Massacre at Grand Canyon (1965)

 
In keeping with the Classic American Western feel of the film, the storyline is very basic - a man (not a pure hero but not quite an anti-hero) trying to keep the peace between two quarrelsome factions and trying to save the woman, with the usual family ties in there as well. There are some hints of what Corbucci was to do next - the lead character is enigmatic, a great shot and interested in keeping the peace over any loyalty to factions, but don't expect any big twists, politics or moral debates in this film, its just straight forward Western. Pacing is pretty standard, although there are big gaps between the shootouts that might bore the action junkies. The film builds to a dramatic, but ultimately predictable conclusion.

As with the storyline, Corbucci directs this film in a pretty standard way, his trademark 'look under the rim of a hat' shot and distinctive gunfight angles are missing but he does go in for some good handheld shooting during a fist-fight sequence. Ultimately this film is your standard Western with some decent looking sets, a well mounted climactic gun battle and some good location shoots - most interesting is the fact that the film was shot in Jugoslavia, which at the time was being used by various German film crews shooting the popular Karl May Westerns, but would rarely be used by the Italian Westerns. The soundtrack from composer Gianni Ferrio is a mix of European and American influences, with a Spaghetti-style opening song but a standard American Western soundtrack for the rest of the picture.