Man of the East
Encyclopedia
Man of the East is a 1971
Italian
spaghetti western
film
directed by Enzo Barboni
starring Terence Hill
.
The film is set in the Wild West
during the time of the railway construction. A recurring theme is the always progressing modernisation which some of the protagonists are trying to escape.
nobleman Sir Thomas Fitzpatrick Phillip Moore (Terence Hill
) arrives in the West following the wish of this late father who years earlier had to leave England due to an affair. The trouble led to a conflict with "Vicci Windsor"
. In the West, the young man joins up with his father's former pals, the stagecoach robbers Monkey (Dominic Barto), Holy Joe (Harry Carey Jr.) and Bull (Gregory Walcott
).
The characters are introduced as time moves on during Tom's journey, beginning with Bull who works at a stagecoach station disguised as a mute man. After Bull has listened in on the conversation of two headhunters and found out about the death of "The Englishman" (Tom's father), he begins a journey of his own. In a small town he finds a preacher who's in his church, conducting a fiery sermon to a somewhat dubious audience of drunkards, gamblers and easy women who he had to drive into his church just as he had to have the saloon's pianola moved into the church right before. Both of them then proceed to Yuma
, where the third one, Monkey is in jail as usual. Through deceit they manage to free Monkey after they manage to keep him from taking revenge on the sadistic warden, because according to Holy on the day of the Lord you don't shoot people. From there they travel to the Englishman's gang's old hideout in the mountain, which is also the destination of Tom's journey, who had just before been in a stagecoach robbery performed by the masked trio of Monkey, Bull and Holy.
Tom was just about to inspect the property around the log cabin when suddenly his walking stick is shot out from under him by the three crooks, who do not know who Tom is and therefore suspect him to have come back to retrieve the stolen money.
Soon the situation is explained by Tom showing them a photograph of his father along with giving Holy a letter of his father for the three of them.
In his letter the father asks them to make a "real man" out of his progress-loving son. Initially they fail miserably since Tom refuses to touch a weapon and would rather ride his bicycle than a horse. This changes once he meets Candida (Yanti Somer) in the town's thrift store, the landowner's daughter who he had once met before when she travelled in the same train as him and had captivated his thoughts. There she asks for Books of Lord Byron, which he can procure, unlike the trader. Candida returns his love.
Since Morton (Riccardo Pizzuti), Candida's father's rough ranch administrator has also set his eyes on the girl this leads to several brawls during which Tom initially ends up on the receiving side. Only after an intensive course in all things brawling, shooting and spitting which his father's accomplices put him through Tom not only manages to put Morton in his place but also Candida's father (Enzo Fiermonte
) who has been convinced of Tom's skills. It ends with a happy end
although Monkey, Bull and Holy leave the town in which progress has taken a footing, driving them to flee further toward the west. In the last scene they reach the Pacific
, shocked to hear the whistle of a steam train and so they turned back.
, like the three friends constantly being chased by two headhunters. During each encounter one of the three appears behind them, when they are just about to get to business with the others.
Bull every time slams their heads through a then destroyed table, making them appear more bandaged with each new additional encounter.
Another running gag is the calendar problem. Since for the western heroes every day is a Saturday, Joe has his fair share of problems coordinating meetings with them.
Additionally there's Bull's Yorkshire Terrier
which he stole from a lady during the stagecoach robbery earlier and which he carries around with him. Every time he hands the dog to another person that person has to clean their hands afterwards sinc the dog appears to not be in control of his bladder.
1971 in film
The year 1971 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New York's Academy of Music...
Italian
Cinema of Italy
The history of Italian cinema began just a few months after the Lumière brothers had patented their Cinematographe, when Pope Leo XIII was filmed for a few seconds in the act of blessing the camera.-Early years:...
spaghetti western
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
directed by Enzo Barboni
Enzo Barboni
Enzo Barboni , sometimes credited by his pseudonym E.B. Clucher, was an Italian film director, cinematographer and screenwriter...
starring Terence Hill
Terence Hill
Terence Hill is an Italian actor. He is best known for starring in multiple action and western films together with his longtime filmpartner Bud Spencer.-Biography:...
.
The film is set in the Wild West
American Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
during the time of the railway construction. A recurring theme is the always progressing modernisation which some of the protagonists are trying to escape.
Plot
The young EnglishEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
nobleman Sir Thomas Fitzpatrick Phillip Moore (Terence Hill
Terence Hill
Terence Hill is an Italian actor. He is best known for starring in multiple action and western films together with his longtime filmpartner Bud Spencer.-Biography:...
) arrives in the West following the wish of this late father who years earlier had to leave England due to an affair. The trouble led to a conflict with "Vicci Windsor"
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
. In the West, the young man joins up with his father's former pals, the stagecoach robbers Monkey (Dominic Barto), Holy Joe (Harry Carey Jr.) and Bull (Gregory Walcott
Gregory Walcott
Gregory Walcott is an American television and film actor. He is perhaps best known for having appeared in the 1959 Ed Wood film, the cult classic Plan 9 from Outer Space.-Early life and career:...
).
