A Few Dollars for Django (1966)

Movie Info

Let’s be cops…western style

Bounty hunter Regan (Anthony Steffen) tries to retrieve bounties on Jim Norton (Frank Wolff) and finds himself taking up the identity of a new fallen sheriff.  With a war brewing between ranchers and farmers in the small Montana town, Regan finds himself falling in love with Jim’s niece Sally (Gloria Osuna) who’s in the care of her farmer uncle Trevor (Frank Wolff).  Impersonating the sheriff could be dangerous, but Regan vows to get his money.

Directed by León Klimovsky and Enzo G. Castellari, A Few Dollars for Django (Pochi dollari per Django) is an Italian spaghetti western.  The film has gone by multiple titles including Django:  A Bullet for You, A Few Dollars for Gypsy, and Some Dollars for Django.

So what we have here is a classic rancher/farmers stand-off

With the popularity of Django, a lot of spaghetti westerns tried to cash in on the value.  Movies like this were tagged with the name Django in the title (though no one in the movie is named Django).  Despite not actually having any ties to the Frank Nero classic, the movie does still have the spirit of Django.

The film does feel pretty derivative of Django and A Fistful of Dollars.  Regan’s character is virtually a perfect shot, honest yet dark, and rather smart and plotting.  The plot feels a bit like Yojimbo and at the same time Seven Samurai with Regan primarily siding with the farmers.  The underlining plotline of the search for Jim Norton also kind of plays out as expected…good thing they didn’t have the internet.

Anthony Steffen (like a lot of stars in this genre) feels interchangeable with “generic western anti-hero”.  He is clothed and looks like Clint Eastwood and he seems to have a similar code of justice.  Frank Wolff plays the enemy turned ally, and Alfonso Rojas plays the leader of the corrupt ranchers (with the typical clean cut money villain).  Gloria Osuna is not bad as the lead female who is trapped in the middle of the war.

Have donkey, will travel

I always think spaghetti westerns have a bit more impressive style than classic westerns.  They seem dirtier, grittier, and less formatted.  This doesn’t have as big of scope as a Sergio Leone film, but it still is nice (though clean copies of the film can be difficult to find).

A Few Dollars for Django isn’t great nor is it bad.  The film has a lot of typical western tropes and doesn’t really do much to break them.  This results in an average film that looks decent.  A western fan might want to check it out simply to see something a bit different (or new depending on how many westerns you watch).  You won’t be disappointed, but you probably won’t be “wowed” by the film either.

Related Links:

Django (1966)