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Gunfight at Red Sands

Gunfight at Red Sands (Duello nel Texas)

Movie · 1963 · 11 people

Albert Band wrote Gunfight at Red Sands with Ricardo Blasco and produced it himself, his first spaghetti western in that role; Blasco co-directed with Mario Caiano. Known in Italy as Duello nel Texas ("Duel in Texas") and in Spain as Gringo, the 1963 Italian-Spanish spaghetti western was shot in both languages and runs about 80 minutes.

American actor Richard Harrison takes the lead, in what is described as the second spaghetti western to star him. The cast also includes Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, José Calvo, Aldo Sambrell, Daniel Martín, Barta Barri, Agustín González, Sara Lezana and Tito García.

The production matters as the first western with a score by Ennio Morricone. It was also the first western from Jolly Film, the company of Arrigo Colombo and Giorgio Papi, which the following year would make A Fistful of Dollars and open the era of the Italian western. It is counted among the early responses of Italian cinema, from 1963 on, to the economic crisis in the film business. In German-speaking countries a shortened version played from 1 May 1964 under the title Drei gegen Sacramento.

DirectorMario Caiano, Ricardo Blasco
Production companyJolly Film

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Cast

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Richard Harrison Richard Harrison Film actor · 90 years old Aldo Sambrell Aldo Sambrell Film actor · died at 79 Giacomo Rossi-Stuart José Calvo Daniel Martín Barta Barri Agustín González Sara Lezana Tito García Rufino Inglés Xan das Bolas

Titles sharing this cast

Through different eyes

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Today this film is remembered above all as a footnote in music history: the first western scored by Ennio Morricone. That alone is reason enough for anyone wanting to trace the first signs of the sound the genre would later find. Co-direction split between Caiano and Blasco, and a shoot in both Italian and Spanish, suggest a co-production that had not yet fully found its identity. Its short running time keeps the narrative tidy; but in my view the film rarely gets beyond being a herald of what was to come. The distinctive style of the spaghetti western is still in the making here.

Action & Thriller Fan Puts pace, tension and set pieces first; little patience for slow drama.

Western, duel and a short runtime: on paper a good package for genre fans. You can expect something that moves along without drowning in long dialogue. Still, this film comes from just before the spaghetti western boom, so you may not fully find that era's hard edge and famous duel staging here. A good starting point for anyone curious about the genre's roots.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

What makes the film interesting is less its own story than the economic conditions it came out of. According to German sources, it was one of Italian cinema's early responses, from 1963 on, to the economic crisis in the business. Shooting an American genre with an American lead, as an Italian-Spanish partnership in two languages, shows a film industry in crisis trying to reach the international market by sharing costs. Jolly Film making A Fistful of Dollars the following year shows where this experiment led. Yet being tied so closely to a period of industry history also leaves open what the film says on its own to today's viewer.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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