Bullets Don't Argue (1964) User Reviews

Good but not great early spaghetti...

[heybhc · 7/10 · 25 March 2006]

This is the film that Jolly Films of Rome and the other producing companies were putting their hopes and money into while tossing a bone to an unknown director named Sergio Leone, giving him film ends and minimal financing to shoot a movie called The Magnificent Stranger which featured a little-known American TV actor named Clint Eastwood. BULLETS DON'T ARGUE starred Rod Cameron, a bigger name, as Pat Garrett, with Horst Frank and Angel Aranda as Billy and George Clanton, thus mixing two old west legends into a very typically American spaghetti western. It kind of reminded me of the Budd Boetticher/Randolph Scott westerns of the late fifties, with Cameron as the stoic, older authority figure bringing in the wild, younger outlaws, and is pretty darned good, doing what it sets out to do. Oddly enough the highlight of Morricone's score is the song Lonesome Billy, about the elder of the outlaw brothers. BTW I think this is the film that did so poorly at the Italian box office that it prompted Variety to report that spaghetti westerns were dead, a week or so before the Leone/Eastwood film, retitled A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, turned the film world on its ear.

Decent Spaghetti/Paella/Schnitzel Western co-produced between Italy /Spain/Germany plenty of action , pursuits and lots of shots

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 24 June 2014]

"Bullets Don't Lie" is a Ravioli/Chorizo Western with a prolific Italian director and usual actors from Spaghetti . Entertaining Spaghetti Western with shootouts , action , go riding ,violence and amusement . On his own wedding day, sheriff Pat Garrett (Rod Cameron) must leave and try to arrest two bank robbers who have robbed the River Town Bank ; they are the Clanton Brothers , as Billy Clanton (Horst Frank) and George Clanton (Ángel Aranda) .

"Pistols Don't Argue" packs violence , crossfire , high body-count , full of horse riding , pursuits and shots and it's fast moving and quite entertaining . There is a lot of action in the movie , guaranteeing some shoot'em up or stunts every few minutes . It's an exciting western with breathtaking confrontation between protagonist Rod Cameron against the heartless Horst Frank and his brother Angel Aranda and a stirring ending gunfight . It's an agreeable story with a touch of peculiarity , some great characters, and an amazing music . This is an European co-production , Italian : Jolly Films , Spain : Trio or Ocean Films (Enrique Rivas) , Germany : Constantine Film of Múnich (Gunter Raguse) . As Italian producers Giorgio Papi and Arrigo Colombo formerly produced the first Spaghetti/Paella Western titled ¨Gringo¨ by Ricardo Blasco with similar technician team as Dan Savio or Ennio Morricone , cameramen : Mássimo Dallamano , Julio Ortas and secondary actors . After that , Papi and Colombo whose production company is called Jolly Films wish to produce two Westerns , the first with biggest budget titled ¨Le Pistole non Discutono¨, screenplay and filmmaking by Mike Perkins or Mario Caiano ; the second in little budget titled ¨For a fistful of dollars¨ by Sergio Leone with Clint Eastwood , as Sergio had to work in short budget , about 40 million of Liras for six weeks . The offer over both films included same locations , most technicians , costumes and same support cast . The most important difference was Rod Cameron whose salary was greatest than Fistful of dollars's all cast . As "Bullets Don't Argue" was shot at the same time to ¨Fistful of dollars¨ sharing atrezzo , gowns , sets , casting and many of them nicknamed under American pseudonyms . Both movies were filmed in similar exteriors such as rocks from La Pedriza (Madrid) , meadows of Dehesa of Navalvillar in Colmenar Viejo , Aldea Del Fresno (Madrid) and Almeria . Furthermore , at the Western village called 'Western City of Colmenar Viejo' that represents the 'ghost village' , being built by Augusto Lega and Felix Michelena , the first shooting there took place was ¨The terrible sheriff¨ (1963) by Antonio Momplet and Alberto De Martino . In addition , "Bullets Don't Lie" was shot in village of Hoyo of Manzanares called 'Golden City' financed by producer Eduardo Manzanos Brochero , being built (1962) by architects Jose Luis Galicia and Jaime Perez Cubero . They resulted to be the locations in which were shot lots of Western produced and directed by Spanish and Italian and occasionally American people . Besides , in "Bullets Don't Lie" appears several ordinary actors from Tortilla/Spaghetti Western such as Angel Aranda , Dick Palmer or Mimmo Palmara , Jose Manuel Martin , Tito Garcia , Julio Perez Tabernero , Simon Arriaga , Rafael Vaquero , and many others .

The musician Ennio Morricone composes a nice soundtrack and well conducted , this turns out to be one of the most memorable parts of the movie ; as it's full of enjoyable sounds and haunting musical background , including guitar and whispers , Morricone's ordinary marks . It contributes tremendously to the atmosphere of the film, adding an emotive leitmotif , the score is perhaps the best part of this film . Striking cinematography by Julio Ortas/Massimo Dallamano including a correct remastering . Outdoor sequences with barren and rocky exteriors filmed in Spanish places located on outskirts Madrid , prairie of Colmenar Viejo , Hoyo De Manzanares and La Pedriza , and of course , Almeria . Mario Caiano's direction is well crafted , here he's less cynical and humorous and more inclined toward violence and packs too much action , but especially this moving Western contains long shot'em up and thrills . Mario under pseudonym Mike Perkins directed this acceptable western , genre in which he would not only excel but one where he would spent much of the rest of his career , as he directed several Spaghetti : ¨Brandy¨, ¨Avenger of California¨ , ¨Ringo, face of revenge¨ , ¨Bullets don't argue¨, ¨Lone and angry man¨ , ¨A train to Durango¨. Caiano is a craftsman who has directed all kind of genres as Peplum as ¨Ulisse vs Ercole¨, ¨I due Gladiatori¨, ¨Maciste Gadiatori di Sparta¨ and Terror : ¨Nightmare castle¨, ¨ Eye in the labyrinth¨ and even Pornonazi as ¨Nazi love camp 27¨. Although Caiano couldn't be deemed an "A"-list director, his movies had a professionalism and a verve that many of those made by his fellow B directors lacked . This attractive as well as uneven Western but will appeal to Spaghetti aficionados . Rating : 7 , riotous Western in which there's too much violence , action and excitement enough .

