Lo sceriffo senza stella

Jeffrey Hunter and Louis Hayward co-star in this European western shot in Spain. The rest of the cast is for the most part European players who most of you have never heard of filling out the cast of The Christmas Kid.

In the title role is Hunter who was born on Christmas Day hence the title. But he hardly takes after the guy who the holiday celebrates the birth of though he once played him in a different film. Mother died at birth, father blames him for her loss and Hunter grows up without any firm foundations.

Still he's a popular hell raiser and when the small town becomes a boom town because of a rich vein of copper Hunter becomes the sheriff. A corrupt sheriff to be sure, doing the bidding of gambling hall owner Louis Hayward who arrived and built his dance hall gambling palace when the copper boom started. But soon enough Hunter stands against Hayward and for real law and order.

Both Hunter and Hayward have seen better days. Hunter was a favorite of John Ford who used him in The Searchers, The Last Hurrah, and Sergeant Rutledge. Jeff must have known this was hardly going to be a John Ford western. I believe this was the first western for Louis Hayward who could play good and bad guys equally well, but also in better films. Both these guys have the look of men waiting for their paychecks to clear.

Fans of both will be disappointed.

This is another wonderful feature presented to US audiences by Sid Pink, who recently past away in 2002. It was produced during an incredibly vibrant period for Pink, when he was making pictures in Spain during 1961-1968.

Starring Jeffrey Hunter as Joe Novak, The Christmas Kid is a not-quite-perfect Christ parable with the lead role essayed by the actor most notable as Jesus from King of Kings. It follows his birth in a makeshift shelter, his troubled teen years as an angry--yet non-violent--youth, culminating in his about-turn as an adult gunfighter. Along the way, he is tested in New Testament fashion by a prostitute, the promise of riches, and by an ersatz Satan (in the form of profiteer Louis Hayward). The analogies don't end there. His birth is visited by three wayfarers from the neighboring town who are following a light from the ramshackle "manger", and there appears to be a possible "crucifiction" Western-style, set for Joe's future.

The cast is uniformly excellent, with many appearing in several of Pink's movies at the time: Gustavo Rojo appeared in Fickle Finger of Fate, Witch Without a Broom, Tall Women and Madigans Millions; Perla Cristal also appeared in Witch.., Tall Women and another Pink feature called Sharaz.

Rojo should be memorable to "Spaghetti Western" fans for his role in A Bullet for Sandoval, and Cristal appeared in the first two Jess Franco Orloff movies, as well as appearing as the nefarious bi-sexual mad scientist in Paul Naschy's Fury of the Wolfman. Veteran character actor Jack Taylor appears as Novak's unforgiving father, still blaming his son for his mother's death at childbirth. Taylor still acts, appearing to US audiences most recently in Polanski's The Ninth Gate. Genre fans remember Taylor for his numerous roles in Franco movies such as Female Vampire, Count Dracula, Eugenie and Succubus.

With a cast like this, Pink did not fail.

My OOP video boasted an effective cartoon graphic of the climactic confrontation between Joe and the townspeople.

This, along with other features in Pink's canon, should be allowed a DVD release.

A below average Chorizo Western about a desperado who struggles to determine his identity , while stopping a wealthy owner in a frontier town . In a small western town in Arizona called Jaspen , a baby is born on Christmas Day . Joseph "Joe" Novak is born in a makeshift shelter , but his mummy , Marika Novak dies during childbirth. Because of the day he was born , the boy will be nicknamed Christmas Joe . Joe Navidad (Jeffrey Hunter) is adopted by three godfathers (Gustavo Rojo , Luis Prendes , Reginald Gilliam) while his drunk father has an extreme resentment against him . As Joe's alcoholic father (Jack Taylor) will never forgive him for the death of his spouse , which will lead Joe toward a rebellious attitude . He will become a troubled adolescent , and will end up learning how to shoot and his father works badly as a blacksmith . Later on , Navidad will also reject his daddy's pacific attitude . Meanwhile , at town's surroundings is discovered a copper mine , and the location progresses and is elected as Mayor Luis Carrillo (Gustavo Rojo) . There comes the villain Culligan along with his lover (Perla Cristal) , he opens a busy saloon : ¨Grand Mercury Saloon Hotel¨ and buys a mean sheriff . Sheriff Anderson 's connection to Culligan is too obvious for everybody . However, the rest of the townspeople is completely fed-up with the situation . A meeting is organized and Joe Novak is selected as the new sheriff , although he doesn't want the job. He is selected anyway . The judge of the town , judge George Perkins (Luis Prendes), is the one who convinces everybody. Then , Joe works for Mike Culligan (Louis Hayward), the richest man in town , but later on , he resigns . Soon these rivals must make common cause in the face of the nasty owner Culligan and gunplay as well as betrayals ensue .

Tortilla/US Western with a good cast but wasted , as professional Hollywood B-actors, several Spanish secondaries and other expert technicians . As its director results to be Sidney Pink who lived in Madrid, Spain , where he produced many of the earliest spaghetti westerns , genre in which he would not only excel but one where he would spent time of the rest of his career . Ordinary Western that doesn't follows the Sergio Leone wake , but it is proceeded in American models . There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing some shoot'em up , or stunts every few minutes , but being badly edited . There is an odd implementation of shots in the camera work during some particular scenes as the film approaches its climax , as in the final gunfights and when Joe Navidad is condemned to hanging . Outdoor sequences with barren and rocky exteriors filmed in Spanish places located on AManzanares Del Real , Colmenar Viejo , La Pedriza (Madrid) that resulted to be the location in which was shot lots of Western produced and directed by Spanish , Italian and occasionally American people . It stars Jeffrey Hunter who played various Ford films as ¨The searchers¨, ¨Last Hurrah¨, Sergeant Rutlede¨, and made all kinds of genres as Wartime : ¨The longest day¨, ¨hell eternity¨, ¨Private navy of Sgt O'Farrell¨, ¨No man is an island¨¨ and Western : ¨The great locomotive chase¨, ¨7 cities of gold¨ , his greatest success was ¨King of kings¨ ; and played other Spanish films as ¨A witch without a broom¨. Furthermore , other American stars as Louis Hayward as Culligan who has always used the corrupt sheriffs to deal with the dirty side of his business . And a great number of Spanish secondaries as Jack Taylor , Luis Prendes , Fernando Hilbeck , Gustavo Rojo , Angel Menéndez and Alvaro De Luna .

Lousy cinematography in Eastmancolor by Manuel Hernandez San Juán , being necessary a perfect remastering because of the copy is washed-out . Anti-climatic musical score by musical score by Fernando García Morcillo . Being badly produced and directed by Sidney Pink . Sidney is generally considered to be a decent producer/director of B movies . He realized his first feature in 1953 titled I Was a Burlesque Queen . Although Sidney Pink couldn't be deemed an "A"-list director, his movies had a professionalism and a verve that many of those made by his fellow B directors lacked . He began his film career as a projectionist in a theater owned by his wife's family . Pink was considered the pioneer of 3-D movies, having produced more than 50 of them . Produced the first widely released feature-length 3-D film, "Bwana Devil," presented in the polarized dual-projector system which became standard for the 1950's 3-D movie craze . Sidney was a producer and writer, known for Reptilicus (1961), The Angry Red Planet (1959) and Journey to the seventh planet (1962) .He also filmed thrillers as ¨Pyro¨ and more Western as "Seven Vengeful Women" and ¨Joe Navidad