Finger on the Trigger

Normally I am a big fan of spaghetti westerns, so I thought I would get some enjoyment out of "Finger on the Trigger". However, I have to admit that this particular pasta oater really tried my patience. I can only imagine what people who are not fans of westerns would think. For one thing, this is a pretty cheap movie, from the low budget sets to the shabby-looking costumes. It could have compensated by being lively, but that's not the case. The story is both dull and slow-moving, with some murky plot points that are never explained. If you are looking for action, be warned that there's no real action in the first half of the movie. There is some action in the second half, with an action climax that's not too badly done, but it's too little too late to save this movie. Even if you are really into spaghetti westerns, this is one effort that you'd be better off not watching.

The earlier reviews have said it all, really. Both the script and plot are muddled, and several times I found myself thinking "how come?" and "what". The curious accents can be attributed to dubbing in English and mock-Scottish, though in the version I saw on Youtube there were a couple of passages that hadn't been dubbed and were in the original Spanish.

I'm no military strategist, but some of the soldiers' actions were odd. And I've seen some long-range pistol shooting in Westerns in the past, but this film must have the record for the longest range - with snap shots fired from a galloping horse hitting Indians a couple of hundred yards away on the top of a canyon.

Silvia Solar added very little, and the inevitable romance seemed to happen after the two parties had exchanged just half-a-dozen lines of dialogue.

The equally inevitable battle wasn't too bad, though the cannon seemed to fire off a lot of shots very quickly indeed.

Cavalry deserters, led by Rory Calhoun, run afoul of treasure-seeking Confederate hold-outs, who've captured a Union fort deep in hostile Indian country, a location that forces the two sides into a confrontation with angry natives.

Barren Spanish locations are about the best thing about this grim pseudo- spaghetti western, full of unsympathetic characters. Of course, the unsympathetic characters themselves are the second best thing, giving this so-so movie an edge it really doesn't deserve. There is a good climax though.

Better known for sci-fi B-movies like Reptilicus, Angry Red Planet and Journey To The Seventh Planet, director Sidney Pink follows his usual formula of casting a Hollywood has-been and filming things on the cheap in Europe.

Rory Calhoun's name on the marquee might indicate a minor but serviceable western. Such, however, is not the case. A muddled script, unpersuasive casting, and lackluster characterizations add up to viewing which, while not downright awful, is definitely forgettable. The Spanish locations have a drab look and are a poor match for what is meant to be Oklahoma. Action scenes are indifferently handled and the touch of romance provided by leading lady Silvia Solar has little in the way of appeal or even plausibility. While we're at it, why are American prints sometimes given the meaningless title of "Blue Lightning?" One small point of interest is the presence of James Philbrook as the leader of the Confederates. His next film, "Son of a Gunfighter," probably provided him with his best role. Curiously, both that film and this one contain a scene of a bare-chested man staked out spreadeagle style and left to die under the roasting sun. In "Gunfighter" the victim is played by Kieron Moore. In this movie the victim is the hirsute German Grech who sweats up a storm as the ill-fated Sgt. Delmer.

I have to mention that the above title for my comments is not my personal opinion of this movie. It was a remark made by my grandfather when he bought the the VHS copy at Walgreens for $3.99. He's my Grandpa and I love him, he fought for his country in WWII, but the man has NO TASTE when it comes to any movie dealing with the "Old West". I only watched this movie once at his house, when I was too young to do anything about it. Suffice it to say that this movie has to be seen to be believed. B-movie legend Rory Calhoun and his hardy (see not excessively bright) band of Yankee Civil War veterans find themselves in a border town at odds with a band of confederates(?) led by an officer/struggling actor with the worst southern accent I have ever heard. He spends most of his time surprising ladies in their bathtubs (don't ask), and trying to mug Timothy Dalton. I call Rory's greybeards (obviously everyone was fifty years old during the Civil War) "Yankees", because their characters leave no doubt that ANY of them could ever have lived in the southern United States. I can't remember all of them, but there was a black soldier who didn't speak any lines but just stared at whoever was talking. There were also two typically crusty sergeants, but in a change of pace only one had the phony Irish accent, while the other had a phony Scottish accent. Details are sketchy, but the two groups of "soldiers" are after some legendary Spanish gold. But is the Civil War over, or are they all just AWOL? And why are there Indians who just stand on hilltops whenever anybody rides through a canyon? And how come Rory can shoot Indians off of these hilltops hundreds of feet above him with a pistol that he aims behind his back while riding at full gallop? I guess I could watch the movie again to answer these questions, but now I'm too depressed. If MST3K hasn't done an episode on this one by now, they should. Look for Indians on the hilltop and keep your "finger on the trigger"!