Ringo Kill (aka Night of the Serpent) (1969)

Director: Giulio Petroni

Starring: Luke Askew

More info: IMDB

Plot: Luke Askew plays Luke, a gringo saved from death in the desert by a bandit leader, whose men treat the Americano like the drunken fool he is. He's been inside a tequila bottle for a long time (since he accidentally shot and killed his son) and is chosen to be a sacrifice in a plot hatched by Federale Lieutenant Hernandez (Pistilli). The plot? Kill Manuel, a kid who stands to inherit 10,000 dollars, and all of Manuel's relatives want a piece of it.

My rating: 6.75/10

Will I watch it again? Yes, but not before I see the other 5oo+ spags first


There were more than 500 spaghetti westerns made in Europe between 1963 and 1977 when the genre was pretty much completely dead so it stands to reason that of those 500+ there's going to be a lot of shit...and there was. So it's really surprising when you see one that's better than average. This is one of those films.




Luke Askew heads up a good cast and Riz Ortolani's score is fun and memorable. His score to DAY OF ANGER is one of my favorite spag scores which is sooooo different than Morricone's and the Morricone wannabes. But I didn't really go for the REEFER MADNESSed-up piano music used for Luke's flashbacks. It's more amusing than tragic. Other than that, it's great.




Even with a very satisfying ending and just about everything from the start, RINGO KILL drags and feels a little too long for the story it has to tell. It's a surprisingly good spaghetti that deserves to be seen by a wider audience and not just the die hard SW nuts like me. There is more to see than the ones with Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Franco Nero, Tomas Milian, George Hilton, Terence Hill and Giuliano Gemma you know.