Django Kill… If You Live, Shoot! [Se sei vivo spara] *** (1967, Tomas Milian, Marilù Tolo, Piero Lulli) – Classic Movie Review 4937

Giulio Questi’s 1967 Spaghetti Western Django Kill… If You Live, Shoot! [Se sei vivo spara] is the unconnected follow-up to the original 1966 Django and stars Tomas Milian, Marilù Tolo, Piero Lulli, Roberto Camardiel, and Ray Lovelock in his film debut. Unrelated to the Django series, it is one of many Spaghetti Westerns to use the name to cash in on the Franco Nero Django. It is known for, and sometimes celebrated for, its weird tone and savage violence.

This time Tomas Milian stars as flinty-eyed Django, aka The Stranger, a bandit who drifts into a border town split by the warring gangs and is helped out to survive the film’s bloodbath by a couple of Native Americans. Everybody is after some stolen gold, including a gang of gay cowboys and a priest – and of course The Stranger, who was part of the band of thieves who stole the gold from a stagecoach before he was betrayed and left for dead.

This 1967 release is another atmospheric, slightly overcooked Spaghetti Western, confidently filmed by director Giulio Questi and overflowing with even more strange visual style and trigger-happy violence than before.

Milian proves his worth as a good replacement for the original Django, Franco Nero, who starred in the 1966 Django. Also in the cast are Marilù Tolo, Piero Lulli, Milo Queseda, Roberto Camardiel and Raymond [Ray] Lovelock.

It is written by Franco Arcalli, Giulio Questi and Benedetto Benedetti, shot by Franco Delli Colli, produced by Giulio Questi and Sandro Iacovoni, and scored by Ivan Vandor.

Se sei vivo spara is also known as Django Kill… If You Live, Shoot!, Oro Maldito, Oro Hondo and Gringo Uccidi!

It was shown in Italy in January 1967 in its 117 minute running time but was withdrawn from release within one week after complaints about its violence from censorship boards, and was then cut to a 95 minute running time. An Italian re-issue was titled Gringo Uccidi!

The cast are Tomas Milian as The Stranger, Marilù Tolo as Flory, Roberto Camardiel as Sorrow Paco Sanz as Alderman, Milo Quesada as Bill Templer, Piero Lulli as Oaks, Ray Lovelock as Evan Templer, Patrizia Valturri as Elizabeth Alderman, Miguel Serrano as Indian, Ángel Silva as Indian, Félix Sancho Gracia as Willy, Mirella Pamphili as Townswoman, Lars Bloch as Oaks’ Henchman, Frank Braña as Townsman, Gene Collins as Collins, Rafael Hernández as Richie, and Herman Reynoso as Townsman.

Ann Collin provides Flory’s singing voice.

Tomas Milian in 1974.

Tomas Milian was born in Havana, Cuba, as Tomás Quintín Rodríguez-Varona Milián Salinas de la Fé y Álvarez de la Campa on 3 March 1933 and died on 22 March 2017.

Ray Lovelock in 1974.

Raymond Lovelock (19 June 1950 – 10 November 2017) also performed in a rock band with his longtime friend Tomas Milian.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 4937

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