50th Anniversary of “The Mercenary”

50 years ago today “Il Mercenario” (The Mercenary) premiered in Rome, Italy. Directed by Sergio Corbucci and starring Franco Nero, Tony Musaante and Giovanna Ralli it tells the tale of a Mexican revolutionary who is lying low as a U.S. rodeo clown, the cynical Polish mercenary who tutored the idealistic peasant tells how he and a dedicated female radical fought for the soul of the guerrilla general Paco, as Mexicans threw off repressive government and all-powerful landowners in the 1910s. Tracked by the vengeful Curly, Paco liberates villages, but is tempted by social banditry's treasures, which Kowalski revels in.

Il Mercenario – Italian title

Salario para matar – Spanish title

El mercenario – Spanish title

Jaguar – Spanish title

Ammattitappaja – Finnish title

Un tuer professionnel – French title

El mercenario – French title

Mercenario – der Gefurchtete – German title

Die zwei Gefurchteten – German title

Die gefurchteten Zwei – German title

O epanastatis – Greek title

O misthoforos – Greek title

O skliros, to moutro kai o zorikos – Greek title

O Pistoleiro Profissional – Portuguese title

Gringo-Professionell Pistolero – Swedish title

Revenge of a Gunfighter – English title

A Professional Gun – U.K. title

The Mercenary – U.S.A. title

A 1968 Italian, Spanish co-production [Produzioni Europee Associate (Rome), Profilms

      (Madrid)]

Producer: Alberto Grimaldi

Director: Sergio Corbucci

Story: Giorgio Arlorio, Franco Solinas

Screenplay: Adriano Bolzoni, Sergio Corbucci, Sergio Spina, Luciano Vincenzoni

Cinematography: Alejandro Ulloa [Technicolor, Techniscope]

Music: Ennio Morricone, Bruno Nicolai

     Songs: “Bamba vivace”, “Estasi”, “Il Mercenario”, “Fiesta”, “Liberta”, “Paco”, “Canto a mia

                 terra”, “Notte di Nozze”, “Riccioli” sung by I Cantori Moderni

Running time: 111 minutes

Cast:

Sergei Kowalski – Franco Nero (Francesco Sparanero)

Ricciolo/Curly/Curl/Elam – Jack Palance (Vladimir Palahniuk, Jr.)

Paco Roman – Tony Musante (Antonio Musante, Jr.)

Columba – Giovanna Ralli

Alfonso Garcia – Eduardo Fajardo

Ramon – Álvaro de Luna (Álvaro Blanco)

Mateo – Raf Baldassarre (Raffaele Baldassare)

Hudo – Remo de Angelis

Larkin – Joe Kamel (Giuseppe Frisaldi)

Sebastian – José Canalejas

Elias García – Vicente Roca (Vincente Roca)

Garcia’s brother - José Riesgo (José Cortina)

Mexican - Angel Ortiz (Ricardo Ortiz)

Studs – Franco Ressel (Domenico Orobana)

Captain – Guillermo Méndez

Simón – Simón Arriaga

Innkeeper – José Zalde

Antonio – Francisco Nieto

García’s cousin – Tito García (Pablo González)

Pepote – Franco Giacobini

Notary – Ángel Álvarez (Ángel Fernández), Enrique Navarro

Ramirez – José María Aguinaco

Mayor – Juan Cazalilla

Juan – Alejandro de Enciso

Marco – Milo Quesada (Raúl Alonso)

Sergeant – Fernando Villena

Curly henchman – Hermano Reynoso

Officer – Lorenzo Robledo

Land owner – Ugo Adinolfi

With: Bruno Corazzari, A. Jiménez Castellanos, Julio Peña (Julio Muñoz)

Master of arms: Remo de Angelis

Stunts: Miguel Pedregosa