A Gun For 100 Graves (1968)

AKA Una pistola per cento bare (A Pistol For One Hundred Coffins)

Not unlike his fellow Italian horror maestro Lucio Fulci, Umberto Lenzi was already an industry veteran with a plethora of films to his credit by the time he made his debut in the genres with which he became synonymous, namely horror, giallo and Euro crime. In fact, Lenzi had helmed an incredible 21 features prior to his debut giallo Paranoia (1969). A jack of all genre trades, Lenzi's early films consist of everything from action/adventure films like Sandokan the Great (1963), Temple of the White Elephant (1964), Three Serpents of Bengal (1964) and Temple of a Thousand Lights (1965), a Maciste film that also doubles as a Zoro film in the form of Samson and the Slave Queen (1963), a peplum, Messalina vs. the Son of Hercules (1964), two James Bond influenced spy films, 008: Operation Exterminate (1965) and The Spy Who Loved Flowers (1966) and the colorful Fumetti neri adaptation Kriminal (1966). Lenzi also directed a war film, Battle of the Commandos (1969), which featured a writing credit for none other than Dario Argento. Given the era in which he was making these films, it was only natural that Lenzi dabble in the field of spaghetti western. Lenzi's debut western All Out (1968) was promptly followed up the same year by A Gun For 100 Graves, one of the finest the genre has to offer and a highlight of Lenzi's pre-giallo/horror days.

Following the end of the Civil War, Jim Slade (Peter Lee Lawrence) returns home to Arizona only to find both his parents brutally murdered. Setting aside his devout Jehovah's Witness belief in pacifism, Slade vows revenge. After quickly learning the identities and disposing of three out of the four culprits, the ring leader known only as Corbett remains elusive. After riding into Galveston, Texas, Slade has a run in with a member of a gang of bandits in town for a major robbery. Impressed with his handling of the situation as well as his shooting, the mayor offers Slade a cash reward to stick around and defend the town when the gang make their inevitable return. Slade refuses, that is until he learns the identity of the bandits leader, J. Texas Corbett, prompting Slade to agree to defend the town along with a fast shooing traveling preacher named Douglas and avenge his parents death.

Although the revenge angle and the idea of an enigmatic stranger defending a sleepy town from outlaws is fairly typical of western cannon, not unlike Sergio Martino's later spaghetti western Mannaja: A Man Called Blade (1977), there are certain things about A Gun For 100 Graves that make it a bit anomalous when compared to other spaghetti westerns with Lenzi peppering the film with the occasional peculiarity. The film wastes very little time getting right to the heart of the matter as it relates to Slade's vengeful plans with three out of his four targets taken out before the 20 minute mark in an almost stream of conscious fashion in the way Lenzi randomlly segues from one kill to the next. Once Slade enters Galveston the film settles into a more traditional narrative with the middle portion of the film devoting itself to Slade and Douglas' plans for defending the town. It's here where Lenzi throws a curve ball, taking the film into horror territory for about five minutes when out of the blue a group of lunatics escape from the local jail and terrorize the town. What's also interesting about the film is Lenzi's none to subtle jabs at religious hypocrisy, making Slade a devout Jehovah's Witness, punished by the military in the beginning of the film for refusing to fight, only to disavow his religious principles soon after in the name of revenge, even making a man dig his own grave, yet he hilariously refuses to drink whiskey throughout the film.

Its worth pointing out the number of clever plot twists that arrive late in the film. Again, the film was made before Lenzi began his string of giallo's, with Paranoia being the direct follow-up film and it seems that at certain points during A Gun For 100 Graves Lenzi was testing the waters in terms of plot twists that are typical of giallo films. Also interesting to point out that western staple John Ireland who plays Douglas was the lead in Lenzi's previous spaghetti western All Out. Leading man Peter Lee Lawrence made an all too brief but memorable career out of playing the hero in spaghetti westerns after having an unaccredited role in Sergio Lenoe's For a Few Dollars More (1965). He appeared in other types of films as well such as Hell in Normandy (1968), Tarzan and the Brown Prince (1972) and The Long Arm of the Godfather (1972) but westerns were his main payday before dying at the young age of 30 in 1974. Despite his popularity in westerns, some have criticized his casting in A Gun For 100 Graves, citing his boyish, unassuming good looks clashing with the dark turn his character takes, which is exactly what makes his casting just right as the film itself is rather unassuming on the surface only to reveal itself to be something a bit different in the crowded sea of spaghetti westerns.