Italian western imitating American style

[entomol71 · 6/10 · 21 December 2010]

This film is a ripping off of American westerns. When I say ripping off I don't mean it is a poor film. It has the typical western elements: sheriffs and bandits. The role of the characters is well defined and at the end of the story the good will triumph on bad. Many films-loving people didn't understand why this film hadn't had success in Italy. First of all it was played by unknown actors, at least in Italy. Moreover, westerns were getting to be on the wane from 1965. But the main reason is that Italians were bored about classic westerns ("the stagecoach", "Rio Grande", "Cimarron", "saddle the wind" etc) they preferred action, shootings and a bit of violence. So the film "a fistful of dollars" released a few weeks later was a great success because it started a new era of making westerns as Italians preferred.

This was one of the first westerns to have false names of director and actors so as to make it seem like an American film. Probably it was shot without recording the audio even if many actors spoke English. It was released in Italian and in English both dubbed. Rod Cameron dubbed himself.

Far better than expected

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 16 December 2020]

BULLETS DON'T ARGUE is an example of the Italian spaghetti western just before Sergio Leone burst onto the scene and changed the genre's look and feel forever. This one has a much brighter, clear-cut feel which brings it in line with the classic Hollywood westerns of the 1950s. The paunchy Rod Cameron - looking a lot like a middle-aged Lon Chaney Jr. - plays Pat Garrett, the sheriff hunting for deadly outlaw Billy the Kid, as played to the hilt by the sinister Horst Frank. The wide-reaching plot takes unexpected turns throughout, with good character development and an exciting piece of spectacle at the climax. I liked it far more than I expected to; with Mario Caiano's brisk, seemingly effortless direction, this is a lot of fun.

The Spaghetti Western in its Earliest Incarnation

[zardoz-13 · 5/10 · 27 April 2010]

Director Mario Caiano's serious, straightforward Continental western "Bullets Don't Argue" exemplifies the Spaghetti western in its earliest phrase. Basically, anything predating Sergio Leone's "Fistful of Dollars" qualifies as first phrase Spaghetti western when the genre still bore an amazing resemblance to American westerns. Bounty hunters weren't heroes, while lawmen were. Rod Cameron stars here as a Randolph Scott type hero, and "Bullets Don't Argue" resembles a low-budget Budd Boetticher horse opera that mismanages two western legends. This routine, by-the-numbers shootout lacks few surprises and the narrative unfolds along the course of a life and death journey. Rod Cameron seems personable enough as Sheriff Pat Garrett of Rivertown, an American border town on Rio Grande, who must recover thousands of dollars that two outlaws stole from the town bank. The outlaws gun down a couple of bar employees and hightail it for the border. They robbed the bank while the town lawman was getting married. Garrett and a posse follow the outlaws to the Rio Grande but only Garrett crosses over in Mexico. He has to capture Billy Clanton (Horst Frank of "The Grand Duel") and his younger brother George (Ángel Aranda of "The Hellbenders"). Mind you, Billy Clanton is a far cry from Billy the Kid, and the real Billy Clanton died in Tombstone's infamous O. K. Corral shootout. Nevertheless, Horst Frank seems perfectly cast as the trigger-happy Billy. Dick Palmer isn't flamboyant enough as the villain Santero. Later, Spaghetti western Mexicans would behave like diabolical fiends, but Palmer is just plain dull. The only distinctive things about "Bullets Don't Argue" is an anonymous Ennio Morricone orchestral score and Carlo Simi's striking art direction. Scenarists Gianni Castellano, Pedro de Juan, and Giuseppe Moccia keep the clichés intact in this thoroughly traditional law & order western that looks as saddle sore as Rod Cameron. Not only does Cameron have the equivalent of a bad Stetson day with a shapeless looking hat, but he also winds up in an oater that kills off its primary villain three-quarters of the way through it. During his ride through Mexico, Garrett struggles to avoid a confrontation with the Rurales, the Mexican authorities, because he fears that they won't recognize the legality of his actions. When Garrett pays $2,000 for food and horses to a Mexican businessman, the latter wastes no time informing Santero about the thousands in cash that Garrett has. The Mexicans try to take the money from Garrett and at one point, things look pretty bleak for our protagonist when he has to hole up with a rancher to hold off Santero's gunmen. The ending is straight out of an American western. While there is little that is unique about this standard-issue oater, it never wears out its welcome.

Great early Euro western

[christopherholderness · 8/10 · 21 November 2020]

A solid early Euro western; no surprises really, but entertaining enough. A sheriff follows two brothers into Mexico on his wedding day. Only the elder, Billy, seems to be guilty, however. The usual fare of Mexicans after the gold is there. I won't give more of the plot away. Good, atmospheric music by the maestro Morricone. Well worth a look.