Friedhof ohne Kreuze (1969)

Friedhof ohne Kreuze: Directed by Robert Hossein. With Michèle Mercier, Robert Hossein, Guido Lollobrigida, Daniele Vargas. A melancholic, fetishistic gunfighter is drawn into a vengeful and tragic kidnapping plot by his widowed ex-lover.

“Cemetery Without Crosses (1969) u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e*** (out of 4)u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eManuel (Robert Hossein) is asked by his former lover (Michele Mercier) to seek out the men who murdered her husband. The gunslinger agrees to take the job so he gets some help and heads out to take the gang down.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCEMETERY WITHOUT CROSSES was a French/Italian co-production that has gained much popularity over the years because itu0026#39;s basically a love letter to the style of Sergio Leone and the film is even dedicated to the legendary filmmaker. Hossein not only stars in the picture but he also directed it as well as co-wrote it and for the most part itu0026#39;s a pretty good entry for the genre. Is it in the same league as Leone? Of course not but this is certainly worth watching.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe screenplay, which included Dario Argento as a co-writer, isnu0026#39;t all that original but what I enjoyed the most about this picture was the style. There are several long stretches where thereu0026#39;s not a single line of dialogue spoken. Thereu0026#39;s often a lot of noise whether itu0026#39;s sound effects or the music score by André Hossein blaring and this allows the terrific cinematography to come to life. The camera just floats from one shot to the next with the sound effects really taking your mind off everything that is going on. This often time leads to a nice surprise with one of the best examples being a scene at the diner table.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eYouu0026#39;re watching a group of men eat and we hear the sound of them chomping and then out of nowhere thereu0026#39;s a little surprise that really works well. I wonu0026#39;t ruin the ending but it too was quite effective because of the set up and how the director shows the final shoot out. Both Hossein and Mercier are very good in their roles with Hossein obviously trying to copy the Man With No Name role. CEMETERY WITHOUT CROSSES is a well-made little film. I think thereu0026#39;s more style than substance but thatu0026#39;s really not a problem here.”