User reviews

The director Duccio Tessari, who began his career as a sword and sandal movie maker, made his second western "Il Ritorno di Ringo" with a crew almost identical to that of his first western "Una Pistola per Ringo". But I personally prefer this "Ritorno" definitely to "Una Pistola": While the style of "Una Pistola" was still very similar to sword and sandal movies, and therefore didn't appeal to me especially, in "Ritorno" one sees a new style clearly differs from sandal movies: a high wind blows sands and hay through a town, the pictures , and the sore as well, are more melancholy and gloomy.

Tessari nevertheless doesn't hide his 'sword and sandal origin': the plot was taken from the last part of Homor's Odyssey, and in fact he well succeeded in transferring the Greek legend into a western. No wonder, as who could better treat Greco-Roman Classics than educated Italians? Giuliano Gemma in this movie is excellent. I cannot imagine how an other spaghetti western star would play the role of Ringo, while Ringo of "Una Pistola" could be, I think, played by anyone other (for example George Hilton or Terence Hill?).

And please let me give a tip for male viewers: If you wished to enjoy spaghetti westerns together with your wife, your girlfriend or your daughter, please begin with Gemma's westerns. She would like him. Actually Gemma was so popular with Japanese girls in the 60s/70s as Leonardo DiCaprio now. I know very well, because I myself was one of those girls at that time.

Il ritorno di Ringo (The Return of Ringo) is directed by Duccio Tessari and Tessari co-writes the screenplay with Fernando Di Leo. It stars Giuliano Gemma, Fernando Sancho, Hally Hammond, Nieves Navarro, Antonio Casas, George Martin and Manuel Muniz. Music is by Ennio Morricone and cinematography by Francisco Marin.

After fighting in the American Civil War, Ringo (Gemma) returns to his home town of Mimbres to pick up his life from pre the conflict. However, he finds the town is in the grip of Mexican bandits run by brothers Paco (Martin) and Esteban Fuentes (Sancho), their control over things extending to Ringo's wife, Helen (Hammond)...

No Entry For Dogs, Gringos And Beggars.

A sequel of sorts to A Pistol for Ringo (1965), with the same makers, cast, locations etc reconvening for a different story and scenarios, this ranks as one of the better follow up movies going. After a wonderfully sang title song opens up proceedings and we get introduced to Ringo (officially Montgomery Brown) via a bit of gun play and story setting, pic quickly identifies itself as a mournful revenge and rescue piece. We are deftly placed on the side of the protagonist, rooting for him to claim back his life and in the process rescuing his loved ones and vanquishing the whole town from racist bloody tyranny. It's a classic Western tale told with style at a suitably unhurried pace, the characters are formed because they get time to breathe, all relevant to the journey and the final destination that Tessari is taking us to.

I've come back Paco Fuentes!

With Sancho and Martin delightfully vile as the villains, it falls to Gemma to turn in a good one as our hero, and so it is. Ringo is a great character as written, his world turned upside down, and he has been funeralized as well! Ringo gets beaten, stabbed and emotionally battered, but he fights with guts and cunning. He is really cool as well, during adversity he can climb a rope one handed, cock his rifle the same, he is even prone to free falling from rooftops to enact skillful kill shots. For sure this is a Spaghetti Western hero for the ages. The natural beauty in the tale is obviously in the form of Hammond (socko gorgeous) and Navarro (socko sexy), these both dovetail nicely with the more grungy aspects of story and character actions and moral standards. While the makers enjoy filling the play with colourful support characters, such as a camp florist, alcoholic sheriff and a fortune telling whore.

