Matalo (1971)

Matalo: Directed by Eugenio Martín. With Lee Van Cleef, James Mason, Gina Lollobrigida, Simón Andreu. Robber Roy King loses his wife, Alicia, to revolutionary Montero. Despite their rivalry they collaborate in an attempt to rob the Mexican government of one million dollars.

“Lee Van Cleef, typically amusing, is cast as bandit Roy King, leader of a gang that also includes Angel Santos (Simon Andreu), Ed Pace (Gianni Garko), and Tom Odie (Jess Hahn). Roy makes the acquaintance of the devilish Alicia (Gina Lollobrigida), whou0026#39;s hatched a scheme with her fellow criminal Francisco Paco Montero to dupe the Mexican government out of a cool $1 million. But before that can happen, they fall into the clutches of revolutionaries (this tale takes place during the Mexican Revolution) and are forced to deal with them.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs written by director Eugenio Martin (u0026quot;Horror Expressu0026quot;) and Hollywood veteran Philip Yordan (u0026quot;Johnny Guitaru0026quot;, u0026quot;El Cidu0026quot;), this is a rather lightweight, forgettable Euro Western- comedy. While itu0026#39;s always nice to see the leading actors in anything, theyu0026#39;ve certainly been better utilized before and after. In the beginning, the movie is decidedly annoying, with too many dopey songs and Martin overdoing it on use of freeze frames. While itu0026#39;s appreciable that Martin and Yordan were going for irreverence, they make things just a little too silly.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAdequate action sequences help, and the filmmaking is technically fairly slick. There are some fun gags, especially right at the start when two men are inside a bank vault.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eLollobrigida and her co-star Diana Lorys are fine scenery attractions, and the former plays such a conniving character that she helps to keep things interesting. The movie doesnu0026#39;t really hit its stride until James Mason shows up. (For fans of the actor, be warned that almost an hour is over until he does.) Itu0026#39;s a treat to see him in this kind of setting, and he gives the story a real shot in the arm.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe exemplary cast of familiar faces also includes Aldo Sambrell, Lone Fleming, Eduardo Fajardo, and Sergio Fantoni.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAdmittedly, if one is looking for a Lee Van Cleef fix, they could do a lot better than this, but u0026quot;Bad Manu0026#39;s Riveru0026quot; delivers some undemanding fun for 92 minutes.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSix out of 10.”