Any Gun Can Play (1967)

Original title: Vado...L'ammazzo e Torno

Director: Enzo G. Castellari

Writers: Tito Carpi, Enzo G. Castellari, Romolo Guerrieri, John Davis Hart, Sauro Scavolini, Giovanni Simonelli

Composers: Alessandro Alessandroni, Francesco De Masi

Starring: Edd Byrnes, George Hilton, Gilbert Roland, Stefania Careddu, Jose Torres, Ivano Staccioli, Gerard Herter, Ignazio Spalla, Adriana Gluffre, Valentino Macchi, Riccardo Pizzuti, Rodolfo Valadier, Marco Mariani

More info: IMDb

Tagline: A million dollars is the prize ... but the game is deadly.

Plot: A gang of bandits rob a train of it's $300,000 gold shipment. Once the gang's leader makes off with the pot he's pursued by a bounty hunter, a banker, and a lone bandit. Once word gets around about the missing shipment of gold mayhem ensues.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again?  Maybe.

For starters, Gilbert Roland is a badass and should have been in every Spaghetti Western.  He did a few in the late 60s and this is the only one I've seen and I've seen it twice now. He was in his early 60s when he made this one and he looks fantastic.  What a great look he had.  It's got some nice moments and the scenery is gorgeous (I have GOT to visit this region of Spain some day).  One thing that brings it down for me is the sometimes silly, comedic music, the kind you get with the extended bar brawl.  It's so idiotic during that scene I about reached for the remote to fast forward through it...but I didn't.  One thing I REALLY dig about this picture is the end.  It's a got a fantastic finish to a 3-way duel/faceoff.  It's a pretty good picture.  I've had the VCI DVD since it came out around 2001. Back then I had a 32" CRT TV so the widescreen image was great.  Now that I've got a screen more than twice that, it's awful.  I don't mind dirty prints but it's the transfer that's bad.  It's filled with digital artifacts AND it's not 16:9 so you have to zoom in and it still doesn't fill the screen.  The only extras are trailer for this film and A BULLET FOR SANDOVAL (1969).  I don't even see this version on Amazon.  It might be out of print. If I watch it again I'll have to find a better transfer.  By that time I'll probably have an even larger screen which will be even worse for this picture.  Woof.