Tech credits are very high. Tessari has a superb eye for a telling eye catching scene or sequence, cue Ringo doing a slow walk down the street, his form transformed via a number of coloured glass windows, scenes such as the way Ringo and Helen's initial recognition is lighted for ultimate worth, Ringo rapid fire with bandaged arm as a rest, strategic motifs like a knife thrown in a heart drawn on a tree, and of course the justifiably famous scene of Ringo in a doorway with dust storm raging around him, a scene that's as chilling as it is thrilling. Stunt work is great as well, in a sub- genre of film known for its exaggerations, it's pleasing to see so many falls enacted with genuine believability, none more so than for the exhilarating last quarter of film. This last quarter brings our hero into his pomp, all while bodies and buildings are way laid by bullets (get that wicked Butterfly monikered artillery repeater!), an action prelude to the final outcome that we want, in fact demand!

Then finally there's Morricone, whose score is one of his non Leone best. It's a swirl of emotions, darting in and around the main character, occasionally rising to thunderclap status for key dramatic scenes, with a music box tie-in that's heart achingly effective. Morricone's work is the cherry on the cake, for this is a superb Spaghetti Western of blood, brains and balls, and worth seeking out by anyone interested in the better half of this mixed sub-genre of film. 8.5/10

Giuliano Gemma returns from fighting in the Civil War to find his father murdered, his wife stolen, and his hometown taken over by wealthy racist Fernando Sancho and his family, who reclaim it for Mexico, oppressing it's non-Mexican population, and even going so far as to nailing a "No Gringos" sign on the local saloon!

Not really a sequel to A Pistol For Ringo, this reunites the cast and crew for a less humorous follow-up that's actually better than the previous film, knowing exactly what buttons to push to get the audience firmly on Ringo's side and cheering his eventual squaring off with the thoroughly nasty villains.

Gemma and Sancho are truly Spaghetti western treasures, as is composer Ennio Morricone, who blesses this with one of his best non-Leone western scores.

Recommended.

Duccio Tessari's RETURN OF RINGO is one of the great unseen spaghetti westerns churned out by the Italians after the unexpected success of Sergio Leone's first two "Dollars" films. A sprawling, high-powered epic tale about a Union soldier returning after the war to find his wife & home usurped by a local pistolero and his band of gunmen. Giuliano Gemma is excellent as always in the role of the suave, cool-headed hero who works up a ruse to pose as a peasant worker to infiltrate the household and fight from the inside to reclaim that which was his.

Ennio Morricone scored a magnificent musical pastiche of themes that is quite different from his usual Leone contributions. Non-fans of the genre will be pleased by the attention to detail in the lavish production, with a high profile supporting cast led by Fernando Sancho, sexy Nieves Navarro and Lorella De Luca as Gemma's former beloved. He looks odd during his scenes with his hair bleached blond and is unconvincing as a Mexican but Gemma really was one of the great Italian genre leads. His approach is somewhat different than Clint Eastwood, usually playing himself as a gentleman who simply happened to learn how to be an efficient killing machine under the stress of war.

There's some genuinely amusing and tightly choreographed gunplay in the ending showdown, and the screenplay by Tessari, Fernando di Leo and Alfonso Balcázar is surprisingly humanistic for this kind of fare. Highly recommended, look for it in North America on a VHS with the title BLOOD AT SUNDOWN.

7/10

Director Duccio Tessari's follow up to his Spaghetti Western "A Pistol for Ringo" uses much of the same cast and crew, starting with the handsome and charismatic star Giuliano Gemma. Gemma plays Captain Montgomery Brown, a soldier during the Civil War who returns home to find his family has been eliminated, and now a bandit gang is reigning supreme. One of them, Paco Fuentes (George Martin) intends to marry Browns' wife Helen (Lorella De Luca), who, like much of the locals, believes Brown to be dead; Brown slips into town under the assumed identity of a Mexican named Ringo to seek revenge.

This viewer admits that he prefers the more action packed predecessor "A Pistol for Ringo", but can see why some people would appreciate this movie more. It's not so much about action (although there are some fine set pieces) as it is about character. It's fairly slow, yet interesting, going for nuance any time that it can. Even the bad guys are not as flamboyant as one may expect. Fernando Sancho is actually fairly low key as Esteban Fuentes, one of the gang. Tessari gives "The Return of Ringo" some pretty effective atmosphere, especially in sequences in the streets. There's wind, debris flying around, and precipitation at appropriate moments. Ennio Morricone once again delivers the goods when it comes to the beautiful score. That theme song will sure stick in ones' head.

