Sonny and Jed (1972)

Woody Allen's "What's Up Tiger Lilly?" was his comic interpretation of a Japanese kung fu film. I realize that Allen had nothing to do with "Sonny and Jed", however the four letter word laced dialog is at times funnier than "Tiger Lilly". Somehow this overlooked curiosity has remained in "spaghetti" obscurity despite the presence of Thomas Milan, Susan George, and Telly Savales. Although this is definitely a parody of the Sergio Leone classics, including a fine Enio Morrocone score, it could come as quite a shock to the "Trinity" crowd, especially in the almost constant use of the "F'" word. There really is no story, just a series of episodes with Milan and George playing a western variation on "Bonnie and Clyde". - MERK

It's surprising to see how fast Sergio Corbucci's career declined. Only two years earlier he was making COMPANEROS, one of the high-points of the mid spaghetti western period. For SONNY AND JED he united his 'muse' Tomas Milian with Susan George fresh from Peckinpah's STRAW DOGS the previous year and Tellys Savalas who was at the time enjoying a prolonged vacation in the Mediterranean by making Italian b-movies. Despite of the cast however, the movie is a dim shadow of COMPANEROS. Certainly a let-down by Corbucci's usual standards, which he would go on to follow with another two poor westerns, essentially ending his career in the western as ingloriously it began (MASSACRE AT RED CANYON).SONNY AND JED in its way reflects the ongoing the decline of the genre that Corbucci both helped shape and found his niche in by making the transition from the peplum he used to make under alias Stanley Corbett in his earlier days and with cheesy titles like Goliath and the Island of Vampires. It's a gritty, crass, vulgar tale of two unpleasant people, scruffy bandit Jed and feisty tomboy Sonny, hitching up together in a nameless patch of Roman countryside substituting for a nameless part of the West and going on a robbing spree while a monomaniac sheriff dressed in a fur (!) and his posse gun after them. The couple-of-criminals-on-the-loose idea seems to be a loan from BONNY AND CLYDE and Milian and Susan George have enough chemistry to see it through even when their constant bickering crosses the line from amusing to annoying. Milian's Jed is cut from that mould of distinctly latino temperament, the kind of uncomplicated picaresque irreverence Italians loved to introduce in their characters because it borough the western back home in a way, which owes a big debt to Tuco from Leone's GBU (as do all the characters of that lineage).In the end the movie doesn't amount to much and the questionable choice of undermining Tellys Savalas' suave menace by turning him from a cruel, methodic badass into a staggering blind does a good job of cutting the legs from the movie's climax, but it's still peppered with memorable moments that save the day. Great examples of spaghetti western visual irony involving coffins and barns, snappy one-liners, hilarious bits like the scene when Jed enters a photographer's shop and demands to know why his photo is missing from the "Wanted" posters he's printing, a general sense of comic-book irreverence that is at once violent and funny, Sonny and Jed, although far from a rousing success, still has enough of these little moments to recommend it to genre fans.

Have always been a great fan of Susan George and have seen most of her films and this particular picture I discovered on E Bay and it was a great find to enjoy the great acting of both Susan George and Telly Savalvas. Of course this is a Spagettii Western and a comedy but it is not your usual run of the mill type of film. There is plenty of vulgarity and romantic scenes and a rough relationship between Jed, (Tom Milian) and Sonny, (Susan George). Jed is an very crude man who is a robber and he meets up with Sonny who seems to take a liking to him even though he treats her very poorly. Jed and Sonny become something like a Bonny & Clyde team who go around stealing and robbing everyone they come in contact with. Sheriff Franciscus, (Telly Savalvas) is out to get these two people and even though he becomes blind still manages to try and hunt down these two criminals. This is a great film and if you get a chance, don't miss this great Susan George Film.

Sergio Leone, the king of spaghetti westerns, would never have dreamed of making a western like "Sonny and Jed." It is a poignant film that was considered daring at the time of its release and is now labeled by many as a cult classic. Tomas Milian, who took the stage name "Tomas" after his prime role model: Tomas F. Dobb, plays Jed in an unforgettable role initially intended for Rodney Dangerfield. Susan George plays Sonny, Jed's one-true love and partner-in-crime. This is a "Bonnie and Clyde" of the west. It isn't a great film, but it seems to entertain most of the time. The best performance in the film, by far, is by Telly Savalas. He plays a blind sheriff who is determined to catch Sonny and Jed dead or alive by using any means necessary BY HIMSELF! Savalas steals every scene he is in and rightfully so. The final line in the film, "Sonny, I love you, you M**********r!", is right up there with the final line in "Gone with the Wind". Some believe it's more touching than the "Gone with the Wind" line. This is one of those hard to find films like "A Town Called Hell", "Blood and Guns", and "Villa Rides." Get it if you can.