6. Day of the Outlaw (1959)
Robert Ryan in possibly his second best performance (after Nicholas Ray’s On Dangerous Ground) as Blaise Starrett, a resentful rancher spurned by his former lover Tina Louise and forced to be the protector of the citizens in an isolated, snowed in, small mountain town (filming took place in Dutchman Flat, Mount Bachelor, and Todd Lake Meadows, Oregon) when Burl Ives (beloved by children as the snowman narrator from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer) cast surprisingly as the antagonist army captain Jack Bruhn and his gang invade to take over.
Highlights include a brutish brawl between Robert Ryan and the gang and a sequence where the gang force the women to a dance. Russell Harlan’s camerawork enhances the claustrophobic mise-en-scene.
7. Captain Apache (1971)
Acid western with a labyrinthine plot built around the phrase “April Morning” featuring arguably one of Lee Van Cleef’s best performances (alongside For a Few Dollars More and Death Rides a Horse). Delirious and eccentric! Elisa Montes is the seductive Rosita and Stuart Whitman is the sly Griffin. Highlights include Lee Van Cleef faking his own funeral, exhibiting his physique in a loincloth, and hallucinating in a cavernous maze within a subterranean tunnel after a witch makes him drink a psychedelic potion!
Lee Van Cleef sings the funky opening credits track composed by Dolores Claman. (“They are after me with guns, knives, and fast, fast horses/They are after me with bombs, drugs, and fast, fast women/They’re going to tail me, trail me, try to nail me/But they haven’t got a prayer.”)
8. Red Sun (1971)
Alain Delon is, as he was in Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Samourai and Le Cercle Rouge, a criminal and a man of few words who double crosses his bandit compadre Charles Bronson and is a thief of Toshiro Mifune’s (Akira Kurosawa’s leading samurai) most prized possession. Bronson is usually the tough guy, however, here he is no match for Mifune.
Comical dialogue ensues as Bronson is forced to accompany Mifune on his quest to retrieve his stolen sword, meeting up with actresses Capucine and Ursula Andress along the way. Highlights include Mifune’s first time riding a horse (much to Bronson’s amusement) and plenty of action. Maurice Jarre contributes an adventurous score.
9. It Can Be Done Amigo (1972)
Catchy soundtrack by Luis Bacalov. Comical dialogue in this hilarious story showcasing Bud Spencer who befriends the boy Renato Cestie who has inherited a property (the same set as Once Upon a Time in the West) that everyone wants to buy but the boy refuses, meanwhile Jack Palance is out for Bud’s blood because he dishonored his sister (Dany Saval).
Highlights include Bud Spencer challenging Luciano Catenacci (of Mario Bava’s Kill Baby Kill) to a geometry debate in a prison cell in order to win his dinner, cartoonish fight scenes, Franco Giacobini as an eccentric dirt eater, and Jack Palance as a pimp.
10. Garter Colt (1968)
Filmed in Sardinia, though the story takes place (like Corbucci’s The Mercenary and many other westerns) in Mexico. Mesmerizing performance by Nicoletta Machiavelli as a female protagonist (uncommon and unusual for the western genre that is dominated by male protagonists) who defies expectations throughout the plot with her deceptive gambling and quick shooting skills.
Though the story has many nonsensical moments and is rather silly at times, Nicoletta’s presence is seductive (dark eyes expressing more emotions than any dialogue), stylish (blue dress with a pink garter as she gallops on a horse and white veil as she hides from the world), sultry (subtle, tasteful shots of her skin) and witty and, despite the comedic elements, the ending is surprisingly a bit contemplative and gloomy.