Gemma does well as our hero, with enjoyable supporting performances by lovely ladies De Luca and Nieves Navarro, Antonio Casas as the sheriff, Manuel Muniz as "Morning Glory", and Victor Bayo.

Suitably entertaining for fans of the genre.

Seven out of 10.

Spaghetti/Chorizo Western with the most successful intervention by secondary idol Fernando Sancho. This is the original installment from Gemma-Tessari trilogy formed by ¨A pistol for Ringo¨, ¨The return of Ringo¨ and ¨Kiss, Kiss , Bang , Bang¨ , though the later is set in modern times and deal with a heist . All of them are amusing and entertaining and starred by similar cast as Gemma , Fernando Sancho , Lorella De Luca , Nieves Navarro and Antonio Casas ; furthermore same artistic equipment . They are familiar films , in fact , the actress Lorella De Luca married director Duccio Tessari and Nieves Navarro married the producer Luciano Ercoli . This is the second part from Duccio Tessari trilogy , starred by an awesome Giuliano Gemma . It's a tremendously exciting story of an ex-soldier named Ringo who had only one more killing to go . Ringo (credited as Montgomery Wood) is a civil war soldier who goes back to his familiar land to find his family decimated, his senator father was killed , his manor taken over by a bunch of Mexican bandits named Esteban ( Fernando Sancho) and Paco Fuentes (Jorge Martin) and his fiancée ( Lorella De Luca) about to marry the nasty Mexican behind all this . Ringo (Giuliano Gemma) is spending time in discover the schemes the bandits . Once again Ringo seeks vengeance , he goes undercover disguised as a Mexican beggar and learns he has a daughter . Meanwhile , the gang of a nasty Mexican named Esteban (Fernando Sancho) and his bandits occupy a mansion and take the ranch and its inhabitants . The local Sheriff (Antonio Casas) gets no option but to send in Ringo. Ringo goes the ranch against Fuentes's hoodlums who kill and mistreat countrymen . Ringo comes to the ranch just in time to make sure its inhabitants and rescue his lover , taking place a cat and mouse game , but later the events get worse .

This Western is superior than subsequent outing because it displays thrills , emotion, shoot'em up , intrigue and is pretty amusing . There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing some shots or stunts every few minutes . This is a good S.W. plenty of action , shootouts , fist-play and without touches of humor as in previous entry . Ringo is stunningly played by Gemma . Giuliano is very fine, he ravages the screen , he jumps , bounds and leaps, hit and run ; plus jokes , laughs , he's a complete show . Fernado Sancho as a cruelly baddie role as Mexican bandit is terrific , subsequently the would play similar role in other Spaghettis . In the movie appears usual support actors as Spanish : George Martin , Antonio Casas , Pajarito as Italian players as Zamperla and Frank Oliveras . Special mention to Nieves Navarro or Susan Scott as attractive and rogue woman but she unfortunately would finish shooting erotic cinema . It's a co-production Spanish-Italian and shot on location in Fraga , Huesca , Spain that is well photographed by Francisco Marin , though is necessary a fine remastering because the film-copy is washed-out .¨Fraga¨ resulted to be the location where were shot lots of Western produced and directed by Catalan people as Alfonso Balcazar , J.J. Balcazar , Jose Antonio De La Loma , Juan Bosch, Ignacio F. Iquino and Julio Buchs , among others , because Almeria was too far and the landscapes bear remarkable resemblance . There are many fine technicians and nice assistant direction and excellent production design by the usual Juan Albert Soler , he creates a magnificent scenario on the interior ranch and barren outdoors , dirty landscapes under a glimmer sun and fine sets filmed in Fraga and ,PC Alfonso Balcazar Studios, Barcelona and San Jose, Andalucia, Spain . As always , the musician Ennio Morricone, composes a nice Spaghetti soundtrack and well conducted and splendid leitmotif ; it's full of enjoyable sounds and emotive score , including enjoyable songs at the beginning and the end.

