Johnny Hamlet

Directed by Enzo G. Castellari, 1968 (The Inglorious Bastards, 1978)

This, in my opinion, one of the best Spaghetti Westerns ever made. It possesses depth and flavour, balances depravity with humanity and contrasts savagery with heart.

Hamlet reincarnated..."This extremely loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s play is full of imaginative touches which often capture the dark, gothic spirit of the original." (Review).

"The hero, Johnny Hamilton (Andrea Giordana), returns home from the Civil War to discover that his father has been murdered and his mother Gertie (Francoise Prévost) is now married to his uncle Claude (Horst Frank). Haunted by dreams of his dead father, Johnny suspects his uncle of treachery, despite evidence that his father’s murderer was a bandit named Santana who was allegedly killed. There is also more than $300,000 in gold missing from his father’s estate. When Johnny launches his own investigation into the case, he becomes a potential target for Claude’s two henchmen, Ross (Ennio Girolami) and Guild (Ignazio Spalla), as well as Polonio, the town sheriff (Giorgio Sammartino) and Santana (Manuel Serrano), who is very much alive and in cahoots with Claude. Johnny’s only ally is the mysterious Horace (Gilbert Roland), who always seems to turn up when the protagonist is in danger." (Review).

Horace is a kind, generous man whom Johnny looked up to in the past. He is the epitome of virtue in a man: just and wise, cultured and refined, strong and courageous yet relaxed and intelligent enough to see the big picture.

Starring Andrea Giordana as Johnny Hamilton, Gilbert Roland as Horace and Horst Frank as Claude Hamilton.