Sword and sandal director Giorgio Ferroni's frontier saga "Blood on a Silver Dollar" marked the first of the four Spaghetti westerns that he helmed, including "For A Few Extra Dollars," "Fort Yuma Gold," "Wanted," and "Gunmen Sent by God." Interestingly, Giuliano Gemma starred in the first three, and Anthony Steffen appeared in the fourth. Composer Gianni Ferrio provided the music for all Ferroni's westerns except for that final one, while the gifted Carlo Rustichelli handled the soundtrack assignment for "Gunmen Sent by God." Since Ferroni's first sagebrusher was released in 1965, it resembled an American oater with some evolution of what would come in the European genre. Giuliano Gemma makes a traditional, stalwart hero, and he looks good in his buckskin outfit. He has one interesting scene early on where he has a showdown with a gun-toting dastard, brushes dust into the dastard's eyes, and disarms him with relative ease. The production values look a notch about a standard-issue Euro-western. Ferrio's soundtrack enhances the action, while Ferroni stages some vigorous gunfights that rarely boil down to the chicanery that he indulges in with the final showdown. "A Bullet for the General" lenser Antonio Secchi's widescreen, color cinematography captures the abrasive look of the old Southwest. If you're a Spaghettimwestern aficionado, you'll recognize at least three of the villains who made prolific appearances in the genre: Benito Stefanelli, Nello Pazzafini, and Franco Fantasia.
Like the traditional western hero, our hero isn't a bounty hunter as many Spaghetti western protagonists would later become. Indeed, the protagonist Gary O'Hara (no doubt some allusion to the fictional character Scarlett O'Hara from "Gone with the Wind") has a name that echoes the South. Gary and his brother Phil O'Hara (Nazzareno Zamperla of "Dangerous Beauty") are Confederate soldiers. The end of the war finds these two together briefly as the Union returns their firearms, with a proviso. You see, the Yankees have sawed off the barrels of their revolvers so they resemble a chunky .38-calibered snub nose revolver. Gary complains about this to a Union commander and proves his point that these cut-down revolvers are virtually useless for protection. He fires at a can in the dirt and repeatedly misses it. When the Union officer suggests he should improve his marksmanship skills, Gary persuades him to allow him the use of his revolver. Our hero proves that he is a crack shot with a revolver, and his brother joins in, too. The Yankees send them on their way with the rest of the freed Confederate soldiers. At least, the filmmakers got a little history right because they state that Johnston surrendered instead of the usual reference to Lee's surrender at Appomattox.
Before they part company to pursue their dreams now that the South lies smoldering in ashes, Phil informs Gary that he plans to seek his fortune out west. Meantime, Gary is a married man, and he must exercise greater discretion. Phil gives Gary is entire fortune: one silver dollar. Some prints of this Spaghetti western have abbreviated the title to "One Silver Dollar." Naturally, I prefer the title "Blood on a Silver Dollar" because it explains an important part of the plot. Our hero is killed alongside his brother Phil, but Phil had no idea that he was drawing against his brother. The chief villain McCoy (Pierre Cressoy of "Navajo Joe") is struggling to buy up all the land around Yellowstone, but he faces trouble when Phil sets out to exile him from town. Now desperate beyond despair with neither a horse nor a dime to his name, Gary is willing to accept any job, and he accepts McCoy's offer to arrest a troublemaker who has been harassing McCoy. Shrewdly, McCoy has decided that Gary stands no chance against Blackie so when they clash in the saloon, McCoy has his own gunmen wipe at Blackie in a hail of gunfire. Conveniently enough, McCoy's men kill Gary, too. What neither they nor Gary realize at the time is that Phil gave Gary a single silver dollar coin and the coin saved Gary's life. Furthermore, Gary grows to realize that he has killed his brother. Oddly, neither Ferroni nor "Adios, Gringo" scenarist Giorgio Stegani make a big deal out of Gary's brother getting killed by the villains. Indeed, eventually, Gary's wife Judy (Ida Galli of "The Unholy Four") blunders into the plot as a convenient weapon for the villains to use against him. Meantime, Gary uses his apparent death to create chaos for the villains. I cannot go into greater detail without sacrificing one of the chief surprises. Incidentally, the filmmakers get a lot of mileage out of those cut-down revolvers. I don't believe the Union Army pulled a stunt like than Southerners, but the gimmick works splendidly in the overall context of the action.
Like the traditional western hero, our hero isn't a bounty hunter as many Spaghetti western protagonists would later become. Indeed, the protagonist Gary O'Hara (no doubt some allusion to the fictional character Scarlett O'Hara from "Gone with the Wind") has a name that echoes the South. Gary and his brother Phil O'Hara (Nazzareno Zamperla of "Dangerous Beauty") are Confederate soldiers. The end of the war finds these two together briefly as the Union returns their firearms, with a proviso. You see, the Yankees have sawed off the barrels of their revolvers so they resemble a chunky .38-calibered snub nose revolver. Gary complains about this to a Union commander and proves his point that these cut-down revolvers are virtually useless for protection. He fires at a can in the dirt and repeatedly misses it. When the Union officer suggests he should improve his marksmanship skills, Gary persuades him to allow him the use of his revolver. Our hero proves that he is a crack shot with a revolver, and his brother joins in, too. The Yankees send them on their way with the rest of the freed Confederate soldiers. At least, the filmmakers got a little history right because they state that Johnston surrendered instead of the usual reference to Lee's surrender at Appomattox.
Before they part company to pursue their dreams now that the South lies smoldering in ashes, Phil informs Gary that he plans to seek his fortune out west. Meantime, Gary is a married man, and he must exercise greater discretion. Phil gives Gary is entire fortune: one silver dollar. Some prints of this Spaghetti western have abbreviated the title to "One Silver Dollar." Naturally, I prefer the title "Blood on a Silver Dollar" because it explains an important part of the plot. Our hero is killed alongside his brother Phil, but Phil had no idea that he was drawing against his brother. The chief villain McCoy (Pierre Cressoy of "Navajo Joe") is struggling to buy up all the land around Yellowstone, but he faces trouble when Phil sets out to exile him from town. Now desperate beyond despair with neither a horse nor a dime to his name, Gary is willing to accept any job, and he accepts McCoy's offer to arrest a troublemaker who has been harassing McCoy. Shrewdly, McCoy has decided that Gary stands no chance against Blackie so when they clash in the saloon, McCoy has his own gunmen wipe at Blackie in a hail of gunfire. Conveniently enough, McCoy's men kill Gary, too. What neither they nor Gary realize at the time is that Phil gave Gary a single silver dollar coin and the coin saved Gary's life. Furthermore, Gary grows to realize that he has killed his brother. Oddly, neither Ferroni nor "Adios, Gringo" scenarist Giorgio Stegani make a big deal out of Gary's brother getting killed by the villains. Indeed, eventually, Gary's wife Judy (Ida Galli of "The Unholy Four") blunders into the plot as a convenient weapon for the villains to use against him. Meantime, Gary uses his apparent death to create chaos for the villains. I cannot go into greater detail without sacrificing one of the chief surprises. Incidentally, the filmmakers get a lot of mileage out of those cut-down revolvers. I don't believe the Union Army pulled a stunt like than Southerners, but the gimmick works splendidly in the overall context of the action.