The characters are introduced as time moves on during Tom's journey, beginning with Bull who works at a stagecoach station disguised as a mute man. After Bull has listened in on the conversation of two headhunters and found out about the death of "The Englishman" (Tom's father), he begins a journey of his own. In a small town he finds a preacher who's in his church, conducting a fiery sermon to a somewhat dubious audience of drunkards, gamblers and easy women who he had to drive into his church just as he had to have the saloon's pianola moved into the church right before. Both of them then proceed to Yuma
Yuma, Arizona
Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. It is located in the southwestern corner of the state, and the population of the city was 77,515 at the 2000 census, with a 2008 Census Bureau estimated population of 90,041....
, where the third one, Monkey is in jail as usual. Through deceit they manage to free Monkey after they manage to keep him from taking revenge on the sadistic warden, because according to Holy on the day of the Lord you don't shoot people. From there they travel to the Englishman's gang's old hideout in the mountain, which is also the destination of Tom's journey, who had just before been in a stagecoach robbery performed by the masked trio of Monkey, Bull and Holy.
Tom was just about to inspect the property around the log cabin when suddenly his walking stick is shot out from under him by the three crooks, who do not know who Tom is and therefore suspect him to have come back to retrieve the stolen money.
Soon the situation is explained by Tom showing them a photograph of his father along with giving Holy a letter of his father for the three of them.
In his letter the father asks them to make a "real man" out of his progress-loving son. Initially they fail miserably since Tom refuses to touch a weapon and would rather ride his bicycle than a horse. This changes once he meets Candida (Yanti Somer) in the town's thrift store, the landowner's daughter who he had once met before when she travelled in the same train as him and had captivated his thoughts. There she asks for Books of Lord Byron, which he can procure, unlike the trader. Candida returns his love.
Since Morton (Riccardo Pizzuti), Candida's father's rough ranch administrator has also set his eyes on the girl this leads to several brawls during which Tom initially ends up on the receiving side. Only after an intensive course in all things brawling, shooting and spitting which his father's accomplices put him through Tom not only manages to put Morton in his place but also Candida's father (Enzo Fiermonte
Enzo Fiermonte
Enzo Fiermonte , sometimes credited as William Bird, was a boxer and actor. Fiermonte was born on July 17, 1908 in Bari, Puglia, Italy. He married Madeleine Astor on November 27, 1933 in New York City, but was divorced on June 11, 1938. In his early life he was a boxer, but later became a film actor...
) who has been convinced of Tom's skills. It ends with a happy end
Happy ending
A happy ending is an ending of the plot of a work of fiction in which almost everything turns out for the best for the protagonists, their sidekicks, and almost everyone except the villains....
although Monkey, Bull and Holy leave the town in which progress has taken a footing, driving them to flee further toward the west. In the last scene they reach the Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, shocked to hear the whistle of a steam train and so they turned back.
Cast
- Terence HillTerence HillTerence Hill is an Italian actor. He is best known for starring in multiple action and western films together with his longtime filmpartner Bud Spencer.-Biography:...
as Sir Thomas Fitzpatrick Phillip Moore - Gregory WalcottGregory WalcottGregory Walcott is an American television and film actor. He is perhaps best known for having appeared in the 1959 Ed Wood film, the cult classic Plan 9 from Outer Space.-Early life and career:...
as Bull Schmidt - Yanti Somer as Candida Olsen
- Dominic Barto as Monkey Smith
- Harry Carey Jr. as Holy Joe (as Harry Carey)
- Enzo FiermonteEnzo FiermonteEnzo Fiermonte , sometimes credited as William Bird, was a boxer and actor. Fiermonte was born on July 17, 1908 in Bari, Puglia, Italy. He married Madeleine Astor on November 27, 1933 in New York City, but was divorced on June 11, 1938. In his early life he was a boxer, but later became a film actor...
as Frank Olsen - Danika La Loggia as Iris
- Riccardo Pizzuti as Morton Clayton
- Jean LouisJean LouisJean Louis was a French-born, Hollywood costume designer and an Academy Award winner for Costume Design. Louis worked as head designer for Columbia Pictures from 1944 to 1960...
as Prison Warden - Alessandro Sperli as Tim
- Salvatore Borghese as Cacciatore di taglie (as Salvatore Borgese)
- Steffen Zacharias as Stalliere
- Luigi Casellato as Padrone del ristoro
- Pupo De Luca as Direttore del carcere
- Rigal Suzanne Leone
Trivia
The film contains several running gagsRunning gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
, like the three friends constantly being chased by two headhunters. During each encounter one of the three appears behind them, when they are just about to get to business with the others.
Bull every time slams their heads through a then destroyed table, making them appear more bandaged with each new additional encounter.
Another running gag is the calendar problem. Since for the western heroes every day is a Saturday, Joe has his fair share of problems coordinating meetings with them.
Additionally there's Bull's Yorkshire Terrier
Yorkshire Terrier
The Yorkshire Terrier is a small dog breed of terrier type, developed in the 19th century in the county of Yorkshire, England to catch rats in clothing mills. The defining features of the breed are its size, to , and its silky blue and tan coat...
which he stole from a lady during the stagecoach robbery earlier and which he carries around with him. Every time he hands the dog to another person that person has to clean their hands afterwards sinc the dog appears to not be in control of his bladder.