A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die

Carcasses galore do not a better movie make. Some guy with an unnamed palsey like affliction in his hand goes around blowing people away by the dozen. For an example he rides into a camp, shoots about fifteen people and next is seen riding off on their wagon. He must have needed a wagon.

We get a flashback scene wherein the principal is seen as a boy of around nine kneeling over his father in the street while his dad is having an attack of the obviously genetic palsey. Ten or so men stand around and laugh at the boy's father in derision. The kid gets mad and grabs a gun and shoots them all dead. We are supposed to presume the kid goes on with the business of growing up without answering any repercussions from having committed this mass murder in the middle of town. Uhh...ok. Right. That could happen.

This movie plays like a Sergio Leone copy done by an elementary school drama club. When in doubt, shoot some characters.

The most unrealistic aspect of this film is that there is no way the main character would have been able to travel around on horseback carrying that amount of lead ammunition required to kill as many as he does. Hey, maybe thats why he needed the wagon.

Alex Cord plays Clay McCord(how apt!), an outlaw who has traveled to New Mexico on the promise of amnesty given by its governor(Robert Ryan). Unfortunately, Clay gets challenged by the local sheriff(Arthur Kennedy) who doesn't agree with the governor's plans, and decides to use Clay to lure other outlaws to the state, so that he can deal with them all at once. This leads to a big showdown at the end.

Not bad western is clearly based on the style of the Sergio Leone westerns, and is a decent attempt at doing so, though of course is not as stylish or memorable. Good cast, and an interesting character detail of Clay having epilepsy like his father, which sometimes makes him vulnerable.

Back when the Italians were making their so-called 'Spaghetti Westerns', studios often obtained the services of non-Italians to play the leads in their films. The idea was that these B-list foreign actors would increase the marketability of the films abroad and folks like Rod Steiger, Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef were often seen in these movies. In "Un minuto per pregare, un istante per morire", Alex Cord, Arthur Kennedy and Robert Ryan starred...and it was unusual to see that many American actors in one of these films.

Cord plays Clay McCord, an outlaw who is headed to Tuscosa, New Mexico Territory. Why? The territory has just approved an amnesty for criminals. In other words, if they sign a document promising to obey the law, their past crimes will be forgiven. But Cord realizes this might just be too good to be true...and that's exactly the case. Scum-bags, bounty hunters and the like plan to kill these outlaws before they get to the city...and in McCord's case this actually occurs IN Tuscosa...mostly because the Sheriff (Kennedy) is a jerk. But when the Governor (Ryan) arrives and swears the support the amnesty, McCord MIGHT just stand a chance.

Like you'd expect, this movie is extremely violent...as are nearly every Italian western. Lots of remorseless killings are the norm in this one and they seem to take precedence over the plot at times. Add to that a very simple plot and you have what amounts to an exciting time-passer and not much more.

By the way, I really liked Ryan's performance....very low key and convincing.

The cast alone tells you this will be a notch above the usual Italian western. Veteran actors Robert Ryan and Arthur Kennedy team up with Alex Cord who, at the time, seemed on the verge of stardom. The result is a movie that's both off-beat and down-beat and yet it'll satisfy those who seek more from a western than just gunplay. Especially interesting here is the character played by Alex Cord. One expects the "hero" in these westerns to be taciturn and introspective, but "Clay McCord" is an extreme example and, surprisingly enough, he's often shone in a passive, even weak position. Much is made of the fact that he fears falling prey to the epileptic fits which immobilized his father, and in these moments of helplessness he's either at the mercy of those who wish to harm him or those who wish to help him. To emphasize his passivity, Clay McCord -- don't you love that name? -- is often shone stripped to the waist as if he were little more than an attractive plaything being put on display. There's even a strong masochistic streak in his nature, most in evidence when he's used as a punching bag by his enemies and then suspended by his wrists and left hanging above the middle of a street. Not only does he often fail to protect himself, but McCord is equally ineffective in protecting those around him. Nearly everyone who helps him is killed.

While "A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die" is far from being a complete success, it has a depth and a tone which sets it apart and causes it to linger in the memory. It's also a good showcase for Alex Cord whose career tended to decline after this point following a few promising years in the mid-1960s. He must have been about 34 years old when he filmed this -- in his physical prime -- and the scene of him hanging by his wrists, bare-chested and sweaty, is a memorable piece of cinematic "beefcake."

A MINUTE TO PRAY, A SECOND TO DIE is a surprisingly gritty spaghetti western that makes good use of Alex Cord's rather unlikeable outlaw whose lack of charm makes him the polar opposite of Eastwood's Man with No Name. The story involves our hero and his sidekick arriving in a locale populated by the usual unpleasant bandits and the like, and the fun is enhanced by the presence of Hollywood stars like Arthur Kennedy and Robert Ryan in support. The film has surprisingly graphic scenes of torture and killing, and builds to an impressive siege climax which really delivers. While it falls just shy of being a classic, in most respects this one works.