The Return of Ringo

Il ritorno di Ringo (The Return of Ringo) is directed by Duccio Tessari and Tessari co-writes the screenplay with Fernando Di Leo. It stars Giuliano Gemma, Fernando Sancho, Hally Hammond, Nieves Navarro, Antonio Casas, George Martin and Manuel Muniz. Music is by Ennio Morricone and cinematography by Francisco Marin.

After fighting in the American Civil War, Ringo (Gemma) returns to his home town of Mimbres to pick up his life from pre the conflict. However, he finds the town is in the grip of Mexican bandits run by brothers Paco (Martin) and Esteban Fuentes (Sancho), their control over things extending to Ringo's wife, Helen (Hammond)...

No Entry For Dogs, Gringos And Beggars.

A sequel of sorts to A Pistol for Ringo (1965), with the same makers, cast, locations etc reconvening for a different story and scenarios, this ranks as one of the better follow up movies going. After a wonderfully sang title song opens up proceedings and we get introduced to Ringo (officially Montgomery Brown) via a bit of gun play and story setting, pic quickly identifies itself as a mournful revenge and rescue piece. We are deftly placed on the side of the protagonist, rooting for him to claim back his life and in the process rescuing his loved ones and vanquishing the whole town from racist bloody tyranny. It's a classic Western tale told with style at a suitably unhurried pace, the characters are formed because they get time to breathe, all relevant to the journey and the final destination that Tessari is taking us to.

I've come back Paco Fuentes!

With Sancho and Martin delightfully vile as the villains, it falls to Gemma to turn in a good one as our hero, and so it is. Ringo is a great character as written, his world turned upside down, and he has been funeralized as well! Ringo gets beaten, stabbed and emotionally battered, but he fights with guts and cunning. He is really cool as well, during adversity he can climb a rope one handed, cock his rifle the same, he is even prone to free falling from rooftops to enact skillful kill shots. For sure this is a Spaghetti Western hero for the ages. The natural beauty in the tale is obviously in the form of Hammond (socko gorgeous) and Navarro (socko sexy), these both dovetail nicely with the more grungy aspects of story and character actions and moral standards. While the makers enjoy filling the play with colourful support characters, such as a camp florist, alcoholic sheriff and a fortune telling whore.

Tech credits are very high. Tessari has a superb eye for a telling eye catching scene or sequence, cue Ringo doing a slow walk down the street, his form transformed via a number of coloured glass windows, scenes such as the way Ringo and Helen's initial recognition is lighted for ultimate worth, Ringo rapid fire with bandaged arm as a rest, strategic motifs like a knife thrown in a heart drawn on a tree, and of course the justifiably famous scene of Ringo in a doorway with dust storm raging around him, a scene that's as chilling as it is thrilling. Stunt work is great as well, in a sub- genre of film known for its exaggerations, it's pleasing to see so many falls enacted with genuine believability, none more so than for the exhilarating last quarter of film. This last quarter brings our hero into his pomp, all while bodies and buildings are way laid by bullets (get that wicked Butterfly monikered artillery repeater!), an action prelude to the final outcome that we want, in fact demand!

Then finally there's Morricone, whose score is one of his non Leone best. It's a swirl of emotions, darting in and around the main character, occasionally rising to thunderclap status for key dramatic scenes, with a music box tie-in that's heart achingly effective. Morricone's work is the cherry on the cake, for this is a superb Spaghetti Western of blood, brains and balls, and worth seeking out by anyone interested in the better half of this mixed sub-genre of film. 8.5/10

Director Duccio Tessari's follow up to his Spaghetti Western "A Pistol for Ringo" uses much of the same cast and crew, starting with the handsome and charismatic star Giuliano Gemma. Gemma plays Captain Montgomery Brown, a soldier during the Civil War who returns home to find his family has been eliminated, and now a bandit gang is reigning supreme. One of them, Paco Fuentes (George Martin) intends to marry Browns' wife Helen (Lorella De Luca), who, like much of the locals, believes Brown to be dead; Brown slips into town under the assumed identity of a Mexican named Ringo to seek revenge.

