Leofwine_draca
MAN CALLED GRINGO is a pretty decent German stab at the genre, a film that ably resembles the spaghetti westerns that were so popular during the period. The simplistic storyline sees a gunslinger arriving in a town populated by an outlaw gang who are busy oppressing the townsfolk, while all of the usual genre tropes and clichés play out in quick succession. This good-looking film features a romantic sub-plot that doesn't drag, some nice action stylistics, and a generally nice and solid, macho feel.
ma-cortes
The movie gets Western action , shootouts , a love story , thrills and results to be quite entertaining . Set in 1895 , when a group of outlaws take over a small frontier town called Dakota . This is a tale of fear , greed and murder , set in a little town where happens a lot of incidents and shootouts . There bandits and rustlers plan to stay awhile, as they carry out robbing , assaults to win money at whatever cost by means of crime and terror . These outlaws called Reno (Sieghardt Rupp) and Gringo (Daniel Martín) are undercoveringly hired by a corrupt lawyer named Ken Denton (Helmut Schmid) . As the nasty gang (Rupp and Martin , both of them played in ¨For a fistful of dollars) assault a stagecoach and kill the mines owner called Walton (Pietro Tordi) , whose daughter to take the ownership of the transport company . Moreover , villainous Ken Denton wishes to take her business . In the meantime , a gunslinger called Mace Carson (Götz George) arrives and decides to help the citizens take their community back , as he is appointed sheriff but the band refuses to give up easily.Entertaining Chorizo/Schnitzel Western well produced by Alfons Carcasona with shoot'em up , action , violence , go riding , saloon brawls and amusement . It is a passable Western with a lot of surprises , thrills and including a love story between a drifter become a sheriff , Gotz George , and a beautiful owner , Alexandra Stewart . This film , realized in American Western style and no Spaghetti , contains Western-action , gun-play , fist-play and being enough amusing but mediocre . This Spanish/German western , probably won't be making too many top ten lists, but its an agreeable flick . It's a thrilling western that scrutinizes the greed and paranoia that afflicts an avaricious advocate at law played by Helmut Schmid , including breathtaking crossfire between protagonists when are besieged at a ranch against the enemies during the ending . It's a medium budget film with good actors , technicians , production values , pleasing results and turned to be shot entirely on location . Here filmmaker Roy Rowland delivers a decently-paced film , however he could be counted on to deliver solid "B" pictures which, at MGM , were often better than most other studios' . It's a stirring western with breathtaking gunfight between the brave protagonist Gotz George against the heartless Helmut Schmid and his nasty hoodlums : Daniel Martin and Rupp . Their dynamic together is also great and is what mostly keeps this movie going . Most players result to be too clean to compare with Sergio Leone's 'Man With No Name', so the result is nothing particular: too pretty for grit, too gritty for a traditional B and even a script co-written by Clark Reynolds can't do much . The film blends violence , thrills , high body-count and it's fast moving and exciting . There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing shootouts or stunts every few minutes , including a spectacular final confrontation . Underrrated by some reviewers , but still interesting to watch . Atmospheric scenario with barren outdoors , dirty landscapes under sunny Spanish exteriors and a shimmer sun and fine sets by expert craftsmen . Striking and colorful cinematography by Manuel Merino , being shot on location in Colmenar Viejo , Manzanares Del Real and La Pedriza , Madrid . Veteran MGM B director Roy Rowland ended his career with three cheap westerns co-produced with MGM and shot in Spain . The motion picture was professional but middlingly directed by Roy Rowland . Roy sharpened his directing chops at MGM with a series of shorts starting in the 1930s, then moved up to features in 1943 . Roy spent quite a bit of time at the studio, from 1943-51 and again from 1954-58 ; he had the good fortune to marry the niece of Louis B. Mayer and was the father of actor Steve Rowland . While not one of the studio's top-rank directors , he was a good professional who had a considerable success . Most were B-movies, but he occasionally handled such A-graders . His greatest hit was , of course , the fantasy movie titled The 5000 fingers of Dr T (1953) . Rowland made an action picture for independent release based on a Mickey Spillane "Mike Hammer" novel starring Spillane himself (Girl hunters (1963)) . He specialized in a variety of genres, including musicals : ¡Viva Las Vegas! (1956) The seven hills of Rome (57) , Two weeks with love (50) and dramas : Our wines have tender grapes 45 with Edward G Robinson (1945). He was also responsible for the tough, fast-paced Rogue Cop (1954), one of the few MGM films that could be considered "film noir" . Roy was a Western expert , as the last film he made at MGM was this "B" western with Stewart Granger, Gun Glory (1957) ; besides , he filmed Outriders with Joel McCrea , Bugles in the afternoon with Ray Milland and Many rivers to cross with Robert Taylor ; after which and then he traveled to Europe for a string of Spanish/Italian-made westerns such as Los Pistoleros De Casa Grande and Ley Del Forastero . His final film as director was a somewhat cheesy pirate movie (he was uncredited ; his Italian co-director Sergio Bergonzelli got sole credit) called El Tigre De Los 7 Mares and its sequel : Tormenta Sobre el Pacífico (1966) . He was associate producer on Nathan Juran's Spain-shot Western : Al Infierno, gringo (1969), after which he retired .
