Cemetery Without Crosses

This is a violent , beautifully crafted as well as exaggerated Spaghetti and packs taciturn acting on cynical characters with bloodbaths including high body-count , sense of style and elaborate narration . It pits ¨Man with no name¨ against two families that are feuding between them , the Rogers and the Caine . As a gunslinger (Robert Hossein) saves the damsel in distress who is also his former flame (Michelle Mercier) and at the same time she is seeking revenge for death her husband . The gunman join forces with the widow pitting the nasty family who uses twisted means to chase them and it terminates in a deadly feud . The pistolero kills various bandits in a gunfight at the saloon , then he is detained and imprisoned by the sheriff . Later on , there takes place kidnapping , killings , street shootouts at a ghost town and tragic events .

This classic Western titled ¨Une Corde, Un Colt..." or "Cemetery Without Crosses" or "The Rope and the Colt" contains slow and deliberating filming , elaborate shoot-outs , and portentous close-ups of grime-encrustred faces with heinous bloodbaths included . It is a strange , slow-moving and almost utterly visual picture with some surprises and well paced . Robert Hossien stars as a leather-clad gunfighter and wearing black glove , drawn into a dramatic facing off between two revengeful families . Hossein plays a drifter similarly to Clint Eastwood's ¨Man with no name¨ from ¨A fistful of dollars¨ and ¨For a fistful of dollars more¨. Fine support cast formed by Italian/French actors , all of them customary Spaghetti such as Guido Lollobrigida or Lee Burton , Daniele Vargas , Serge Marquand , Benito Stefanelli and Ivano Staccioli . Special mention to Michele Mercier as attractive as well as vengeful widow .

This is a well-made French/Italian production , in spite of , there appears usual Spanish secondary players from Paella/Ravioli Western , mostly uncredited , such as Simón Arriaga , José Canalejas , Álvaro De Luna , Charly Bravo , Cris Huerta , Lorenzo Robledo and Angel Alvarez as a Barman likeness to his role in Django . Unforgettable and terrific original music by André Hossein , in Ennio Morricone style , including a catching leitmotif , one of the best of Spaghetti . Worn-out cinematography by Henry Persin , being necessary a nice remastering because of the colors are faded.

This stylish , violent , laconic Western was very well shot by Robert Hossein and is dedicated to Sergio Leone , who made one of the more important scenes . Hossein did revive his career almost instantly on the strength of this film through the main role and filmmaking . Director Robert Hossein claims that Dario Argento was not involved in writing the screenplay with perhaps not more than two dozen lines of dialog ; Dario Argento is listed in the credits on the Italian and German versions but not on the French version . Robert Hossein said that the dinner scene at the Rogers house was directed by Sergio Leone. Rating : Better than average Spaghetti Western .

From the opening sequence, as a sepia camera lens captures the pursuit of a single rider by a gang on horseback, I just knew that this film was going to demonstrate class. And, although the story itself probably has little to set it apart from many other films within the Euro Western genre, it more than makes up for it with its effective use of camera work and great character portrayal. Yes, this film has class in abundance.

So to the story itself. Having witnessed her husband Ben (a brief but welcome appearance by Benito Stefanelli) executed by the Rogers family, Maria (played by stunning french actress Michèle Mercier) seeks revenge on the killers. Unable to rely on her two oafish brothers-in-law to assist, she seeks help from Ben's best friend (and, as we find out, Maria's former lover) Manuel (Robert Hossein).

Manuel enlists himself as a member of the Rogers gang, enabling him to capture the only daughter. With this prisoner in her custody, Maria has the perfect ransom to deliver a perfect revenge on the Rogers gang. With the scene now set, the bloodshed and twists to the story soon commence.

The character of Manuel is quite unlike any other main western lead that I have seen. Whilst demonstrating an unnerving ability with a gun, there is a definite reluctance to become too embroiled with Maria's plot. His time as a gunfighter by choice has passed - perhaps symbolically shown by him being the sole resident of "Ghost Town". However, his involvement is spurned on by his feelings for her. Hossein, who both played the part of Manuel and directed the movie, plays this solemn and complex character superbly.

Hossein's direction is really eye catching too, with the camera work demonstrating more than a little nod in the direction of a certain Mr Leone (to whom there is a suitable credit in the end title sequence). This is no copycat Leone film however, and firmly stands up on its own merit. Less is definitely more, as the opening scene proves (it must be a good ten minutes before there is any real dialogue. And in reality, when the picture is this effective words are not needed).

In summary, don't be put off by the simplicity of the story, as the way that this film is crafted makes such an issue completely irrelevant. It can stand quite proudly in that top echelon of Euro Westerns, and quite possibly a perfect introduction to the genre to those that have purely seen the Leone movies.

This is a very good eurowestern that will have you in its grip from start to finish.

