Frontera al sur

Internal Politics and an illicit dalliance with an Indian chiefs wife force mountie David Kitosh on a daredevil mission leading five widows and five coffins filled with almost one million dollars worth of gold bullion across the Canadian countryside. Hounded at every turn by vengeful indians and a band of vicious outlaws and cutthroats after the gold, Kitosh and party heave a sigh of relief when they spot their destination, the secluded Fort Eagles. Unfortunately for the convoy, the safety of the fort is but an illusion as they draw closer to the daunting walls they discover the horrifying truth...

A Canadian Mounted Police and injuns are two things that make this 1967 western look a bit interesting as its quite rare in a spaghetti western. It's watchable but the direction is a bit flat, the plot can be convoluted, muddled and it can be talky. There's some action, however, but some of it is weakly done with some stock footage poorly placed. The shootout at the finale is best bit, and the cast and the adventurous feel kept me from turning it off.

This DVD claims to be one of the 70's Spaghetti Western 'classics' (someone needs to explain what constitutes a real Classic!). Shameful in every aspect, it even fails in the category of 'so-bad-it's- good, leaving the viewer clamouring for the fast forward remote. This abysmally written, directed and acted 'western' hardly hits a right note as it scuttles itself into memory oblivion. Yes, there's the obligatory clone of 'Morricone copycat' music - why did all Italian/Spanish 'western' music have to sound the same?...it was evident, that all 'moviemakers' knew, if you took Ennio's music away from Leone's movies they would lose 50% of their appeal. If anything, the music comes off best remembered. The 4x3 transfer of original 'CinemaScope' is appalling.

For the very easily pleased.

KITOSCH, THE MAN WHO CAME FROM THE NORTH stars two of the genre's best known faces, George Hilton as Kitosch, and Pierro Lulli as Major Baker. Also present are Ricardo Palacios and Gustavo Rojo and quite a large cast running, riding, shooting and being shot in the Aldea del Fresno near Madrid, Spain, a beautiful area quite suitable for westerns, resembling the Alabama Hills of California slightly. The story reminded me more of the German Winnetou films than a spaghetti western; red-clad mounties hassling with the locals, bagpipes playing, lots of Indians falling off their ponies, and Hilton and Lulli sparring with each other, neither one evil, but both interested in the gold and the women they are guarding. In some ways Kitosch is a reworking of GUNS OF FORT PETTICOAT, the Audie Murphy western of a few years before. That film was set in the desert; this one is supposed to be Canada, but sure looks like desert to me. There are some funny bits, and Palacios is very good as a French-Canadian trapper who is Kotosch's sidekick. The women look very sixties, and a few of the mounties sure look Italian or Spanish. Jose Luis Merino directed, not quite as well as his later DUEL IN THE ECLIPSE (REQUIEM FOR A GRINGO). Fans of the genre will have a good time as long as they don't take Kitosch too seriously.

So-so Tortilla Western dealing with Canadian Mounted Police , being middlingly directed by Jose Luis Merino . This Gazpacho Western deals with Rojas Casacas or ¨Red Long Coats¨ from Mounted Police operating along the US/Canadian border . An explorer guide called David Kitosch (George Hilton) going to a new destination in a far Fort called ¨Fort Benson¨ . But he is incarcerated and coerced to carry out a dangerous mission to guide a convoy transporting valuable gold bars . David joins Major Zachary Backer (Piero Lulli) and his team (Enrique Avila , Ricardo Palacios) and all of them suffer hot pursuits , extreme risks , assaults , betrayals and unexpected Indian attacks . Along the way they find a group of damsels in distresses (Krista Nell , Veronica Lujan , Claudia Gravy) . Then , David disguised as a Canadian Mounted Police officer but things go awry .

This is effortless and below average story in Paella Western sub-genre style , thus the picture includes the Canadian theme similarly to ¨Unconquered¨ by Cecil B De Mille and ¨The Canadians¨ by Burt Kennedy . As the movie follows more the American models than Spaghetti Western wake . Other Spanish films about Canadian Mounted Police are ¨Mestizo¨ by Julio Buchs and "Revolt in Canada¨ by Amando De Ossorio and "Cavalry Charge" by Ramón Torrado ; concerning similar events , battles between Red Skins and Red Long Coats. As it results to be a familiar film , with no much violence , though there are many deaths . The picture contains an exciting and spectacular final battle , though badly paced , including hundreds of extras , when the regiment is besieged by Indians . However , nobody seems to be wearing any clothes more than a week old, and modern day police special pistols are used alongside of prop-ish looking firearms with little or no concern about authenticity . Characters use knives that are brand new, reflectively shiny and don't appear to be sharpened . Regularly played by George Hilton who overacts as a brave scout . Hilton starred a lot of Spaghetti/Chorizo Westerns as ¨I Due Figli Di Ringo¨, ¨Un poker Di Pistole¨, ¨The gold professionals¨, ¨Sartana¨ , "Professionals for a Massacre" and many others ; though also performed a great number of Giallos as ¨¨All the Colors of dark¨ , ¨perverse Mrs Ward¨ and ¨Scorpion tale¨ . Many other familiar faces from Chorizo/Spaghetti , there appears ordinary secondaries in Spanish/Italian Western such as Gustavo Rojo , Luis Barboo , Ricardo Diaz , Rafael Vaquero , Veronica Lujan , Claudia Gravy , and special mention to fatty Ricardo Palacios who plays the starring's partner , acting as comic relief . Colorful photography by Fausto Rossi , being necessary a right remastering , and filmed on location in Aldea Del Fresno , Colmenar Viejo , Las Rozas , Manzanares , Navacerrada , Madrid . Atmospheric and evocative musical score by usual Angelo Francesco Lavagnino . The movie was produced in enough budget by and Jose Frade/Atlantida productions that financed several Westerns during the 60s and early 70s such as ¨Cuatreros¨ , ¨Mestizo¨ , ¨Challenge of McKenna¨ , ¨The mercenary¨ , ¨Los Compañeros¨, ¨twenty dollars for seven¨ and ¨Saddle tramps¨ , among others.

The motion picture was professionally directed by Jose Luis Merino , though resulted to be average . He's a skill and successfully craftsman . Merino often uses same actors , such as Stelvio Rossi , Peter Lee Lawrence , George Hilton and Charles Quiney . He has written/directed numerous films of all kinds of genres such as Terror : Ivanna , The hanging woman ; Euro-spy : Colpo Sensazionale al Servicio Del Sifar ; Chorizo/Spaghetti Western : More Dollars for the MacGregors , Frontera Sur , Réquiem for the gringo , Gatling gun , Seven ride to death , ; Wartime : Last Panzer battle , Hell commandos , A Bullet for Rommel , When heroes die ; Musical : Europa Canta , Aquellos Tiempos Del Cuple , and his most successful films are the fresh and diverting adventures : Tarzan and King Salomon's mines , Robin Hood , Rebelion De Bucaneros , El Zorro knight of Justice , El Zorro De Monterrey , and Last adventure of Zorro