Saturday, March 26, 2011

GATLING GUN

Quel caldo maledetto giorno di fuoco - Italian title
La ametralladora - Spanish title
Dollars til Django - Danish title
Miljoonan dollarin ase - Finnish title
Avec Django ça va saigner - French title
Cette chaude maudite journee de feu - French title
Django spricht kein Vaterunser - German title
O iroas, to katharma kai o prodotis - Greek title
A Metralhadora - Portuguese title
Jakten pa Gattlin Gun - Swedish title
That Damned Hot Day of Fire - English title
The Day of Fire - English title
Machine Gun Killers - English title
Million Dollar Ransom - English title
Gatling Gun - English title

A 1968 Italian, Spanish co-production [Fida Cinematografica (Rome), Atlántida Films (Madrid)]
Producer: Edmondo Amati
Director: Paolo Bianchini
Story: Paolo Bianchini, Claudio Failoni, Franco Calderoni, José Luis Merino (José Boves)
Screenplay: Paolo Bianchini, Claudio Failoni, Franco Calderoni, José Luis Merino (José Boves)
Cinematography: Marin Francisco Harrada (Francisco Marín Harrada) [Technicolor, Techniscope]
Music: Piero Piccioni (Ginapiero Piccioni)
Running time: 100 minutes

Cast:
Captain Chris Tanner/Django - Robert Woods
Tarpas - John Ireland
Belle Boyd - Evelyn Stewart (Ida Galli)
Martha Simpson - Candice Lagen (Claudie Lange)
Mr. Bishop - Gérard Herter (Gerhard Herter)
Jonathan Wallace - Lewis Jordan (Tiziano Cortini)
Richard Gatlin - Ennio Balbo
Doctor Alan Curtis - Roberto Camardiel (Roberto Escudero)
Ryckert - George Rigaud (Pedro Delissetche)
Miss Treble - Rada Rassimov (Rada Djrassimovic)
Pinkerton - Tom Felleghi (Tamás Fellegi)
Tarpas henchman - Claudio Ruffini, Freddy Unger (Goffredo Unger), Ivan Scratuglia (Giovanni
Scratuglia)
Jeremiah Grant - Furio Meniconi
Scott Grant - Fernando Bilbao
Ted Grant - Ugo Adinolfi
with: Corrado Sonni, Fernando Bilbao, Antonio Alfonso, Alfonso de la Vega




Two years after the outbreak of the Civil War, Richard Gatlin, founder of the first machine gun, offers his invention to the Federal Government. President Lincoln has sent to Las Cruzes, New Mexico, a secret commission to meet with him and take him and his weapon to Washington. During the night, two gunmen kill three members of the committee and kidnap Gatlin. The Federal Government, convinced that a secret service agent has revealed the meeting, blames and condemns to death the agent Captain Chris Tanner, but Pinkerton, the chief of the famous private detective agency, is convinced of Tanner’s innocence. By switching the imprisoned Tanner with an imposter Jeremiah Grant, he is freed and given the task of ascertaining the truth. After many adventures, he discovers that Gatlin and the machine gun are in the hands of Tarpas, a Mexican bandit, and Rykert, a member of the secret committee, who has faked his death. The plan of the traitor and his associate is to sell the weapon to the Southerners and ransom Gatling to the Northerners both in exchange for one million dollars each. But Tanner steps in and after a fierce gun battle manages to get the better of the two dark figures. He frees Gatlin and recaptures the weapon.

*When I asked Robert Woods about “Gatling Gun” at the 1st Los Angeles Spaghetti Western Festival he said, “I remember ‘Gatling Gun” because my name meant something at that time, Fida Films (Dr. Amati) gave me carte blanche to cast it, find the director and do it. I had worked with Paolo Bianchini on a modern film called “Hypnos - A Day Of Massacre” and I liked his work a lot, so I requested that he write the screenplay for and direct “Gatling Gun”, with Amati's blessing. I got John (Ireland) to do 'Tarpas'. John and I had done a couple of other films together including, “La sfida dei MacKenna” (“Amen”). John and I were very good friends."

YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXlDM35Xifk

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