mharah The spaghetti western is/was a very specific genre, and by the standards of the day, they were a huge departure. The first several - A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, The Good The Bad and The Ugly, Once Upon a Time in the West, to name a few - all in the unique hands of director Sergio Leone - are classics. Those that came after - including this one, Diamante Lobo (God's Gun) - not so much. The problem starts with the script, which leaves a lot to be desired. In Leone's films, he realized that he was working with a lot of actors for whom, however good they might or might not be, English was not their first language, if in fact they even spoke it at all. So he wisely devised an approach that required very little dialogue, depending mainly on action, atmosphere, style and - yes, violence. A lot of it. In Leone's hands, this combination spoke volumes. When it came to Gianfranco Parolini (aka Fred Kramer), the magic touch just wasn't there. For Diamante Lobo/God's Gun, the script was just awful - clichéd situations, cheesy dialogue, bad continuity. This saddled some of Hollywood's most reliable actors with a difficult assignment - making a silk purse out of a sow's ear. To a great extent, they were constrained by the director, and they fell back, as actors will, on their shtick, to get them through. For some (Sybil Danning, Jack Palance, Leif Garrett), it worked better than others (Lee Van Cleef, Richard Boone). For Van Cleef, the spaghetti western was familiar territory. But playing sort of against type in such familiar surroundings - good an actor as he was - just doesn't ring quite true. Boone, in one of his last films and probably already in poor health, in addition to being miscast, was just plain disappointing. Palance chews up the scenery, as he was wont to do in many films before and after - too broad, and yet it worked. Garrett, one of Hollywood's most promising young actors at the time, hit most of the right notes. Danning - well, she didn't have much to do, but she handled it quite well. The production values were inadequate. The town looked very well turned out for a dusty old stage stop. The post production just made things worse - bad dubbing, in some cases laughable voice replacement, second-rate scoring, editing that worked against the script (although perhaps in spite of it - who knows?). In short, there was a film in there somewhere, but it didn't have a chance to show itself. Two final thoughts: Although Van Cleef was a veteran of the genre, he wasn't the best choice for role(s). Leif Garrett was quite good when allowed to be. Too many reviewers just hate on child actors as a matter of course. And quite a few deserve it. They may be cute, but they are not good. But some are genuinely talented. Garrett was among them until the music thing overtook him. One can only wonder what might have happened had he not gone the teen idol path. As an actor, he sure had the chops.

Uriah43 A gang of outlaws known as the "Claytons" and led by "Sam Clayton" (Jack Palance) ride into the town of Crane City and after looting it they ride off. Their next stop is a town near the Mexican border called Juno City which is protected by a cowardly sheriff played by Richard Boone. After the murder of one man they ride off again. Since the sheriff doesn't want to pursue them, the town priest, "Father John" (Lee Van Cleef) decides to go after the man who committed the murder and bring him back to face justice. He manages to do this but the next day he is killed by the Clayton's right in front of his church. When news reaches his brother, "Louis" (also played by Lee Van Cleef) in Mexico he decides to ride to Juno City and take matters into his own hands. Now, while I typically enjoy Spaghetti westerns as much as the next person, I have to say that this film wasn't one of the better ones out there. Although the overall story was pretty good, the execution was terrible and the script needed significant improvement. Even more surprising was how the cast was so badly wasted. As a matter of fact, other than a couple of pretty barmaids by the name of "Chesty" (Pnina Rosenblum) and "Jenny" (Sybil Danning) I can't think of anyone who was remotely interesting. Very disappointing and definitely below average.

JohnWelles "God's Gun" AKA "Diamante Lobo" (1976), which is directed by Gianfranco Parolini, who made the hugely successful Spaghetti Westerns: "If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death" (1968) and "Sabata" (1969), is actually a much better film than most people say it to be. Firstly, there is a very interesting performance from Lee Van Cleef, who plays two roles: a priest and a retired gunfighter! The great Jack Palance, while his own voice has been dubbed over, is still an effective villain and Leif Garrett who plays Johhny is quite good for a child actor. The direction is well done, with several neat tricks and the photography is uniformly excellent, especially the final "framing" shot. While it might not be as good as a Spaghetti Western like "Any Gun Can Play" (1968), it is better than "This Man Can't Die" (1967). A highly recommended movie.

garyldibert TITLE: This picture was released in theaters in March of 1978 starring a very young but gorgeous Sybil Danning as Jenny, Lee Van Cleef as Father John and Lewis and Jack Palace as Sam Clayton.SUMMARY: Picture starts in a little called Crane City where a Mexican is putting on a puppet show. As he starts to collect money, you hear gunshots coming from behind his wagon. Sam Clayton and his gang has just rode into Crane City where they terrorist the woman rob the bank and kill the sheriff and the deputy. A few days later Sam Clayton and his thugs ride into Juno City. Enters Sybil Danning who's playing the role of Jenny and she runs the only saloon in town. Also living with her is her son Johnny. Enters Lee Van Cleef who's the Priest or otherwise called Father John. Father John and Johnny are walking down the street when Jenny asks Johnny if he finished shining the glasses. Father John tells Jenny that Johnny will be back to finish shinning the glasses after he's done cleaning the church. While cleaning the church Johnny comes across a gun that belongs to Fathers John Brother Lewis. Sam is in Jenny saloon when Johnny walks in. Sam wonders while Johnny isn't in school. Sam also wants to know where Johnny's father is. Meanwhile at table a couple of Sam's thugs are playing poker when one of them is accused of cheating. Sam's nephew throws a knife in the back of the poker player that was cheating. As a man lying died in jenny saloon Sam Clayton and his gang start to ride out of town. Jenny is screaming at the people of the town for someone to go after Sam Clayton's nephew to bring him back to for justice. When the sheriff decides that he's not going Father John takes the sheriffs horse and rides out after Sam Clayton gang. That's leaves two unanswered questions.QUESTIONS: What does the title God's Gun stand for? What does Father John comeback to town with Sam Clayton's nephew? MY THOUGHTS: I thought this was an excellent picture. Lee Van Cleef does an excellent job playing the role of Father John and the role of Lewis. Jack Palace was excellent in his role as Sam Clayton. The reason I bought this movie was Sybil Danning. You didn't see much of Sybil Danning body in this because it was a western but, she was excellent in her role as Jenny the owner of the saloon. Her talents as an actress really shined in this picture. So, with that in mind, and because this movie kept my interest through the entire picture I'm giving this movie 10 weasels stars because of Sybil Danning and the level of action , adventure and drama this movie had from beginning to end. If you want to see this movie, you can buy it in DVD format at Amazon.com