This Italian writer / filmmaker Duccio Tessari so consistently mixed the good with the mediocre that it became quite impossible to know what to expect from him next . He wrote several Western as ¨A fistful of dollars ¨, ¨A train to Durango ¨Seven guns for McGregor¨ , ¨The return of McGregor¨ . He directed five Western as ¨Tex e Il Signore degli abissi¨ and with abundant touches of humor as ¨Vivi o Preferibilment Morti¨, ¨Don't turn the other cheek¨ and ¨Zorro¨ with Alain Delon and of course ¨Ringo ¨and sequel , mostly starred with his fetish actor Giuliano Gemma . Tessari directed all kind of genres as drama , adventure , wartime as ¨1981 Un Centesimo Di second ,1978 Das Fünfte Gebot ,1976 La Madama ,1976 Safari Express , 1973 Tony Arzenta ,1973 Los Héroes Millonarios ,1972 Forza 'G', 1968 I Bastardi¨. Rating : 6 , acceptable and passable movie that will appeal to Spaghetti Western buffs .

Ringo, returning from the Civil War where he was presumed to have died to find his house overrun by bandits and his wife engaged to one of the leaders, Paco Fuentes. In an attempt to discover if his wife, Hally, has remained faithful he dyes his hair and takes on the disguise of a mestizo peasant, gradually gaining access to his old home and learning in the process that he has a daughter who is being used by Paco as a hold on Hally in order to make her compliant in his desire to marry her.

Where "A pistol for Ringo" was imaginative and lively, it's sequel, though without the same characters, is more story-laden, has less gun play and is more atmospheric with some emotional strain, especially where it concerns Gemma's character. It's a slow burn, but as it progresses it becomes more engrossing. It's a well made western with some fine suspenseful sequences. Gemma is excellent in his role as is Lorella De Luca ( a hot babe!). The action in the last 25 minutes is of the slam-bang and inventive variety.

This movie is the follow-up to "A Pistol For Ringo"(Una Pistola per Ringo), but it is not a sequel. All of the main actors return for this story, but they play completely different characters, and while Giuliano Gemma portrays another character called Ringo, this protagonist has nothing in common with the first "Ringo." It may seem unusual to those who haven't watched a lot of these movies, but that kind of thing is quite common in the spaghetti western genre.

This Ringo is not an outlaw like the one in the previous movie, yet he is much more serious and deadly, because he has been wronged on a very personal level, and is seeking justice and revenge. This gives the movie a much more somber tone than the previous film. It's a gripping story without a single boring moment.

All of the main actors are at the top of their game in this one. Antonio Casas is especially good as the dysfunctional sheriff who pulls himself together with the help of Ringo. Giuliano Gemma is even better in this movie than in the previous film, and I can't say enough about Nieves Navarro. Not only does she do a wonderful job portraying "Rosita," she looks even more incredible in this film than in the last one, which is a feat I would not have thought possible. She is quite possibly the most amazingly beautiful woman to ever appear in a western.

Morricone's music score is also an improvement over the one he wrote for the first Ringo movie. There is more music in this film, and the tunes are more memorable. I especially like the theme song.

Although "A Pistol For Ringo" wasn't bad, it was apparently just a warm-up for the filming of this movie, because "The Return of Ringo" is a much better film on all levels. It's not completely without flaws, but the imperfections here just add to the movie's charm and appeal. I consider this one to be a must-see for spaghetti western fans.

Better than the first Ringo film

This one has more of a story and more complex characters.

I really enjoyed the supporting character, Morning Glory, for some reason. It just seemed that there was some unspoken things going on with him.

The Ringo character is certainly more interesting in this one! He actually cares about something and is driven in this film. Of note, he does the cowboy cheek twitch a lot. Like if you were to play a drinking game and drink every time his cheek twitches, you wouldn't make it passed the first half of the film... it's nearly every scene. Lol.

