That is the question and the answer is usually no! This bit of western, Italian Style, lives up to the genre perfectly. You can't judge these the Sergio Leone's masterpieces (although with this director you actually could) but you can throw it in with the dozen upon dozen that came after. Sergio Corbucci was one of the directors that managed to put out some good to excellent westerns with a mixture of fast gun play, interesting (usually) plots & a good dose of humor.
He statarted as a film critic, even writing for the "Stars & Stripes" during WW2. He was a know as a efficient & a capable filmmaker. His claim to fame early on was doing small budget action scenes look like they were done with a big budget. He was a second unit director for Mr. Leone, who was a friend & that they came up with the idea for the "Spaghetti Western" while working on the sword & sandal "The Last Days Of Pompeii." He did his first western in Spain just before Mr. Leone's "A Fistful Of Dollars." Wavy Spaghetti Western aficionados will recocognize him as the director of the genre changing "Django."
He also did "Navajo Joe" which put Burt Reynolds on the star map.
This followed soon after "Django" but did not make its American actor, Mark Damon, a household name. But, it does do a good job of making two somewhat villainous characters heroes. Throwing in a Gary Cooper style sheriff for good measure. You will figure out who lives & who dies early. But you can't fault Sergio for pulling out all the stops. He knows what he's doing.
A good soundtrack, following the Morricone School, with some silly songs, especially the theme song that probably sounds better untranslated into English.
A winner from a winning director
Review of Ringo and His Golden Pistol
