Welcome to the Archive. Following the infamous “Format Wars” (R.I.P. VHS), a multitude of films found themselves in danger of being forgotten forever due to their admittedly niche appeal. Thankfully, Warner Bros. established the Archive Collection, a Disc On Demand & Streaming service devoted to some of the more idiosyncratic pieces of cinema ever made. Being big fans of the label, we here at Cinapse thought it prudent to establish a column devoted to these unusual gems. Thus “The Archivist” was born — a biweekly look at some of the best, boldest and most batshit motion pictures the Shield has to offer. Some of these will be recent additions to the collection, while others will be titles that have been available for awhile. With over 1,500 pictures procurable on Warner Archive (and more being added every month), there’s no possible way we’ll get to all of them. But trust me when we say we’re sure going to try.
Today on The Archivist we take a look at a couple of newer Western releases from the Warner Archive, both of which made their DVD debut in September. Aside from their lightness in tone, these two films couldn’t be more different: Ringo And His Golden Pistol, a colorful Italian spaghetti western starring a young Mark Damon, and Shoot-Out At Medicine Bend, an old-fashioned Hollywood picture in black and white with Randolph Scott pushing 60. The Warner Archive Collection is nothing if not diverse.
Shoot-Out At Medicine Bend [1957]
When poor supplies including faulty guns and ammo hamper a hardscrabble homestead, three freshly-released soldiers volunteer to travel to Medicine Bend to set things straight and resupply. However, they have to change their plans unexpectedly when all of their clothes and supplies are stolen while bathing. Helped by a religious group whom they encounter, they enter town dressed not as soldiers but as Quakers, and use the cover as a ruse to discover the inner workings of a town owned and run by a corrupt boss and his criminal cronies.
The film stars Hollywood legend Randolph Scott as the Captain of the trio, but today’s audiences will likely be much more familiar with a couple of supporting actors, each of them in one of their earliest roles — a young and handsome James Garner as Sgt. Maitland, one of Captain Devlin’s two sidekicks, and Angie Dickinson as Priscilla, a shop girl in town who becomes his love interest. Viewers may actually have a hard time identifying young Angie, as she doesn’t sport her signature blonde look.
There’s some light-hearted comedy as Sgt. Maitland and Pvt. Clegg (Gordon Jones) want to have a bit of fun while in town, but their Captain forbids them from drinking, fighting, and women — any of which could blow their cover as peaceful Brethren. Nevertheless, each of them manages to get into different kinds of trouble.
While the black and white image does obscure Scott’s age a bit, it’s still clear that he’s not only a bit long in tooth to be believable in the role, but twice Angie’s age. This whole romance subplot feels kind of silly. Despite this, one of the best aspects of the picture is the female characters. Our heroes are aided by their new friends, Priscilla and a sympathetic saloon girl named Nell Garrison (Dani Crayne), who have had enough of the corruption and greed putting a stranglehold on their town.
Over all, the film is a bit cheesy and old-fashioned, and far from essential viewing, but I enjoyed it, particularly when fresh-faced James Garner and Angie Dickinson are showing off the charisma which would soon make them stars.
As an interesting side note, Shoot-Out At Medicine Bend represents the final send-off in a project by Warner Archive to make their entire Randolph Scott catalog available.
The disc is a movie-only release with no additional features.
Preview Clip
Ringo & His Golden Pistol [1966]
Sergio Corbucci is best remembered for his unflinchingly badass and oft-imitated Django, which became famous for its violence, somber tone, near-mythical protagonist, and slew of imitation sequels. Django looms large on his filmography, but Corbucci was no one-hit wonder. He directed a great many other films in and out of the western genre. Some, like Compañeros, Il Grand Silenzio [The Great Silence], El Mercenario [The Mercenary], and Navajo Joe — are fairly well remembered and regarded in genre circles, while others have fallen to the wayside. Ringo and His Golden Pistol, aka Johnny Oro, falls into the latter category.
The Warner Archive release of this title is indeed the “Ringo” version of the film, dubbed in English — no Italian track or subtitles — and so renamed to cash in on the popularity of the Ringo character in much the same way that other names like Sabata, Sartana, Trinity, and Corbucci’s own Django were also pilfered. The film has no actual ties to other “Ringo” titles, official or unofficial.
Fans who are familiar with Corbucci’s most famous creation may be surprised that Ringo is a breezier, lighthearted affair. This is even more surprising when considering the two films were created back to back.
Flamboyant young bounty hunter Ringo is a good shot with his gleaming golden pistol, but a poor decision maker. While collecting the bounties on the heads of three bandit brothers, he allows an equally guilty fourth brother to live, simply because there’s no price on his head to collect. Ringo doesn’t kill for free. The spared Juanito, who is actually the craftiest and most dangerous of the bandits, swears revenge.
Riding into a nearby Texas town, Ringo finds himself at odds with Sheriff Bill Norton (who is apparently unfamiliar with the Second Amendment) for carrying weapons in defiance of a town ordinance. Norton throws Ringo in jail, putting his entire town in danger when the bandits come in search of him and eventually launch a full-on assault. A wiser man would release Ringo to either fend for himself or aid in the town’s defense, but Norton simply insists he did the crime and must serve his time.
The film tries to sell this Sherriff character as a secondary protagonist, a noble man who stands by his principles even when it goes against popular opinion, but in truth he’s just a stupid jackass who stubbornly puts the lives of all his townspeople and even his wife and young son at risk. Most of the townspeople vacate because he has failed to provide sufficient protection. This miscalculation of his character is the film’s main weakness.
Aside from the idiotic lawman, the film is very enjoyable and adventurous romp with some comedy mixed in with the action. The film climaxes with a major gun-battle which ends in an explosive and satisfying finale. All things considered, it’s the better of the two films and an easy recommend for fans of Corbucci or spaghetti westerns.
The disc includes an English language trailer (3:24), and what a trailer it is. We are told the title no less than 11 times, 5 heard and 6 seen. Ringo And His Golden Pistol!
Preview Clip
A/V Out.