Madron

MADRON is your typical kind of western with one twist: it was shot largely in Israel, in various sun-scorched desert locales which do a good job of standing in for the Old West. Otherwise, it's a middling kind of film that doesn't really have a lot going for it, as the production is kind of sloppy. The photography never really brings out the best of the surroundings and the characters are rather flat.

The protagonist is Leslie Caron, playing an uptight nun who survives an Indian massacre at the film's opening. She's rescued by Richard Boone's titular gunfighter, and the two then go on a trek through the land, fighting off various bad guys all the while. A handful of cheap action scenes prop up MADRON, but they're quite poorly conceived and lacking in excitement. Boone is the best thing in this and is reminiscent of Bud Spencer at times. Paul L. Smith (Bluto in POPEYE) has a minor role. The famous Italian film composer Riz Ortolani supplied the music, but that opening song really has dated in the worst kind of way.

AKA : "Two Mules for Sister Sara --- without the budget" Take out Clint Eastwood - Add Richard Boone Take out Shirley McLaine - Add a gorgeous Leslie Caron

I can't figure out why she made this movie -for the money??? A shoestring budget that scrimpted on screenplay and .. well almost everything. This didn't play when I was a kid in my neighborhood; but it surely would have been at one of the closest 70 or 80 drive-in theatres first run. Not good, but I was looking for this film (to complete my Oscar films of 1970), so I can't complain too much.

Richard Boone and Leslie Caron were great actors in near past and said that the bad movie's copy allowed to me make me extremely unpleasant to wrote something, firstly it was an used VHS transfer into DVD-R and worst dubbed in spanish, under such conditions is hard to make a suitable review, in addition about the storyline, l can write unreserved as it was shooting in Israel's desert and Hollywood, so stays a question that doesn't have an propper answer, why they didn't shooting in desert nearby of Hollywood, will be more easy and for economics reason more relevant, so l will pray so hard in near future to see this interesting picture in a full restoration, and try make a reappraise that l've been write today!!!

Resume:

First watch: 2011 / How many: 2 / Source: DVD-R / Rating: 5.5

A talky imitation spaghetti western shot in the Negev Desert in Israel and released shortly after 'Two Mules for Sister Sara'; a bit too soon for it to be a straight copy. It probably owes more to 'Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison' and the Dollars trilogy, with good girl Caron joining forces with bad & ugly brigand Richard Boone against a rugged backdrop and a sub-Morricone guitar score by Riz Ortolani. Pedestrianly directed by Jerry Hopper after several years away in TV, his occasional zooms are a poor substitute for Sergio Leone's frenzied cutting and clashing close-ups.

Boone of course is as usual good in the title role (although Caron didn't like him). Caron's smooth gamine features remain far too unblemished by exposure to such a harsh climate (likewise her long flowing, well-conditioned hair when allowed loose). But I'm not complaining...!

The movie is enthralling, it has deepness, it is the hard core gunfighter who has lost all hope on mankind, including himself, and trapped by circumstances in a desert with a beautiful pure woman...and slowly regains hope in mankind, in himself, and ultimately falls in love...his last love...and sacrifices his life so that she may live...all enshrined in the nostalgic spell of the award winning score...a beautiful movie...