Anyway, it's all good up until the end. So lackluster. The end kind of ruined it for me and knocked it down to 6 stars.

I'm an economist of 55 years old and I saw a lot of movies of all kinds. My favourite are westerns both traditional and spaghetti. The return of Ringo is a good picture by the time I saw it and it continues now. I'm asking my self why the great edition players do not edit it in DVD as well as some other movies like The Big Gundown. Backing to Ringo (Montgomery Wood) he has more to be edited and the cinema lovers deserve it.He broke the rules of presenting a western idyllic life with very well and cleaned dressed cowboys always looking for a very pretty women. He showed how hard and savage life can be and in this special movie e puts in a very high place the mains values of society.

This western may be similar to other westerns in its revenge-plot. At the same time though, there is a romance to it, seldom found in westerns. Just like 'The thief of Bagdad' (Michael Powell) had a unique atmosphere of mysticism, so does this western, although it is less pronounced and may even seem involuntary. Nevertheless, deliberate or not, it conveys a feeling of times long gone by and may even resemble something quite different of its kind, such as the 30-page adventure story by Carl Barks (Donald Duck Four Color: 'In old California'). Because of all this a 10 out of 10.

The Return of Ringo (1965)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Captain Brown (Giuliano Gemma) returns home from the Civil War and finds that a group of Mexican bandits led by Fuentes (Fernando Sanches) have killed his relatives and taken over the town. Naturally this isn't going to sit well with Brown so he must come up with a plan to take everything back.

Looking at the title of this thing you might think that it's a sequel to A PISTOL FOR RINGO but it's not. Well, it kind of is but not really. What you've basically got is a somewhat remake because the majority of the actors from the first film return here but they're are now playing different characters. THE RETURN TO RINGO is certainly a step down from the first film but there are still enough entertaining moments to make it worth watching.

The biggest difference that you'll notice with this film is the fact that there isn't as much comedy as the first one and that this here is a lot more darker. It's interesting to see what Duccio Tessari did with this film because he basically got the same cast and crew and got to make the first movie over. I found this to be rather interesting and especially how we got to see the actors appear in different types of roles. I'm not sure how often something like this happened but it was a curious decision and it probably played out better than had the director gotten new actors for these new roles.

Both Gemma and Sancho are once again the highlight of the picture as they are both very good in their roles and really do a great job with the hero-villain aspect. Lorella De Luca is also very good in her part and the rest of the supporting players are nice as well. Throw in the nice score, the good cinematography and some pretty good action and THE RETURN OF RINGO is a worthwhile film for fans of Spaghetti Westerns.

A fairly quiet film but involving and very colourful. 'Bloodstained Butterfly' director, Duccio Tessari seems to enjoy the genre and allows himself the luxury of seeing what he can bring that little bit different. Giuliano Gemma is effective as the laid back Ringo - he who in this is returning. Nobody seems to recognise him with his hair dyed blond so he is able to saunter through the film till the moment takes him to affect his revenge. Tessari, meanwhile has the film shot through an array of interesting objects and indeed just as I was wondering just how many interesting coloured drinking glasses he could come up with a chancier walks behind a stunning panel of stained glass. Arty but not at all farty, I enjoyed the pace, the audacity and the performances - Nieves Navarro establishes herself nicely - and the whole thing is very pleasant indeed.

"The Return of Ringo" really hit the spot. Pretty much everything about it worked. The movie looks great. The cast is very likeable. The story is well told with very little, if any, downtime. I've been watching a bunch of spaghetti westerns lately. With the exception of the Sergio Leone films, "The Return of Ringo" is one of the best that I've seen. Honorable mentions: a dreamy Nieves Navoro and a wildly dreamy Lorella De Luca.

First, great occasion for Giuliano Gemma to explore a character generous in nuances. Second, wise use of the theme of return from war and discover a profound different reality. Not the last, the theme of paternity and Penelope are smart defined. A film about order, revenge and justice. And, sure, about love, in few seductive aspects well played by Monica Sugranes and Nieves Navarro.