Finger on the Trigger

A group of ex-Union soldiers, trekking towards New Mexico to set up new homesteads, come across a band of Confederate soldiers waiting in ambush for a troop of Union soldiers in pursuit of $10 million in hidden Confederate gold. The Union soldiers, pursued by hostile Indians are trapped in the ghost town where the gold is buried where they must decide to fight off the marauding Indians.

Finger on the Trigger, Spanish western starring Rory Calhoun, has some good atmospheric scenery (loved the deserted ghost town, fort), good cinematography and a very good story idea (the arid landscapes, end of the Civil War, confederacy, Union, Gold and Injuns), however the execution of the story is rather weak - muddled, meandering and limp comes to mind, due to the weak script and direction. Some intrigue but not enough. That's due to the execution. Characterisations are weak. Needed a better director and script - shame this has a potential to be one humdinger of a western. Rory Calhoun is good, tries his best, the action is lacking but when it comes it's handled ok (some shoddy scenes where the barrels remain intact after cannon fire). It's not totally unwatchable - you just got to be an aficionado of the genre. I liked the arid landscapes and ghost town, the atmosphere, which was quite relaxing. I'd rather watch this than the abysmal Charro where Elvis sideburns was the only exciting thing, or the equally abysmal More Dead Than Alive (the title says it all!)

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"!

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.

Like so many action stars of the second rank Rory Calhoun left for Europe to continue his career. Finger On The Trigger is his experiment with the spaghetti western. Unlike many he graduated into character roles in the Seventies and would be doing those for the rest of his life.

Nothing terribly original about this plot. Calhoun leads a disparate band of ex-Union soldiers going west after Appomattox to take advantage of the Homestead Act. In doing so he runs into some Confederates, some who know the war is over and are looking to rob some Confederate gold coming in from the west. I think we saw this in Virginia City.

The foe here is Indians and some renegades from Calhoun's bunch. The Confederates may not like the fact that the war is over, but rational necessity dictates an alliance against the Indians.

I'm not a big fan of spaghetti westerns because westerns are better done here in the USA where it's part of our heritage. Calhoun in the Sixties did some decent westerns for A.C. Lyles and others on this side of the pond. Finger On The Triggr isn't one of them.