God's Gun (1977)

Of the few spaghetti westerns made in the latter half of the 1970s in Italy, this one turned to the infamous Golan/Globus production partnership for backing and thus found itself shooting in Israel. Unfortunately this gives the film a cheap, somewhat hopeless look, where visual spectacle is compromised by cameras which make it look like a television movie and show up all the shoddy special effects for what they are. The plot is also less than riveting, it has to be said, with a lack of decent action and gunfights for the western fan. Instead the central theme of the broken family is actually more interesting than the characters involved, but it doesn't really tie up very well and the script boasts little if any surprises. The film is crying out for decent fight choreography, but for some reason Lee Van Cleef doesn't even get to wield a gun until the very end, which makes for a very un-satisfying production (why hire one of the most famous actor gunslingers if you're not going to use him?).Van Cleef himself takes dual roles in the movie, firstly as an odd-looking priest and secondly as a grizzled gunfighter, the latter being far more accommodating for the actor. Of course the dual role means that Van Cleef can use his identity to fool the bad guys at the end, and for some reason director Gianfranco Parolini deems it necessary to add a silly supernatural-style veneer to the closing moments (Van Cleef appearing in clouds of smoke, with ominous music playing). Many spaghetti westerns dealt with themes of death and ambiguous revenge from beyond the grave, but these elements just seem tacked-on here. Even the final cemetery-set showdown is distinctly lacking in suspense or excitement. Despite the odd roles he is required to act, Van Cleef is still a fine actor putting in a good performance, so no fault there.His nemesis is played by Jack Palance, here acting at the height of the hamminess that would trademark his career during the mid '70s. Palance is not merely overacting here, he seems to have lost it all together, slurring his lines, laughing at nothing, and generally acting like a drunk on screen. Thus his character is more to be pitied than feared and I was left feeling distinctly unimpressed. Another mistake is the inclusion of Leif Garrett, an annoying American child actor from the period, in a major role. Amusingly, Garrett is rendered mute halfway through the movie (the reasons are inexplicable and the event is highly confusing), so we don't have to hear his dubbed voice any longer, thank goodness. Sybil Danning is also on hand, putting in a good performance and surprisingly remaining fully-clothed during the film, although she can't resist showing her breast in a brief flashback sequence.Parolini makes many crude attempts at style during the film, in a bid to emulate Sergio Leone, but these are mainly unsuccessful and pale in comparison to his contemporary, Enzo G. Castellari. The one thing I did like was the circular aspect involving the puppet theatre, which is the only clever thing in the movie. Otherwise this is the same old stuff with different characters and a different, but far too unoriginal, scenario. Watchable stuff that never stops moving, but never reaching any classic moments or providing any real excitement. Good Sunday afternoon viewing then. Maybe.

This film is not as bad as it seems, considering few people heard about it and it has two titles G-d's Gun and Diamante Lobo, which will mix you up. The story is better than most spaghetti westerns, about a priest (Van Cleef) who is killed. So Van Cleef is the good guy, Jack Palance the bad one and Richard Boone the sheriff who does not want any trouble. Sybil Danning is the saloon girl with a good heart. So besides the story, the actors are good, so what goes wrong? In my opinion, the shootouts which are poorly made trying to make up with the sound and slow motion what it lacks in the technical aspect. It took me a long time to decide to see this film and I could not stop watching it after I started. I ended up liking it.

The strangest thing of all about this terrible western is that while it has the look feel and especially the SOUND (loud, overdone) of a spaghetti western, most of the talent involved in the top positions were not European, including the director. Also, the three male leads did not sound right. The lead Lee van Cleef, sounded like himself most of the time , but Jack Palance and Richard Boone were dubbed. This is especially clear with Richard Boone who has a very distinctive voice. If someone out there can tell me why you would dub a distinctive sounding American actor's voice into English, please tell me. I liked the plot twist of the twin brother but this is a bad movie. Enough said!

TITLE: This picture was released in theaters in March of 1978 starring a very young but gorgeous Sybil Danning as Jenny, Lee Van Cleef as Father John and Lewis and Jack Palace as Sam Clayton.SUMMARY: Picture starts in a little called Crane City where a Mexican is putting on a puppet show. As he starts to collect money, you hear gunshots coming from behind his wagon. Sam Clayton and his gang has just rode into Crane City where they terrorist the woman rob the bank and kill the sheriff and the deputy. A few days later Sam Clayton and his thugs ride into Juno City. Enters Sybil Danning who's playing the role of Jenny and she runs the only saloon in town. Also living with her is her son Johnny. Enters Lee Van Cleef who's the Priest or otherwise called Father John. Father John and Johnny are walking down the street when Jenny asks Johnny if he finished shining the glasses. Father John tells Jenny that Johnny will be back to finish shinning the glasses after he's done cleaning the church. While cleaning the church Johnny comes across a gun that belongs to Fathers John Brother Lewis. Sam is in Jenny saloon when Johnny walks in. Sam wonders while Johnny isn't in school. Sam also wants to know where Johnny's father is. Meanwhile at table a couple of Sam's thugs are playing poker when one of them is accused of cheating. Sam's nephew throws a knife in the back of the poker player that was cheating. As a man lying died in jenny saloon Sam Clayton and his gang start to ride out of town. Jenny is screaming at the people of the town for someone to go after Sam Clayton's nephew to bring him back to for justice. When the sheriff decides that he's not going Father John takes the sheriffs horse and rides out after Sam Clayton gang. That's leaves two unanswered questions.QUESTIONS: What does the title God's Gun stand for? What does Father John comeback to town with Sam Clayton's nephew? MY THOUGHTS: I thought this was an excellent picture. Lee Van Cleef does an excellent job playing the role of Father John and the role of Lewis. Jack Palace was excellent in his role as Sam Clayton. The reason I bought this movie was Sybil Danning. You didn't see much of Sybil Danning body in this because it was a western but, she was excellent in her role as Jenny the owner of the saloon. Her talents as an actress really shined in this picture. So, with that in mind, and because this movie kept my interest through the entire picture I'm giving this movie 10 weasels stars because of Sybil Danning and the level of action , adventure and drama this movie had from beginning to end. If you want to see this movie, you can buy it in DVD format at Amazon.com