Coffin Full of Dollars

This is another Euro-western directed by Demofilo Fidani a.k.a. Miles Deem. Like the other Fidani movies I have seen, this one isn't as bad as his movies are reputed to be. It certainly doesn't rank up there with the greatest spaghetti westerns of all time, but it's still pretty decent entertainment for people who like the genre.

The acting is a bit below average, except for Klaus Kinski who puts in a fine performance. The story is good enough to keep ones interest throughout the whole film, and there is plenty of action. The stunt-work and gunfights are done quite well. Hunt Powers as Tomayo has the perfect look for a spaghetti western, and with his long hair and big mustache, appears as though he could have walked out of an actual photograph from the late 1800's.

The music score isn't outstanding, but it is suitably styled for a spaghetti western, so it's still way better than any music one would hear in an American western.

If you are really into spaghetti westerns, and not just the most popular ones, This is a good one for a lazy afternoon when you just want to be entertained without having to think about it too much.

What do you get when you take a silly revenge screenplay and add to it a lusterless cast of bad, unattractive actors and a bug-eyed, bad acting actress? You get this movie, that's what you get. Everyone associated with this mess should be ashamed. Even Kinski seems bored (as well he should be). Only the stunt men get to shine, as they twirl and do their acrobatics when they get shot (all of it bloodless and woundless). None of this makes a lot of sense. Gordon Mitchell, whom I've always liked, is wasted here, playing against type as a bounty hunter with a heart. What a waste of ninety minutes this is! Don't waste your time watching this one. I wish I hadn't.

Hagen (Klaus Kinski, or "Slander" in my dubbed version) burns down the farm of the Hamiltons and kills the whole family - except one who was absent and swears revenge upon his return. Nevada Kid (Jeff Cameron) gets unexpected support from a bounty hunter (Gordon Mitchell) who carries a list of all wanted men - which has the size of a big city's telephone registry. They rescue a maiden in distress (played by Simone Blondell, the daughter of director Fidani) and happily kill everybody who looks like a bandit.

Truly no art, but still the best movie by the director, as far as I've seen his works... which reviewers often describe as "junk". The screenplay is straight ahead, the music by Lallo Gori provides tension and a good title song, and the camera work of Joe D'Amato is excellent with its many close-ups and precise focusing. Kinski puts more effort in his performance than in some other westerns, for example in the scene at the beginning when he discovers his two brothers were killed. Ray Saunders got a really nice role as a former slave saved by Nevada Kid. In a scene which was cut from the 80s video tape version but restored for DVD, he even sings a song. Hunt Powers is first mentioned in the cast, but plays only one of the bandits.

I'm not a huge fan of Demofilo Fidani, but I think this is his best, and I'm writing this mainly to refute the rubbish in some of the other reviews of this one that I've seen.

Can you imagine someone watching an Ed Wood movie, because it's an Ed Wood movie, and complaining about the sets being cheap??? That's pretty much what I'm seeing, absurd as it is. That and people that don't know anything about the genre. Hey, people, Spaghetti Westerns existed before that useless twerp Tarantino decided to rip them off. He ripped off the blood squibs and such from Hong Kong action cinema, not from SWs. They've never been big into that. Hand waving is good when you're doing it deliberately and you know you are. It's irritating when it's supposed to work as logic, but when you just want to say, "and then that happens" it works in a B movie. Klaus Kinski is great as ever.

Simonetta Vitelli (as Simone Blondell) has to be one of the most gorgeous women that has ever walked the planet. Cheap shots about her looks??? Definitely from someone whose taste is limited to their lingual epithelium.

People who aren't a fan of the genre could well give "Miles Deem" a miss. Those that love it and don't want to be disappointed by one of his would do well to watch this one, imho. It's just slip-shod enough to be Fidani, but not so Fidani that it gets in the way of being a decent spaghetti western. People that love the genre will know there's a long ways between the best and worst. Anyone comparing it with the top 10 obviously has seen about 3 of the genre.

Average Italo Western. Mostly poor acting and a LOT of plot holes/stupid behavior i.e. people kill each other any given possibility - normal in italo western - but main characters always go into fistfights against each other. Klaus Kinski is amazing as always - his role is small but he is the only character that impressed me and you will remember after seeing the movie. (unexpected) Some very funny scenes with a "doll" - i really laughed. If you like italo western (as i do) i recommend it - otherwise skip it all in all not too bad 6/10

BUT far from "per un pugno di dollari" (for a fistful of dollars) by Sergio Leone which some people seem to have mixed it up with.