The Return of Ringo (1965)

Note: some time passed before writing this review.

The second of the two, loosely connected, Ringo films, and the best by a reasonable margin. The internet, and Hughes' book on Spaghetti Westerns, suggest that it is loosely based on Odyssius return home in The Odyssey. Ringo returns how after the civil war to find that bandits have taken over his house, kidnapped his wife, and are now running the town. He disguises himself as a peasant to infiltrate the town and discover what's going on (learning that his wife is still faithful and that he has a daughter). At which point he reveals himself, helps the good townspeople regain control, and shoot the baddies.

This is clearly one of the better spaghetti westerns, being decently made and with an engaging story. The reason it falls slightly flat for me is Giuliano Gemma, who never entirely convinced me in his spaghetti westerns ("he looks too clean" is the main criticism levelled at him, and it's probably fair) and whose English dubbing often seems a bit wooden. The other part I wasn't convinced by was the flower seller, "Morning Glory", who is a typical Spaghetti Western town eccentric, but who clashes a bit here with the tougher and grittier approach of the rest of the story. However, in general it's pretty enjoyable. The slightly ambiguous fortune-teller/occasional-prostitute character is one of the more enjoyable parts of the secondary cast.

The theme tune is one of the classic spaghetti western ballads, obviously based on Frankie Laine's 50s Western ballads, but with placeholder lyrics that don't quite make sense.

The Koch Media DVD is the definite version with a good picture and English soundtrack. The only slight disappointment is that it doesn't offer English subtitles on the Italian soundtrack, which is often the better way to watch the more minor spaghetti westerns which have slightly uneven dubbing.