Argentine actor George Hilton made two Spaghetti western comedies where he played an enigmatic, swift-shooting stranger known as Alleluja who helps Mexican revolutionaries in their struggle against the domination of the Emperor Maximilian. Director Giuliano Carnimeo, who adopted the name Anthony Ascot, helmed both these frivolous shoot'em ups with high body counts. Comparably, "Guns for Dollars" surpasses "Return of Halleluja" with hilarity galore, but "Return" duplicates the formula with all its entertaining twists and turns. The imaginative Tito Capri wrote "Guns for Dollars," also known as "They Call Me Hallelujah," while Capri co-wrote the sequel with "The Italian Connection" scenarist Ingo Hermes and "Any Gun Can Play" scribe Giovanni Simonelli who provided the story idea. These two oaters have the darkly clad Alleluja selling his services to self-proclaimed Mexican revolutionary leader General Manuel Ramirez (Roberto Camardiel of "Seven Pistols for a Massacre") to thwart Maximilian's aims. Virtually all Spaghetti westerns belong to one of three Sergio's. First, Sergio Leone made serious westerns about death and dying. Second, Sergio Corbucci specialized in comic Spaghetti westerns. Third, Sergio Sollima made Spaghetti westerns with disenfranchised peon heroes. "Gun for Dollars" amounts to more a Sergio Leone western with lots of Sergio Corbucci comedy.
"Guns for Dollars" opens with a suspenseful execution scene. The imperialist villains are about to put not only the General but also the Priest, Victoriano Pacico (Aldo Barberito of "Shoot the Living and Pray for the Dead") along with many others against a wall and shoot them. Carnimeo relies on composer Stelvio Cipriani's drum roll music to heighten the suspense and tension. Cipriani's orchestral soundtrack is lively, buoyant material. At some point in their march to the site of execution, Carnimeo frames the action through the arch of a Senger sewing machine. This tongue-in-cheek reference to a Singer sewing machine is clever. What proves to be even more clever but clearly far-fetched is that the stranger Alleluja has modified this sewing machine so that it spits out lead as if it were a Gatling gun! He wipes out the execution squad and agrees to ride off on a quest for General Ramirez to a nearby monastery where a gang of outlaws masquerading as monks have stolen a black satchel stuffed with rare, valuable stones worth over a million pesos. At one point, during the opening sequence, the Senger jams on Alleluja, and he complains, "Shucks, the next thing you know the machine will be sewing bullets and shooting thread."
Later, Alleluja must contend with an acrobatic Russian, Grand Duke Alexey Wissayolovich Kropotkin (Charles Southwood of "Roy Colt and Winchester Jack"), who also wants to recover the jewels, too. When the filmmakers introduce Kropotkin, he is decked out in a long, white Cossack tunic, with a sword. These two Hellions must deal with another competitor, Sister Anna Lee (Agata Flori of "Operation Kid Brother"), and she proves to be just as slippery as they are. If nimble Spaghetti western comedies are your taste, you won't find a better example than "Guns for Dollars." "Stranger Returns" composer Stelvio Cipriani provides a catchy, memorable orchestral soundtrack that enlivens the action.
"Guns for Dollars" opens with a suspenseful execution scene. The imperialist villains are about to put not only the General but also the Priest, Victoriano Pacico (Aldo Barberito of "Shoot the Living and Pray for the Dead") along with many others against a wall and shoot them. Carnimeo relies on composer Stelvio Cipriani's drum roll music to heighten the suspense and tension. Cipriani's orchestral soundtrack is lively, buoyant material. At some point in their march to the site of execution, Carnimeo frames the action through the arch of a Senger sewing machine. This tongue-in-cheek reference to a Singer sewing machine is clever. What proves to be even more clever but clearly far-fetched is that the stranger Alleluja has modified this sewing machine so that it spits out lead as if it were a Gatling gun! He wipes out the execution squad and agrees to ride off on a quest for General Ramirez to a nearby monastery where a gang of outlaws masquerading as monks have stolen a black satchel stuffed with rare, valuable stones worth over a million pesos. At one point, during the opening sequence, the Senger jams on Alleluja, and he complains, "Shucks, the next thing you know the machine will be sewing bullets and shooting thread."
Later, Alleluja must contend with an acrobatic Russian, Grand Duke Alexey Wissayolovich Kropotkin (Charles Southwood of "Roy Colt and Winchester Jack"), who also wants to recover the jewels, too. When the filmmakers introduce Kropotkin, he is decked out in a long, white Cossack tunic, with a sword. These two Hellions must deal with another competitor, Sister Anna Lee (Agata Flori of "Operation Kid Brother"), and she proves to be just as slippery as they are. If nimble Spaghetti western comedies are your taste, you won't find a better example than "Guns for Dollars." "Stranger Returns" composer Stelvio Cipriani provides a catchy, memorable orchestral soundtrack that enlivens the action.