Directed by
Bruno Corbucci
Dorado Films
Web: http://www.doradofilms.com
3 Musketeers of
the West (1973) a.k.a. Tutti per uno... botte per tutti is an
entertaining spaghetti western which has not been seen on DVD before. A literal
translation of the title is more accurately “All for One...Punches for All”, I
rather like that.
It is presented in both English and
Italian and a fine job as been done on the print. It was directed by Bruno
Corbucci (1931- 1996), who had a prodigious output as an Italian screenwriter
and director. While his work was primarily
in comedies (including spaghetti westerns), his major success was with the
long-running "Nico Giraldi" series, which starred Tomas Milian as a
foul-mouthed Roman cop. It is interesting to note that he wrote many
screenplays for his brother Sergio and had a role in the creation of one of the
most loved spaghetti westerns of all time, Django. Indeed it is Django which
many see as being the foundation of the genre.
His own approach to directing seemed to
emphasize comedy and in this film he took Alexander Dumas' classic The Three
Musketeers and adapted it into a spaghetti western film with rather amusing
results if you like spoof films and I rather enjoy them. It is a usual
spaghetti western heavy with slapstick, so much so it has been called a stooges
spaghetti western! Get ready for non-stop slapping, fighting, brawling,
headknocking, foodfights and even some martial arts. Look out for the putrid
cheese and the hollowed out Bible with a brick inside !
It is packed with a diverse range of music
and even includes some brief full frontal nudity. Karin Schubert, who plays the
doctor, later moved into hardcore sex films in her forties.
The Three Musketeers of the West follows
Texas Ranger Dart Junior as he investigates a shady New Orleans banker, Riche
LeDuque who secretly plans to ship a load of gold to Mexican dictator Ortega.
To get the gold into Mexico undetected, he planes to hide the bars in the
ambulance wagon of Alice Fergussen (Karin Schubert), who is supposedly on a
mission of mercy delivering a wagonload of sleeping sickness vaccines.
Dart enlists three retired rangers (The
Three Inseparables) to assist in foiling the evil bankers plan, Mac Athos
(George Eastman), Aramirez (Leo Anchoriz), and Portland (Chris Huerta). Things
don’t go quite to plan as they outwit the banker but take the gold for
themselves.
The plot in Three Musketeers will take a
bit of following; there are all sorts of twists and turns, double crosses and
scenes which defy logic such as extended card tricks scene and a martial arts
episode which seems to pop out of nowhere and is incongruent with the rest of
the time.
The characters are, well, over developed,
the three retired rangers seem more like overwrought children and we also get
introduced to a whole community of Chinese martial artists, a German circus
ringmaster, a midget sheriff and lots more weirdness.
This is certainly a weird sort of
spaghetti western bringing in large amounts of slapstick and physical humour, a
frenetic plot and an overload of characters. While the acting is not especially
memorable, it is a film which offers a laugh a minute and hence is a light
diversion which is well worth watching. Dorado Films have done a great job with
a rare film, there is only very minor damage here and there and the sound is
crystal clear.
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This
review will appear in Volume 2 No.5
(2009) of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.
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