A Brilliant Conflict

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Mysterious stranger Shenandoah has only one thing on his mind, revenge. He infiltrates a band of murderous bandits in the hope to finding the man who killed his wife during a stagecoach holdup. However his cover is soon blown after a failed raid on a ranch, causing the bandits to realise they have a traitor in their midst...Like many early Spaghettis, this one has a Hollywood feel. Anthony Steffen is the "lone and angry man" of the title who faces off against a gang of vicious cutthroats, one of whom is played by a superbly fanatical Eduardo Fajardo. It's a while before the plot actually materialises and for the most part everything is pretty workmanlike. The sun baked Spanish locations make for a fine atmosphere and the soundtrack is decent, the title song is catchy too. The action sequences are routine, but enjoyable nonetheless with a tense final showdown in a deserted street.An above average time passer. 6/10

The setting is an area in the Wild West terrorised by a violent outlaw gang who have the corrupt sheriff in their back pocket. Into this enters a mysterious loner who takes it upon himself to protect the people against these criminals by joining the gang and infiltrating them from within.From the above synopsis it should be clear to any seasoned fans of spaghetti westerns that A Coffin for the Sheriff (great title, pretty irrelevant though) is a film with some very familiar plot elements seen in many other entries in the sub-genre. But in fairness, this is a pretty early entry in the Italian western cycle of movies and so these clichés weren't quite as cemented in as they were going to be by the end of the 60's. This one was helmed by Mario Caiano who, like most of his Italian contemporaries, made a number of films in the different popular genres of the given year; the best of the one's I have seen is his impressive Agatha Christie styled giallo Eye in the Labyrinth (1972). With this one, it's really more a case of business as usual, as opposed to an entry that brings anything new to the table. It is one of the sub-sets of spaghetti westerns that fall under the revenge-themed bracket and I thought it essentially delivered its goods in an effective and entertaining enough manner. The star of the show is Anthony Steffen, who seemed to specialise in roles such as this one; he is a fairly limited actor in many ways but fits the persona of spaghetti western anti-hero pretty well it has to be said.Ultimately, this one is more of the same but more of the same is okay sometimes and it's perfectly acceptable when it's based around an original formula which is so dependable to begin with.

If you have seen your share of spaghetti westerns as I have, odds are that you will find a lot of what's in "Lone and Angry Man" to be extremely familiar. There is the evil gang lead by a cackling Mexican with facial hair, there's the mysterious stranger who has a secret (and ultimately easy to figure out) reason for joining up with the gang, there is a scene with the hero being beat up by the gang and finding the strength and smarts to defeat the gang... must I go on? This is not only a very familiar story, but it's also executed with little flair to make it stand out from other spaghetti westerns using these familiar story elements. And there's also far too much talk and not enough action. What action there is on display is okay, the musical score is nice (including a cool opening credits song), and I wouldn't call this movie BAD. But it's so familiar that it hardly seems worth the effort, even if you are a spaghetti western lover like myself.

Spaghetti Westerns would go on to become one of Italy's main exports, but A Coffin for the Sheriff was released while the genre was still in it's infancy, and before Sergio Leone had chance to complete his legendary Dollars trilogy, and it's a rather good little film that is worth seeking out for Spaghetti Western fans. The film is directed by Mario Caiano, who would go on to direct a number of entries in this genre; this film being one of his first. I've not seen a lot from this director, but his Giallo 'Eye in the Labyrinth' was decent and he directed the excellent 'Night of the Doomed' in the same year as this film. The title makes no sense, but anyway we focus on a mystery man who calls himself 'Shenandoah'. He turns up in town one day and bumps into a gang of local thugs in a bar. He gets challenged to a poker game and ends up loosing - though this doesn't concern him too much since all the dollar bills he's carrying are fakes. The game is interrupted when some other bandits attempt to rob the town's bank, and it soon becomes apparent that there's more to the stranger when he lends a hand to an injured robber...The sound is always an important part of a Spaghetti Western, and this one features both the good and bad elements. On the plus side, we have an excellent Western score that while not rivalling the work by the great Ennio Morricone, is still good enough and fits the film well. On the negative side, however, we get 'treated' to some of the worst dubbing I've heard in a Western - it's not good at all! Cult star Anthony Steffen takes the lead role and does a good job of playing the gritty Western hero. Steffen would go on to take the lead in a number of Westerns (including a handful of Django flicks) and it's not surprising since he looks the part and plays it well. The rest of the cast is more than adequate, though as is often the case; the main focus here is put squarely on the lead player. I can't say that this is one of the very best Spaghetti Westerns that I've seen, although in fairness the standard has been set rather high by a number of films in this genre. The film is quite hard to come by, but I would certainly recommend that Spaghetti Western fans give it a look as it is a film worth seeing.