Ringo, the Mark of Vengeance

Cash-strapped drifters Anthony Steffen and Eduardo Fajardo save the life of a life of a trouble-prone Mexican ex-con with half of a treasure map tattooed across his back. Soon, the three find themselves partnered up with oily con-man Frank Wolff and a crooked sheriff in a game of double and triple-crosses.

Clearly inspired by The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, this is straight-forward and colorful, with lots of twists and great performances by Steffen, Fajardo (who gets to be a good guy in this one), and villain Wolff, whose character seems to corrupt nearly every person he comes in contact with.

Well photographed, this makes full use of some excellent Spanish locations. It's always good to see Italian westerns with a lot of emphasis on outdoor action, with a good portion of the film taking place on the trail.

Two vagabonds save the life of a Mexican and discover he has a tattooed map on his back. A second treasure map (tattooed on another man's back) is needed to find the gold. The three are joined by a mean, lean cardsharp, who has been eavesdropping on them and also wants a slice of the cake.

Ringo the Mark of Vengeance is definitely influenced by The Good, the Bad and Ugly, but it stands on its own merit and is more straightforward without any drawn-out Civil War sequences or lengthy running time. The plot is tightly wounded, moves fast, has good twists and turns and enough duplicity to keep things brimming. The characters, except the shady card sharp, are likeable -the action is lively but the plot drives this western. The Almeria location is utilised well. Enjoyed this one quite well, no dull spots, and Frank Wolff as the card sharp sure knows how to manipulate things to suit his situation.

Though the title "Ringo: Face of Revenge" suggests otherwise, there actually isn't any kind of revenge in this particular spaghetti western. I'm used to this kind of bait-and-switch in the spaghetti western genre, so I didn't mind this. And there is some genuine merit to be found in the movie's 97 minutes. There is a low key but effective musical score, for one thing. And while the movie seems to have had a slightly lower budget than usual, director Mario Caiano manages to spend the limited funds well so the movie doesn't come across as cheap. Caiano also manages to generate some decent action sequences, and effectively film the various plot twists and turns so the viewer keeps wondering where the movie is headed to. But at the same time, Caiano puts some odd touches in. The movie is a little slow, and could have been tightened somewhat. There is also a frequent casual feeling to the story when things should have been nailed down more. The casualness to some of the violence is a little off-putting, and the portrayal of Ringo and his actions don't always make him come across as likable. When you weigh the good with the bad, this spaghetti western ends up being just okay. Fans of the genre will probably get some entertainment out of it, but if they never see it, they are not missing that much.

This film starts with that Almeria backdrop that we love so much. Ringo (Anthony Steffen) and his colleague Davy (Eduardo Fajardo) rescue Fidel (Armando Calvo) from a certain death at the hands of a posse of gun-hands. Their motive? Well it had nothing to do with Fidel's safety, but an assumption that there must be a reason that the gang would be so keen to pursue him.

This intuition is well founded. Once they have rescued Fidel for a second time - after a full on bar brawl - they discover that he has a map tattooed on his back. It turns out to be just half of a map for hidden gold, with the second half on the back of a crook-turned-sheriff following a pact whilst the two were captive in prison. The aptly named "Trikie"(Frank Wolff) has overheard the conversation, and insists on joining the three on the trail of the gold. The group successfully track down the Sheriff, who double crosses them - the first of many double-crosses as they follow the map and the film develops.

"Ringo - Face of Revenge" is pretty watchable, although in truth fairly average spaghetti fare. With not a hint of revenge! The story itself has many twists and turns that successfully kept my attention, but the actual delivery of Caiano's direction seemed often lacking. I couldn't help feel that certain scenes were simply added in to cement the gaps in the story, and help the viewer realise what was actually going on (but unfortunately the cement was weak and lacked substance).

That said, there are some great scenes - my favourite being the moment when the captured group decide that the only way to prevent the double crossing sheriff from learning the secret of the other half of the map is to burn the tattoo off of Fidel's back. Ouch! As far as the acting is concerned, Fajardo really excels in the role of the eccentric Davy. Both Wolff and Steffen on the other-hand both appear quite subdued (although, I guess that was largely Steffen's style).

If you enjoyed "Some Dollars for Django" you will probably enjoy this movie also, as it has a similar feel (and not just because of Steffen's lead role). To me it remains in that group of westerns that I quite enjoy watching, but would be in no particular rush to watch again.

This movie has an original title that resumes almost everything about its story: Los Quatro Salvajes ( or The Four Ruthless Men). You'll see why. Two miserable adventurers (Steffen and Fajardo, in his best performance) help a Mexican guy to escape an attack of fierce 'bandoleros' just to find out that this Mexican outcast has a great secret: he knows - or, better, partially knows - where a great gold treasure is hidden. Why just 'partially'? Well, because he has just a part of the map to the treasure site tattooed in his back! Because of this he must find the other guy who has the rest of the map equally tattooed in the back; this guy is now a sheriff and so the hunt begins. An interesting story that resembles me a bit the Houston's classic 'Treasure of Sierra Madre' is charmingly developed by veteran director Mario Caiano although a bit far fetched and meaningless in some scenes and situations. Fajardo is terrific and Alejandra Nilo is a gorgeous face along the way. A spaghetti western that will delight the addicts of the genre and will be a good surprise to a new public as well.