A Train for Durango

This Spanish/Italian co-production results to be a very funny Western about some roguish adventurers who attempt to rob a fortune from a safe. This entertaining film deals with two buddy adventurers (Anthony Steffen , Enrico Maria Salerno) witness a train-robbery by two groups of bandits ( led by Jose Bodalo and Roberto Camardiel , respectively) and are then chasing the robbed gold and they also took Helen (Dominique Boschero) . Mario Caiano's Western parody is packed with frantic action and silly humor . Italian-Spanish co-production full of action , exaggerated characters, crossfire and lots of humor . This Spaghetti Western concerns about robbing a valuable fortune from a train crossing Mexico to American West and the ruler Porfirio Diaz had for pay to US . Then the rogue thieves along with a cocky American (Mark Damon) team up as three unlikely heroes . This is a surprisingly low-key Spaghetti Western in which three diverse characters joining forces to find the safe and rob a lot of money .

This amusing picture with Spaghetti all-star-cast contains an entertaining plot , action Western , shootouts and bits of campy and refreshing humor . It's an improbable blending of standard Western, tongue-in-cheek and continuous pursuits with no sense . A bemusing premise and interesting casting full of usual Spaghetti make this oater well worth the watching . Delightful Western satire in which three grifters Steffen-Salerno-Damon using his wits , breaking all the rules and kicking virtually every cliché in the pants , as he relentlessly deceives, plunders and robs . Amiable but sometimes lumbering Western satire goes on and on about the same premise , as a lot of minutes are superfluous ,it has half hour of excess , as it packs overblown jokes and antics and some moments turns out to be dull and tiring . Steffen and Salerno steal the show as two improbable rogues , there are very fine, they ravage the screen, , hit and run , besides receive violent punches, kicks and are ultimately buried to reveal the gold whereabout . Furthermore, appears ordinary secondaries of Spaghetti/Paella Western as Jose Luis Martin , Aldo Sambrell, Tito Garcia, Rafael Albaicin, Simon Arriga ,Manuel Zarzo, Jose Canalejas Lorenzo Robledo, and many others . The film mingles slapdash, pursuits, high body-count and it's fast moving and quite entertaining. There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing shootouts, fights or stunts every few minutes . The musician Carlo Rustichelli composes a jolly soundtrack with catching leitmotif and well conducted . Mediocre cinematography by Enzo Barboni in Eastmancolor with negative badly processed . Interior filmed at Elios Studios , Rome , and outdoor sequences filmed , of course , at Almeria, Spain. The film follows in the wake of ¨ Hallelujah trail (65) ¨ by John Sturges ¨ Support your local sheriff ¨ and ¨ Support your local gunfighter ¨ by Burt Kennedy and of course ¨ Blazing saddles (74) ¨ by Mel Brooks , all of them are engaging Western satire and very fun . The picture takes part of a sub-genre in which during the period of the late 60s and 70s combined Spaghetti Western and humor with tongue-in-cheek , for example, ¨The white , yellow and black¨ (Sergio Corbucci) , ¨ My name is Shangai Joe¨(Mario Caiano), ¨The stranger and the gunfighter (Anthony M Dawson), ¨ Vivi o, Preferibilmente, morti( by Duccio Tessari , here screen-writer)" and ¨Trinity and Bambino¨ trilogy ( by Enzo Barboni or E. B. Clucher who is cameraman of ¨Train to Durango¨).

Mario Caiano's direction is well crafted, here he's more cynical and humorous and less inclined toward violence and packs too much action , but especially this slapstick Western contains broad comedy . Caiano is a craftsman who has directed all kind of genres as Peplum as ¨Ulisse vs Ercole¨, ¨I due Gladiatori¨, ¨Maciste Gadiatori di Sparta¨ , Spaghetti : ¨Brandy¨, ¨Avenger of California¨ , ¨Ringo, face of revenge¨ , ¨Bullets don't argue¨, ¨Lone and angry man¨ , Terror : ¨Nightmare castle¨, ¨ Eye in the labyrinth¨ and even Pornonazi as ¨Nazi love camp 27¨. It's an offbeat , muddle and uneven Western but will appeal to Spaghetti aficionados . Rating : 5,5 , riotous Western spoof in which there's too much silly comedy and enough excitement .

A great film, great cast and soundtrack. Steffen and Salerno make a fine pair, supported by a mystery gringo (Damon).

In the train o Durango they saw a robbery made by the Lobo (Camardiel) a a beautiful girl been taken by the thieves. They went where Lobo is, to revive the girl and the gold, but this pair is a little bite confused, and an American named Brown starting helping them, till they gets close the gold.

There are also the participation of Aldo Sambrell as a officer and José Bodalo as a chief of robbers. Gets a little bite boring in the middle but the end is fantastic.

Though the 1970 spaghetti western "They Call Me Trinity" inspired a number of other comic spaghetti westerns, there were a few comic spaghetti westerns made before it, this movie being one of them. This one seems at times a little unsure of what tone to be, since there are several somewhat brutal killings by gunfire spread throughout. But most of the time the movie aims to be a silly experience. Though I have to admit that I didn't laugh at any time or at any gag, the light-hearted attitude makes the movie a pleasant experience if you are a fan of pasta westerns and want to see one that's somewhat different than usual. The only real complaint I have about it (other than the brutal parts) is that the movie for the longest time seems a little drawn out. Had it been shortened by fifteen or so minutes, I think it would have played out better. But the movie is all the same enjoyable.

I recently saw a nice widescreen English language release of this DVD and really enjoyed it. First off it's a great travelogue of spaghetti western locations; I recognized locales familiar from FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE and many others, all beautifully shot for maximum effect, Spain standing in for Mexico effortlessly. Second, it's a who's who of Spanish character actors; only Frank Brana seems to be missing of the stalwarts...well, so is Fernando Sancho, but most everybody else is here. Third, the leads all do a good job. Steffen is well cast as Gringo, a down on his luck Americano looking for a break south of the border. Mark Damon puts his shark-grin handsomeness to good use as the mysterious gunman who shows up from time to time to help out our heroes. And Enrico Maria Salerno was a revelation to me as Lucas, Gringo's Mexican sidekick. After seeing his performance I could totally see him pulling off the role of Tuco in THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY; he's sly, grinning, full of life, and not entirely trustworthy. This is an early comedy western, and for once the comedy works. It has some pretty funny scenes which made me laugh aloud, comic characters who aren't just irritating, and the comedy rings true, especially the ending, which I thought was hilarious. If you haven't seen it, you're missing out.

TRAIN FOR DURANGO is a somewhat obscure spaghetti western shot in Spain with a mainly Spanish supporting cast. The director is Mario Caiano, one of the most experienced genre directors working in Italy, and his solid leads are played by Anthony Steffen and Mark Damon, two actors well acquainted with the making of Italian westerns.

This is one of those comedy adventures in which the main characters are all rogues of some sort going after greater villains. The opening train robbery gives the film its title, but for the most part this is your standard comedy adventure, packed with twists and double-crossing and hidden character motivations. There's a ton of action here but most of it is inconsequential and merely seems to be action for the sake of action; thus the characters kick, punch, and shoot their way out of endless dangerous situations.

Steffen and Damon remain good value for viewers although the rest of the cast are unmemorable and stuck in cliché type roles. As for the comedy, I found it merely adequate. The film has a long, slow middle part in which nothing much of note really happens, although it does pick up again at the end.