This viewer admits that he prefers the more action packed predecessor "A Pistol for Ringo", but can see why some people would appreciate this movie more. It's not so much about action (although there are some fine set pieces) as it is about character. It's fairly slow, yet interesting, going for nuance any time that it can. Even the bad guys are not as flamboyant as one may expect. Fernando Sancho is actually fairly low key as Esteban Fuentes, one of the gang. Tessari gives "The Return of Ringo" some pretty effective atmosphere, especially in sequences in the streets. There's wind, debris flying around, and precipitation at appropriate moments. Ennio Morricone once again delivers the goods when it comes to the beautiful score. That theme song will sure stick in ones' head.

Gemma does well as our hero, with enjoyable supporting performances by lovely ladies De Luca and Nieves Navarro, Antonio Casas as the sheriff, Manuel Muniz as "Morning Glory", and Victor Bayo.

Suitably entertaining for fans of the genre.

Seven out of 10.

The Return of Ringo (1965)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Captain Brown (Giuliano Gemma) returns home from the Civil War and finds that a group of Mexican bandits led by Fuentes (Fernando Sanches) have killed his relatives and taken over the town. Naturally this isn't going to sit well with Brown so he must come up with a plan to take everything back.

Looking at the title of this thing you might think that it's a sequel to A PISTOL FOR RINGO but it's not. Well, it kind of is but not really. What you've basically got is a somewhat remake because the majority of the actors from the first film return here but they're are now playing different characters. THE RETURN TO RINGO is certainly a step down from the first film but there are still enough entertaining moments to make it worth watching.

The biggest difference that you'll notice with this film is the fact that there isn't as much comedy as the first one and that this here is a lot more darker. It's interesting to see what Duccio Tessari did with this film because he basically got the same cast and crew and got to make the first movie over. I found this to be rather interesting and especially how we got to see the actors appear in different types of roles. I'm not sure how often something like this happened but it was a curious decision and it probably played out better than had the director gotten new actors for these new roles.

Both Gemma and Sancho are once again the highlight of the picture as they are both very good in their roles and really do a great job with the hero-villain aspect. Lorella De Luca is also very good in her part and the rest of the supporting players are nice as well. Throw in the nice score, the good cinematography and some pretty good action and THE RETURN OF RINGO is a worthwhile film for fans of Spaghetti Westerns.

This western may be similar to other westerns in its revenge-plot. At the same time though, there is a romance to it, seldom found in westerns. Just like 'The thief of Bagdad' (Michael Powell) had a unique atmosphere of mysticism, so does this western, although it is less pronounced and may even seem involuntary. Nevertheless, deliberate or not, it conveys a feeling of times long gone by and may even resemble something quite different of its kind, such as the 30-page adventure story by Carl Barks (Donald Duck Four Color: 'In old California'). Because of all this a 10 out of 10.

The director Duccio Tessari, who began his career as a sword and sandal movie maker, made his second western "Il Ritorno di Ringo" with a crew almost identical to that of his first western "Una Pistola per Ringo". But I personally prefer this "Ritorno" definitely to "Una Pistola": While the style of "Una Pistola" was still very similar to sword and sandal movies, and therefore didn't appeal to me especially, in "Ritorno" one sees a new style clearly differs from sandal movies: a high wind blows sands and hay through a town, the pictures , and the sore as well, are more melancholy and gloomy.

Tessari nevertheless doesn't hide his 'sword and sandal origin': the plot was taken from the last part of Homor's Odyssey, and in fact he well succeeded in transferring the Greek legend into a western. No wonder, as who could better treat Greco-Roman Classics than educated Italians? Giuliano Gemma in this movie is excellent. I cannot imagine how an other spaghetti western star would play the role of Ringo, while Ringo of "Una Pistola" could be, I think, played by anyone other (for example George Hilton or Terence Hill?).

And please let me give a tip for male viewers: If you wished to enjoy spaghetti westerns together with your wife, your girlfriend or your daughter, please begin with Gemma's westerns. She would like him. Actually Gemma was so popular with Japanese girls in the 60s/70s as Leonardo DiCaprio now. I know very well, because I myself was one of those girls at that time.