For a Few Extra Dollars (1966)

"Blood for a Silver Dollar" director Giorgio Ferroni's "For A Few Extra Dollars" amounts to an above-average Spaghetti western about a gold heist. Giuliano Gemma stars as a Confederate Army officer who helps the Union Army to prevent the needless massacre of Southern troops who will be wiped out while the real villains steal the gold from under the noses of the Yankees. Strong production values, rugged Spanish scenery, a sturdy cast, and plot with a little mystery to it distinguish this oater that occurs during the American Civil War. Although he fought on the opposite side, our resourceful Confederate hero, Gary Hammond (Giuliano Gemma of "Day of Anger") cuts a bargain the Colonel of Camp Davis (Andrea Bosic) where he is being held prisoner to escort two Union soldiers, Captain Lefevre (Ángel del Pozo of "Horror Express") and Sergeant Pitt (Nello Pazzafini of "A Long Ride from Hell"), through the treacherous sun-baked southwest because he knows the terrain like the back of his hand. The heavily mustached Lefevre is a ruthless Union officer who prefers to shoot first and ask questions later, especially when it involves gunmen who cannot take care of themselves. When Sergeant Pitt refuses to shoot unarmed men, Lefevre displays no qualms about killing. During their trip, they run into a band of outlaws, and Lefevre doesn't trust Hammond with a hoot. Sergeant Pitt is nothing like Lefevre, but he doesn't give Hammand an inch. When Hammond palms Pitt's revolver in an incredible sleight of hand, Pitt surprises him by whipping out a derringer. Eventually, the trio get to a town where Hammond encounters a pretty dance hall warbler, Connie Breastfull (Sophie Daumier of "Love at Sea"), who needs a pass through the territory. Once Connie obtains a pass, Hammond slips the message that the Colonel gave him into Connie's luggage. Meanwhile, Lefevre reveals his villainous interests when he sneaks away from Hammond and Pitt to talk to the chief villain, Riggs (Dan Vadis of "The Gauntlet"), who is the brains behind a gold heist. Riggs has managed to convince the local Confederates that Fort Yuma, where the gold is stored, has a smaller number of cannon. When the rebels attack the fort, Riggs and his men will access a tunnel and steal the gold while the Confederates are pulverized by sixteen artillery pieces.Giuliano Gemma makes a stalwart hero who knows how to handle a six-gun. He endures the usual tortures that Spaghetti western heroes must face. At one point, when he refuses to divulge the whereabouts of the message that the Colonel entrusted to him, Riggs stakes him out in the sun. Miraculously, Hammond survives this obstacle course. He fools Riggs' henchmen before he wipes them out and tangles with Riggs. Ferroni stages a no-holds-barred saloon brawl with Gemma taking on a lot of henchmen. Dan Vadis is a well-dressed heel and makes a sufficiently rough-edged bad guy. Sophie Daumier supplies sex appeal. Several character actors who appeared in a large number of Spaghetti westerns show up here, including Antonio Molino Rojo, José Calvo, Benito Stefanelli, and Riccardo Pizzuti. Composer Gianni Ferrio contributes a flavorful orchestral score, with Ennio Morricone supplementing the musical soundtrack. "For A Few Extra Dollars" is also known as "Fort Yuma Gold."

