, which is a plus, and also which makes it a very easy viewing experience.
The film's biggest flaw is probably the overly cheesy theme song which keeps on recurring throughout the movie, although it did make me burst into laughter every time it kept popping up. The shoot-outs are extended and well staged, throwing in imaginative props (like carbide bombs) into play along with lots of explosions and stunt work. Other unusual ingredients include a kite acting as a rescue beacon (!) and a monastery of monks getting slaughtered and hanged (what with this and CODENAME WILDGEESE, I'm beginning to think Italian directors have something against religious pillars of the community).
Another problem is with the film's lead, the wooden Giuliano Gemma, who bears an uncanny resemblance in profile to James Woods. Gemma isn't that bad, but he fails to make his leading character likable, so its hard to get enthused about his actions. To make up for this, we have a strong supporting cast including Ettore Manni as a baddie, the surprisingly likable Sven Valsecchi as the kidnapped kid who has a prominent part (despite looking annoyingly cute like the kids in Fulci's horror films, he's actually not a bad actor and sympathetic with it), and Cinzia Monreale as the damsel in distress.
On top of this, good ol' Dr Butcher himself, Donald O'Brien appears as a hired hand, while genre favourite Geoffrey Lewis puts in another excellent and charismatic turn as Two Strike Snake, an unlucky thief who enjoys picking the pockets of the dead. Lewis' strong turn is one of the film's highlights. Despite treading much the same ground as many other westerns, SILVER SADDLE is a fresh and entertaining movie with a plot complex enough to stay interesting yet without getting muddled, and one which I thoroughly enjoyed watching.
Director Lucio Fulci (taking a break from his more usual horror fare) keeps the events pacy and invests the many shootings and murders with his trademark penchant for exaggerated violence, with bullets entering faces and chests, although don't expect any of the gory special effects he brought to the crime thriller CONTRABAND. He also keeps the eye close-ups and zooms to a bare minimum, although the film is not totally lacking in them. The fast-paced story concentrates on incident over dialogue, which is a plus, and also which makes it a very easy viewing experience.
The film's biggest flaw is probably the overly cheesy theme song which keeps on recurring throughout the movie, although it did make me burst into laughter every time it kept popping up. The shoot-outs are extended and well staged, throwing in imaginative props (like carbide bombs) into play along with lots of explosions and stunt work. Other unusual ingredients include a kite acting as a rescue beacon (!) and a monastery of monks getting slaughtered and hanged (what with this and CODENAME WILDGEESE, I'm beginning to think Italian directors have something against religious pillars of the community).
Another problem is with the film's lead, the wooden Giuliano Gemma, who bears an uncanny resemblance in profile to James Woods. Gemma isn't that bad, but he fails to make his leading character likable, so its hard to get enthused about his actions. To make up for this, we have a strong supporting cast including Ettore Manni as a baddie, the surprisingly likable Sven Valsecchi as the kidnapped kid who has a prominent part (despite looking annoyingly cute like the kids in Fulci's horror films, he's actually not a bad actor and sympathetic with it), and Cinzia Monreale as the damsel in distress.
On top of this, good ol' Dr Butcher himself, Donald O'Brien appears as a hired hand, while genre favourite Geoffrey Lewis puts in another excellent and charismatic turn as Two Strike Snake, an unlucky thief who enjoys picking the pockets of the dead. Lewis' strong turn is one of the film's highlights. Despite treading much the same ground as many other westerns, SILVER SADDLE is a fresh and entertaining movie with a plot complex enough to stay interesting yet without getting muddled, and one which I thoroughly enjoyed watching.