Django Shoots First
He was alone on the high desert plains, eating his beans from the pan, when the stranger approached, the bounty hunter Ringo, tied to the back of his horse the dead body of Thomas Garvin, worth $5,000 to the person who brings him in; unfortunately that will not be Ringo, the man who fate has brought him to known as Django in Mexico but born Glenn Garvin, son of the late Thomas whom he had believed to still be in prison.
A quick draw, Django shoots first in the desert with Ringo then after his arrival at Silver Creek to collect the bounty and confronts his father’s former business partner, the duplicitous Ken Kluster who framed Thomas for gun running and had him thrown in prison, stealing all he had, by rights now claimed by Django who is ambushed as he leaves the bank, a timely warning from friendly gambler Gordon meaning that Django shoots first.
Third “unofficial” sequel to the two films where Franco Nero portrayed the former Union Army soldier caught in trouble not of his making, directed by The Counsellor‘s Alberto De Martino, Django Shoots First (Django spara per primo) was released in 1966, starring the Dutch former supporting player Roel Bos who for his first starring role in the Spaghetti Western Go With God, Gringo had been persuaded to Anglicise his name, as was the fashion in the Italian film industry at the time.
Becoming instead Glenn Saxson, his Django is tall, handsome and acrobatic, springing over tables in bar fights and swinging from the lights, fortunately on good terms with proprietor Lucy (Erika Blanc) seeing as he is the new owner of the establishment, while Kluster and his black-hatted enforcer Ward (Nando Gazzolo and Lee Burton) plot, and the beautiful Jessica Kluster (Evelyn Stewart) makes her own plans depending on how things fall, even offering her bathtub and wardrobe when needed.
A surprisingly proficient production, particularly when viewed with the Italian soundtrack, the dialogue and cast all good and the locations beyond the desolate rock formations of the atmospheric Desierto de Tabernas in Almería extending to a full township, Django Shoots First in many ways a superior Spaghetti Western with a smart plot of twists and humour and actual night shooting rather than the more customary day-for-night.
Handsomely staged in flashy period costumes with a spirited soundtrack from Bruno Nicolai, restored in 4K as part of StudioCanal’s Cult Classics collection with dual language options and a commentary by the great Alex Cox, Django Shoots First is something of a rarity in the cinema of the era with many of the principal cast still with us in their mid-eighties, Glenn Saxson, Erika Blanc and Evelyn Stewart all providing interviews for the new edition.
Django Shoots First is available on 4K UHD and Blu-ray now from StudioCanal
