Franco Giraldi's "Sugar Colt" of 1966 is an amusing little Spaghetti Western with a nice theme by Louis Bacalov and Ennio Morricone. Even though this quite humorous little Western is occasionally a bit too silly for my tastes, it definitely has its heights too. It was shot on great locations in the Spanish Almeria, Jack Betts is cool as Sugar Colt, and beautiful Soledad Miranda makes a lovely female lead. This is definitely no highlight of the Italian Western genre, but it is an entertaining little time waster for Spaghetti Western enthusiasts like myself.
Disguised as a doctor, gunslinger Sugar Colt (Jack Betts) goes to the town of Snake Valley, in order to avenge a friend's death and fulfill his last wish. An Army corps has disappeared near the little town after the Civil War, and Sugar Colt is investigating to find out what happened...
The score by Louis Bacalov and Ennio Morricone is overall good, but basically divided in two parts. There is a very cool main theme, and then there is a quite annoying score for the sequences that are meant to be funny, which lowers the value of the entire score. Jack Betts, who is infamous amongst Spaghetti Western fans for usually working with the genre's worst director, Demofilo Fidani, fits in very well here. Beautiful Soledad Miranda, who is best known for films directed by cult director Jess Franco, and who sadly died at the age of only 27, fits in very well in the female lead. The film's major weakness is the illogical plot. There is no real reason for Sugar Colt to disguise as a doctor in the first place (other than some amusing situations), for example. Then again, the film is funny and nicely photographed. The film is entirely shot in Almeria, Spain, without doubt the greatest location for a Eurowestern. Genre freaks might notice that the town of 'Snake Valley' is the exact same town that was called 'El Paso' in Sergio Leone's 1965 masterpiece "For A Few Dollars More".
All said, "Sugar Colt" is certainly no masterpiece, and occasionally quite silly, but it is nevertheless a good time-waster for my fellow Italian Western buffs. Recommended.
Disguised as a doctor, gunslinger Sugar Colt (Jack Betts) goes to the town of Snake Valley, in order to avenge a friend's death and fulfill his last wish. An Army corps has disappeared near the little town after the Civil War, and Sugar Colt is investigating to find out what happened...
The score by Louis Bacalov and Ennio Morricone is overall good, but basically divided in two parts. There is a very cool main theme, and then there is a quite annoying score for the sequences that are meant to be funny, which lowers the value of the entire score. Jack Betts, who is infamous amongst Spaghetti Western fans for usually working with the genre's worst director, Demofilo Fidani, fits in very well here. Beautiful Soledad Miranda, who is best known for films directed by cult director Jess Franco, and who sadly died at the age of only 27, fits in very well in the female lead. The film's major weakness is the illogical plot. There is no real reason for Sugar Colt to disguise as a doctor in the first place (other than some amusing situations), for example. Then again, the film is funny and nicely photographed. The film is entirely shot in Almeria, Spain, without doubt the greatest location for a Eurowestern. Genre freaks might notice that the town of 'Snake Valley' is the exact same town that was called 'El Paso' in Sergio Leone's 1965 masterpiece "For A Few Dollars More".
All said, "Sugar Colt" is certainly no masterpiece, and occasionally quite silly, but it is nevertheless a good time-waster for my fellow Italian Western buffs. Recommended.