Guns for Dollars

By the 1970s, many spaghetti western filmmakers decided after years of making serious spaghetti westerns to start making some that were more comical in nature. "They Call Me Halleluja" (a.k.a. "Heads I Kill You, Tales You're Dead") is one such western, and overall it's a pretty fun exercise. It's goofy fun almost right from the start, with assorted slapstick and various other comic touches (a machine gun sewing machine.) The peppy score by Stelvio Cipriani is the icing on the cake. The movie is not perfect - there are a few moments when it seems that linking footage is missing, and in the second half of the movie, the characters seem to forget about the treasure they had previously been seeking. And the second half also starts to get a little tiresome with its seeming padding. But overall, if you like spaghetti westerns and you are not in a completely serious mood, this movie will do nicely.

This is a splendid comic adventure; it is also a 1971 spaghetti western that coming at the tail end of an era was not much seen.

While the cast is uniformly good, it is the script that excels. Tino Carpi's writing provides good lines for almost everybody, whether it is the lead HALLELUJAH, his aristocratic rival in arms ALEXEI, or the two parties, trying to cheat them, the Mexican bandit revolutionary RAMIREZ or the American spy disguised as a nun (AGATA FLORI); even the ruthless arms dealer KRANTZ who engineer the theft of the jewels that everyone chases after a motley crew that becomes recognizable, because they are given not only names but personalities (eg. Cookie and his comments about outlaws, going back to Utah; Fortune, and so forth).

Uruguay born GEORGE HILTON comes across as a blend of TERENCE HILL; JAMES COBURN, especially when he wears motorcycle goggles in an early sequence, and even HUMPHREY BOGART! The actor credited as CHARLES SOUTHWOOD is an engaging fellow, especially when he does his Cossack schtik.

The music by STELVIO CIPRIANI is almost non-stop and adds to the atmosphere.

This is a film that will remind you of many other spaghetti westerns, even if those were made later than this: I was reminded of the SABATA films; the TRINITY films especially the second that deals with rogue monks and their monastery; other Mexican revolutionary films all the way back to VIVA ZAPATA; VERA CRUZ (Emperor Maximilian again) and COMPANEROS/MERCENARY, plus the two Leone westerns DUCK YOU SUCKER and then MY NAME IS NOBODY with the shaving sequence. And those are some that come off the top of my head.

I watched the video distributed by ACADEMY and could almost believe it was STEREO HIFI as cited on their box, but for the fact that no one was doing that back in 1971. In fact I watched this full frame video on a widescreen TV, in the widescreen mode, and was quite satisfied with the picture quality, confirming the original photography was excellent to begin with.

It remains a western that should be seen, therefore be made more available; how nice it would be to see the film on DVD letter boxed, even if it were only in mono!

A first rate Italian Western starring the great George Hilton and which was recently shown at Tarantino's (very own) festival of classics. His own runaway success has really brought these obscure 'Spaghetti's' into the public eye. This example is more along the lines of the fun 'Sabata', rather than (the gritty) 'A Fistful of Dollars' and showcases a vast array of unusual/inventive weaponry. Highly enjoyable and strikes a near perfect balance of comedy and action.

I bought a copy of this film from an on-line cult-movie dealer solely on the basis of its title: HEADS YOU DIE,TAILS I KILL YOU. This is one case where a spaghetti western lives up to its nifty title. Though a bit overly-plotted, this is a machinegun-paced, fun oater. More in common with the westerns of Howard Hawks and Burt Kennedy than the sweltering pasta dishes of Leone and Corbucci. Holds your interest throughout its running time. Great script.

Roberto Camardiel is running the revolution against Emperor Maximillian, but things aren't going so well. In fact, he's facing a firing squad. Fortunately the peasants, led by scalawag gun-runner George Hilton save him. But the Revolution cannot succeed without machine guns, and that calls for money, so the plan is to steal the Emperor's Crown Jewels and have Hilton convert them into Gatlings. What the Emperor Norton will say in Petaluma, no one knows.

When we think of spaghetti westerns, we think of Sergio Leone with Clint Eastwood as the Man With No Name, and this definitely qualifies. In many ways, it looks like THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY, but while that was filled with dark, sardonic humor, this one seems to take all the deaths as good, clean fun, just a boy's adventure, with Hilton outwitting and outrunning everyone else. It's fine on those terms, but lacks any depth whatsoever.