It is beautifully filmed with lots of desolate wide open desert, and impressive mountain scenery. The film has a feeling of loneliness as much of it takes place in a deserted ghost town which has apparently become the home of the protagonist.

The movie is populated with bitter characters that are primarily motivated by revenge. There are no happy endings here. This definitely wasn't "the feel good movie of the year," which is a good thing. The female lead is a beautiful woman in black with little left to live for other than seeing her husband's killers pay for his death. Her relationship with Manuel, the man she goes to for help with her plan, is a very intriguing one. This is because we are left to wonder what their history is until close to the end of the film when it is finally revealed.

The music score is excellent. The opening/closing theme is a great spaghetti western ballad with vocals. The music during the film is mostly guitar designed to create feelings of suspense and sadness. There's also a touch of organ thrown in for good measure. It all works wonderfully with the film.

This is a high-quality spaghetti western that is riveting and entertaining. I highly recommend this one. If you get the chance to see it, don't pass it up.

Une corde, un Colt (AKA: Cemetery Without Crosses) is directed by Robert Hossein, who also stars and co-writes the screenplay with Dario Argento and Claude Desailly. Starring alongside Hossein are Michèle Mercier, Anne-Marie Balin, Daniele Vargas, Guido Lollobrigida and Serge Marquand. Music is by Andre Hossein and cinematography by Henri Persin.

After being forced to watch the lynching of her husband by the ruthless Rogers family, Maria Caine (Mercier) asks her inept brothers-in-law for help in retribution. Getting no joy from the pair, she seeks outside help in the form of fast gun Manuel (Hossein), a loner living in solitude out at a ghost town...

It's dedicated to Sergio Leone, who directs one of the best scenes in the film, contains the Argento factor, so it's not really a shock to proclaim that Leone's influence is all over Hossein's movie.

It's a Pasta Western that operates in the void between the real and the spirit world, deliberately ethereal in tone, even sprinkling dashes of the surreal onto the hearty portion. Dialogue is used sparingly, but not to the detriment of film's quality, and Hossein the director dallies in black and white staging, slow zooms and excellent usage of sound effects.

Much like the dialogue, the violence is pared down, there's no Blunderbuss infused blood laden approach to the evil that men do here, it's all very controlled and in keeping with the tonal flows that Hossein favours. The cliché's of the sub-genre are adhered to throughout, thankfully so, while the finale is suitably melancholic.

Thoughtful, sombre and ripe with blurry ambiguity, Cemetery Without Crosses is comfortably recommended to the Euro Western fan. 8/10

The qualities inherent in this Spaghetti Western have more to do with its uniqueness rather than for any outstanding merit: the film, in fact, is a French-Italian co-production (albeit co-scripted by none other than Dario Argento!). Also unusual is the fact that the movie was helmed by its own leading man – incidentally, the two stars (Hossein and Michele Mercier) had just finished the 5-picture "Angelique" series, which is currently being re-proposed on Italian TV (I've recorded four of them so far but have yet to watch any). Of the remaining cast members, I was mainly familiar with Michel Lemoine (perhaps best-known for playing the Mephistophelean figure in Jess Franco's SUCCUBUS [1967] and who would himself graduate to direction with the likes of SEVEN WOMEN FOR Satan [1974]); though his character isn't given any distinguishing features, the actor's odd looks are enough to give an offbeat tone to the traditional Western garb and settings.

The plot – a running feud between two factions, with each of whom the laid-back and detached ex-gunfighter Hossein becomes involved – is quite typical and straightforward; actually, the hero had been Mercier's flame but the latter eventually married another man, who turned out to be no good…though she's determined that the perpetrators of his death be punished, which is why she now turns once more to Hossein (living a hermitic existence in a nearby ghost town!). In direct opposition to the "Angelique" films mentioned above – where the sensuality of Mercier, one of the loveliest starlets of her time, was given center-stage – here, she deliberately chose to be deglamorized (not only forced to bury her husband all by herself but being physically manhandled by the villains at the end). Anyway, Hossein joins the other side – ostensibly as a rustler – but subsequently kidnaps the patriarch's daughter for purposes of ransom; on the other hand, they retaliate by beating up the two brothers (Lemoine among them) of Mercier's husband. By the time it's all over, unsurprisingly, there are bodies lying everywhere – even the stars get it (with Hossein giving himself a particularly ironic demise)!

Much of what's admirable in the genre at its best is evident here as well: laconic dialogue, good action (ominously donning a glove before engaging in shoot-outs, Hossein's gunplay is so quick as to border on the invisible!), terrific score (by the director's father Andre'!) and an evocatively grubby look (the opening and closing moments, then, are given an added dimension by being presented in sepia); interestingly, Hossein dedicated the film to his friend (and undisputed master of the genre) Sergio Leone!