This is a good S.W. plenty of action , shootouts , thrills and fist-play , being inspired by the known novel Miguel Strogoff written by Jules Verne . It's a thrilling western with breathtaking confrontation between the protagonist Giuliano Gemma against the heartless enemies : Dan Vadis , Angel Del Pozo and Jacques Sernas . It concerns about a Confederate militia that constitutes a serious threat to Fort Yuma . Our handsome hero, Gary Diamond (Giuliano Gemma or Montgomery Wood) is imprisoned at a hard Northern prison , he is a highly respected Southern official , then the Union Colonel (Andrea Bosic) assigns him a risked mission , carrying a secret message across dangerous landscapes until Fort Yuma . As the Davis camp Colonel asks him to go and hand over an important letter . Gary Diamond along with Capt. Lefevre (Ángel del Pozo) and a sergeant (Nello Pazzafini) travel across the Old West till Brighton . Meantime , Gary falls in love a beautiful woman named Connie Breastfull (Sophie Daumier) who heads to town to sing at a saloon spectacle . But Gary is captured , he's whip-tortured with his naked torso and put in front of sun , being blinded (similarly to Miguel Strogoff) and having to lose his eyesight in some sequences make a strong impression . Enjoyable Chorizo-Spaghetti Western co-produced by Spain , Italy and France and follows the American models more than Sergio Leone style . This Western is a superior outing because it displays thrills , emotion , shoot'em up , brawls , intrigue , riding pursuits and many other things . There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing some shots or stunts every few minutes . The picture is a tale of justice and revenge , as a soldier carries out a hard mission when is kidnapped , beaten , tortured and blinded and later on , he seeks vendetta against his torturers . The basic plot is typical spaghetti western fare , but what makes this movie stand out is its style . The starring called Gary Diamond is stunningly played by Giuliano Gemma . Giuliano is very fine , he ravages the screen , he jumps , bounds and leaps , hit and run . Gemma as a brave and two-fisted northerner military is terrific , subsequently the would play similar role in other Spaghettis . Gemma , along with Anthony Steffen and Gianni Garco , results to be one of the greatest stars of the Spaghetti genre . Gemma in his beginning worked as stunt-man , practiced many sports in his life, boxing, gymnastics, such as is well proved at the movie . Then the director, Duccio Tessari, gave him the first role as protagonist in the film " The Titani" and the first spaghetti western films where he often worked under the name of Montgomery Wood , playing Western as ¨A pistol for Ringo¨, ¨The return of Ringo¨ and others as ¨Adios Gringo¨, ¨Arizona Colt¨, ¨The price of power¨ , ¨Day of anger¨ and later ¨California¨. However, his first big opportunity came with the important Italian director, Luchino Visconti in ¨El Gatopardo¨ this was followed by important roles in "Angelica" , ¨Tenebre¨ , ¨Young Lions¨ and ¨The master touch¨. Then he played his most significant roles in ¨Il Deserto Dei Tartari¨ and ¨Il Prefetto Di Ferro¨ .In the movie appears usual support actors as Spanish people : Jose Calvo , Lorenzo Robledo , Antonio Molino Rojo , Pepe Martin , Alfonso Rojas as Italian players as Ettore Manni , Benito Stefanelli , Ricardo Pizzuti , and , of course , Nello Pazzafini . It's a co-production Spanish-Italian and shot on location in Manzanares Del Real , La Pedriza and Colmenar Viejo (Madrid) , Spain . There are many fine technicians and nice assistant direction , excellent production design , and atmospheric cinematography by Rafael Pacheco , he creates a magnificent scenario on the interior ranch and barren outdoors , dirty landscapes under a glimmer sun . Excellent music original by Gianni Ferrio and Ennio Morricone .The musical score of the film included some parts of the score for I malamondo (1964) in order to justify including Ennio Morricone in the score credits of the film. Morricone sued the producer and the dispute was settled in court in 1973. The musicians compose a nice Spaghetti soundtrack and well conducted and splendid leitmotif ; it's full of enjoyable sounds and emotive score , including enjoyable songs at the beginning and the end. The flick was professionally directed by Giorgo Ferroni , an expert on Peplum . As he directed ¨The war of Troy¨ with Steve Reeves ,¨Hercules against Molock¨ and ¨Il Colosso Di Roma¨ with Gordon Scott . He also directed Western as "Fort Yuma Gold" , "Blood for a Silver Dollar" , Wartime as ¨Battle of El Alamein¨ and Terror in acceptable results as ¨ Mill of the stone woman¨ and "Night of the Devils" . This Western was inspired by the famous and classic novel titled ¨Miguel Strogoff¨ written by Jules Verne . Other Spaghettis freely based on famous novels and plays are the followings : "Long Days of Vengeance" by Florestano Vancini with Giuliano Gemma and Francisco Rabal based upon The count of Montecristo by Alexandre Dumas , ¨The Fury of Johnny Kid¨ based on Shakespeare , being directed by Gianni Puccini with Peter Lee Lawrence and Cristina Galbo from ¨Romeo and Giuletta¨ . Furthermore : ¨Johnny Hamlet¨(1968) by Enzo G Castellari ; ¨The return of Ringo¨ by Duccio Tessari also with Giuliano Gemma and inspired on the ¨Odyssey¨, ¨John Il Bastardo¨(1967) with John Richardson , based on books from Zorrilla and Moliere ; ¨Anche Nel West Céra Una Volta Dio ¨ (1968 )by Marino Girolami based on ¨Island of treasure¨ written by Robert Stevenson and ¨Apocalypse Joe¨ with Anthony Steffen based on Macbeth and Hamlet .

Near the end of the Civil War, imprisoned Confederate raider Giuliano Gemma is sent under guard to warn both his men and the Army at Fort Yuma that an impending rebel raid is really nothing but a ruse by scoundrels from both sides, in cahoots to take the fort's gold for themselves during the chaos. Soon Gemma slips his treacherous escort and attempts to complete the mission himself.Fort Yuma Gold is well-paced and full of action, with unpredictable plot twists, colorful characters, and one cringe-worthy torture sequence that will have you clutching your eyeballs!Rough-and-tumble Gemma has quite a winning personality. His charismatic performance goes a long way in helping make this already breezy, likable spaghetti western very satisfying.The music score, co-written by the great Ennio Morricone, is fantastic and quite reminiscent of the ones he created for A Fistful Of Dollars and For A Few Dollars More.

Here's a very entertaining film: Unusual (for an SW) story-line, not a revenge, but a "savior" story, loads of familiar faces, good and vehement action, solid acting. The sets are nice, the girl's named "Breastfull" - go and see this one.