Leon Alastray is an outlaw who has been given sanctuary by Father John, whom he then escorts to the village of San Sebastian. The village is deserted, with its cowardly residents hiding in the hills from Indians, who regularly attack the village and steal all their supplies. When Father John is murdered, the villagers mistakenly think the outlaw is the priest. Alastray at first tells them he is not a priest, but they don't believe it, and an apparent miracle seems to prove they are correct. Eventually, he assists them in regaining their confidence and defending themselves.
Similar titles
Reviews
Once one gets over the poor attempt to conceal Anjanette Comer's rather Hollywood sex appeal in a Hispanic makeover (they had tried before with Sidney J. Furie's "The Appaloosa" (1968) with Marlon Brando), Anjanette's forte was comedies like "The Loved One" and "Quick Before It Melts", and also Charles Bronson's rather cheezy blending into a half-breed Indian that detract from the movie's realism, I was rather pleasantly surprised by 1968's "Guns for San Sebastien." The index I checked before ordering the film prepared me for a rather tedious exercise which turned out to be totally unwarranted and thanks to my knowledge of the reputation of Henri Verneuil, who had done so well with "The 25th Hour" the year before and star Anthony Quinn, I was treated to an exciting and enthralling assault on the imagination in both sound and spectacle. It predates "The Wild Bunch" at first with the stop motion on violence, but then goes for straight Western spectacle, providing Quinn another well suited role as a renegade thrust into the unlikely role of a priest of a village he can help display their humanity so aptly. Verneuil again shows quite a talent for widescreen. Ennio Morricone's score is helpful. The script flows well by James R. Webb from a book, "A Wall for San Sebastien" by William B. Flaherty. Photography by Armand Thirand is quite good. Halliwell's calls the film "undistinguished." How totally wrong they were this time, as this film, somewhat riveting, goes beyond the routine western and lives on in the spirit of your imagination.
The European Western takes a couple steps back in time with the rascal-mistaken-for-clergy theme, a proved device that worked for Bogie in "The Left Hand of God" & Whoopi in "Sister Act." In colonial Mexico, bandit Leon (Quinn) takes refuge with dedicated Father Joseph (Jaffe) & escapes when the priest is transferred to a forsaken northern village. The villagers, terrified of marauding Yaquis & exploited by a frontier protection racket led by embittered half-Yaqui Teclo (Bronson), mistake Leon for the priest & implore him for miracles. Unable to escape back into colonial settlement & tempted by naive, spirited village girl Kinita (Comer), he teaches the villagers to fight back & believe in themselves rather than praying for miracles. Quinn is colorful as ever but not quite believable making the transition from Leon the selfish, godless rascal to Leon the selfless, principled hero, though he is properly scruffy all the way through. Comer is fetching but Bronson is only bulky & menacing. Two extraordinary talents--Gravet as a stuffy bishop & the legendary Silvia Pinal as Leon's conniving girlfriend--are relegated to minor, superficial roles. The time period is wrong for the film's big gunfights, since firearms were clumsy & rare in the 18th century. But the tongue-in-cheek flavor of the spaghetti Western, with a scruffy rascal confounded, puzzled & frustrated on the way to his selfish goal, holds true all the way through. The Yaquis are represented--up to a point--with the sympathy typical of Westerns of circa 1970. A subplot, Leon's pursuit of a wild white horse, is an effective, slightly surreal device. A contribution by Bunuel, Jr., the 2nd unit director? Oh, my God, this movie has Silvia Pinal & Juan Luis Bunuel! It's the closest thing to a surrealist Western!
This is one of those films that nearly loses you, but in the end rewards you for sitting through it. It makes for a very good view, despite its leisurely pace at times.In summary Anthony Quinn stars as a outlaw that is saved by Father John, whom he escorts to the village of San Sebastian. The village is deserted, with its cowardly residents hiding in the hills from indians, who pillage their crops and burn their buildings. When Father John is murdered, the outlaw is mistaken as the man of god by the villagers, and assists them in regaining their confidence and defending themselves.Quinn is superb in his role, complimented by Charles Bronson, who plays the bad guy "half breed" Teclo. Sam Jaffe's Father Joseph character is also very likable.Whilst the movie is quite slow in places, this only helps to plot out the story. Although casting the indians as the "bad guys", it does explain that the massacre of the villagers is no different than what the white man has done to their own race "in the name of god".The soundtrack is again provided by Ennio Morricone and, whilst not his best work, does help provide the suitable atmosphere, borrowing heavily from some of his other compositions.Definitely worth a view.
A spaghetti western surprise with Anthony Quinn as a "priest" and Charles Bronson as a Mestizo malcontent.The movie has a theme, a developed plot, some actors with charisma and an Ennio Morricone score. That's more than most movies give you, regardless of genre.I was pleased to find that Spaghettiville isn't a one-horse (Eastwood/Leone) town.8 out of 10.
