During the ’60s, the westerns were being produced by Hollywood studios except the focus was on episodic TV. Pick up any TV Guide from the decade and you’ll see dozens of Westerns besides, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Virginian and Rawhide. The studios didn’t make that many theatrical Westerns because fans could get them free on TV. Why would they leave the house and buy a ticket? Around the world there was still an audience for cowboy movies and the Spaghetti Western filled the demand. These were movies made by Italian producers and directors with international casts and mainly shot in Almeria, Spain. This region looked a bit like the desert frontier expected in a wild west movie. The Spaghetti Western involved a more gritty and violent Western world than was permitted on broadcast TV. Many people thought they were better than what Hollywood could provide. At the end of the decade Sam Peckinpah let the world know that Hollywood could still make an epic western with The Wild Bunch. The tale of William Holden and his outlaw crew became a worldwide sensation and showed the Hollywood western wasn’t extinct. But one of Holden’s men would run across the ocean after the production wrapped to also be a part of a Spaghetti Western. Ernest Borgnine came to Almeria to play the exact opposite character of his embraceable and happy Dutch. A Bullet For Sandoval is about an outlaw who has to deal with the worst quasi-father-in-law imaginable.
John Warner (Sartana’s Here… Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin‘s George Hilton) is a corporal in the Confederate Army who has to sneak across enemy lines to deliver top secret information to the Generals in the field. While he’s at camp he gets his own urgent news. His girlfriend Rosa is about to give birth to their baby and she’s not doing well. He decides to take a break from the war and head across the nearby Mexico border to marry her so she doesn’t die with the stigma attached to her name. Why isn’t Rosa already his wife? Because her father Don Pedro Sandoval (McHale’s Navy‘s Ernest Borgnine) hates John. When John arrives in the town, he discovers things aren’t good. A cholera epidemic has struck. Making things worse is Rosa has died during birth. Sandoval is furious at what John has done to his daughter. He forces the baby on John and banishes him from the house. John has to has to hit the road for fear of being caught as a deserter. The guy knows nothing about raising a baby. He rides off into the wilderness without diapers or baby formula. Instead of getting maternal help, he ends up meeting a lapsed Padre Converso (Kill Them All and Come Back Alone‘s Leo Anchóriz) and another outlawish character. Before you suspect this is going to turn into Three Men and A Baby in the Old West, the baby passes away. The kid had cholera. John swears he will have revenge on Sandoval for the death of Rosa and their child. He puts together a criminal gang including fellow deserters to steal and destroy all that Sandoval holds dear.
A Bullet For Sandoval is slightly different from the usual Spaghetti Western. Instead of an Italian crew showing up in Spain to film their cowboy action, Sandoval is more Spanish. Director Julio Buchs was born in Madrid. The producers are both Spanish and Italian. As brought up by Alex Cox in the commentary track, both sets of producers made their own versions of the film. The Blu-ray has the Spanish cut that was made with the director. Star George Hilton was from Uruguay. Ernest Borgnine was born to immigrant Italian parents in Connecticut but spent nearly five years of his youth living in Italy. In an odd way, he’s not merely the big American star (he had won the Oscar for Marty), but also a true Italian-American leading actor. His real voice was used for the English dub track in the original release. Borgnine brings a lot to the role of Sandoval. We get to see why he’s never been happy with Rosa hooking up with John. He expresses his grief so he’s not a one-dimensional bad guy. He’s got his reasons. This is about two men who want their revenge on each other and it’s only a question of who will get it first. The finale at the Bull Fighting arena has them both letting out their anger. In a modern movie, they’d be forced to hug it out in a therapist’s office.
While Ernest Borgnine is remembered for playing friendly roles, he did have a knack for playing heavies. He killed Frank Sinatra in From Here To Eternity. He’d later play the ruthless conductor going after hobo Lee Marvin for hopping his train on Emperor of the North. Ernest had range besides playing fun loving guys like McHale, Marty and Mermaid Man on Spongebob Squarepants. He proved he had quite a bit of range on the Wild West going from The Wild Bunch to A Bullet For Sandoval in 1969.
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The movie was remastered and restored in 4K from the original Uncut Negative. This is good because there are a lot of various cuts when the film was distributed around the globe. The Audio has both the English and Spanish tracks in LPCM 2.0. Because the English language version was shorter, Dan Wool has created new English dialogue and music for these formerly missing scenes. The movie is subtitled in English.
Audio Commentary by Alex Cox. While Alex is best know for Repo Man, Sid & Nancy and Walker, he’s a serious aficionado of Spaghetti Westerns. He wrote the excellent book 10,000 Ways to Die. He shot his movie Straight To Hell in Almeria, Spain. He gives a lot of insight into the film. He brings up the fact that this was a Spanish and Italian co-production and at the end of the shoot, the producers from both countries did their own cuts. He’s able to relate the scenes in Bullet to other films and how the set-up is rather unique. He lets us see that this movie is Three Godfathers in reverse so that redemption turns int revenge. He also points out the various locations used in the film. It’s a pleasure to watch the film with Alex Cox.
Original US Theatrical Trailer (3:18) cuts straight to George Hilton wanting revenge on Ernest Borgnine. We also get the summary of the crew Hilton has put together.
Original Spanish Open (2:28) has the credits changed up during the scene of the Union soldier taking possession of the battlefield dead. The movie was called Los Desesperados.
VCI Entertainment presents A Bullet For Sandoval. Directed by Julio Buchs. Screenplay by Julio Buchs, Frederico De Urrutia, Ugo Guerra & Jose Luis Martinex Molla. Starring George Hilton, Ernest Borgnine, Alberto De Mendoza, Leo Anchóriz, Annabella Incontrera, Antonio Pica, Manuel Miranda and Gustavo Rojo. Running Time: 101 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: November 7, 2023.
