Perfect cast and a good story
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How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.
View MoreThis movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows
View More"The Stranger Returns", is much better than the first "Stranger" movie, just as "For a Few Dollars More" eclipsed "A Fistful of Dollars". The score here is an absolute "killer" , and very Morricone like. I would say that Warner Brothers has done a great job with the Archive Collection transfer. Colors are sharp and the musical score is clearly a highlight. The story itself, has Tony Anthony playing the low key sly fox, taking a beating, but eventually outsmarting Dan Vadis and his gang. There are several chuckles that actually work, and the action, although predictable, moves along at a good pace. I consider this film to be one of the better non-Leone spaghetti westerns, and is recommended viewing, especially for "spaghetti" fans. - MERK
View MoreI'm usually up for a good spaghetti western, but I found "The Stranger's Return" for the most part to be a below average sampling of the genre. While most other spaghetti westerns were able to take low budgets and squeeze every last penny out of them to make solid production values, this time around the low budget really shows. That would be a minor quibble had the movie been given energy and speed, but the movie feels very, very tired. It moves really slowly, and there is no feeling of passion at any moment. Instead, there is a crude and clumsy feeling, like the filmmakers were making things up as they went along and didn't have the time or resources to think things over carefully before shooting. As for the title character, Tony Anthony has absolutely no charisma. Oddly, his facial expression for most of the movie makes it appear that he's about to burst into tears at any moment. There are a few good touches that manage to come out here and there - the musical score, for one thing, isn't bad at all - but the movie as a whole is a tough slog to sit through.
View MoreEnjoyed the first film with Tony Anthony, "A Strange in Town" and this film is quite similar except there are women being raped and one shot dead while trying to hang out her laundry. There are a whole gang of laughing bandits who simply love to tease, torture and kill in cold blood. The Strange meets up with a rather crazy preacher who has all kinds of secrets to help the Stranger fight off this gang of bandits who are after a gold shipment and the Stranger assumes the identify of a murdered postal inspector. The Stranger is captured and given a good beating and was pulled by a rope behind a stagecoach and was then kicked and punched in the face constantly. The music in this picture added a great deal of sound effects throughout the entire film and I must say some of the gals in this picture were very good looking and sexy.
View MoreTony Anthony returns in his "Stranger" guise, in a film that totally eclipses the qualities of its predecessor, "A Stranger in Town".To the sound of Cipriani's superb score, the Stranger rides horseback (astride the interestingly named "Pussy") through the desert, protecting himself from the sun's rays with a pink parasol, and greeting a passing traveller. The sound of gunfire alerts him to a nearby ranch, where he finds the traveller lying dead. A great gunfight scene ensues, and three dead bodies later he learns of a bandit gang's gold heist plot.The gang, led by En Plein (Dan Vadis) are known as the Treasure of the Border, on account of the size of the bounties that rest on their heads (although quite how some of his goofy comrades manage to generate such a vast reward is beyond me). They successfully ambush a stagecoach, which is soon revealed to be made of solid gold. The Stranger tracks down the gang, in an effort to claim the bounty, assisted by a deranged local preacher with a pocketful of fireworks.The story itself is very simple, but delivered in a great style. Like the other films in the Stranger series (well, those that I have seen), it combines the feel of the Leone films (in its poncho clad protagonist and its morricone-mimic soundtrack) but injects an extra dosage of humour. This humorous side is particularly well crafted (such as the enjoyable scene at the beginning of the movie, when the Stranger is forced at gunpoint to dig a grave both for the dead traveller and himself). "Returns" does not borrow so heavily from the Dollars trilogy as "A Stranger in Town", but still its clear where its influences lie. And why not - it does it very successfully and makes for great viewing.Anthony is never going to exude the same level of cool as Eastwood's Man With No Name, and therefore deliberately plays the role in a more clumsy comical fashion. But there is still no denying his character's appeal - or his fast-draw and accurate gun-play. The supporting characters also really add to the enjoyment, with Vadis particularly well suited to the role of the merciless gang leader.Perhaps the highlight of the film though is Cipriani's score which, as mentioned earlier, owes more than a passing nod to Ennio, but aptly captures the mood and feeling as the action unfurls. It's one of those soundtracks that could make even a bad film worth watching.Anthony's Stranger series eventually collapsed into the medieval farce that is "Get Mean". But this particular episode of the Stranger's adventures is a truly enjoyable and highly watchable western. And one that nearly reaches the highlights of Anthony's finest hour - Blindman. "Returns" is the best of the Stranger films that I have seen, and one that I would definitely recommend.
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