Minnesota Clay (1966)

Crappy film

Charming and brutal

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Sergio Corbucci is one of the spaghetti western's greatest directors – he was responsible for two classics, DJANGO and THE GREAT SILENCE, among many others. This is an earlier offering, made before he got his groove on, and it doesn't have the same kind of 'vibe' to it as all the Leone-influenced westerns that came out during and after 1967. This one feels more like a set-bound American western; it has that clean-cut style to it rather than the dark and gritty atmosphere that epitomised the 'spaghettis'.Saying that, it's still a great little film, really well paced for a western and with some intriguing characters. Much of the film's success is down to Cameron Mitchell, who appeared in some of the best genre films Italy had to offer during the '60s; most of these were directed by the great Mario Bava (I'm thinking LAST OF THE VIKINGS, BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, KNIVES OF THE AVENGER, the list goes on). Mitchell was a great actor in my opinion and he's perfectly cast as the hero here. He gives Clay a raw humanity that makes you sympathise with him from the outset and the fact that he's handicapped – as the film progresses he gradually loses his sight – only adds to the pathos. Clay's dire situation makes for a truly nail-biting extended climax as a group of killers prowl after him through deserted streets and stables.Elsewhere, genre conventions abound. There are some brutal Mexicans, led by ever-present character actor Fernando Sancho, and a wonderfully staged shoot-out in which Clay seems to kill about two hundred of the enemy by shooting them off their horses. There's a tough femme fatale, played by the beautiful Argentinian actress Ethel Rojo, who easily holds her own against the macho guys surrounding her. Georges Riviere, who starred in a couple of Italian gothics like CASTLE OF BLOOD before appearing in this, is an unusual villain in that he doesn't actually do much that's villainous in the film: he just stands in Clay's way, and that's enough. The action scenes are well handled and the location work impressive. This is a film where even the horses seem to have their own individuality. The dubbing is pretty bad but this is par for the course for any Italian genre film, really. It's a good looking film, well handled by Corbucci, technically perfect and with enough atmosphere to make it a success.

Before you watch "Minnesota Clay", I have one bit of warning. Apparently, multiple versions of the film were made depending on what country showed the film. Now of course this makes sense with dubbed films, but I am talking about making the film with DIFFERENT endings depending on the country. This is the second Italian western that features a happy ending in the Italian version and a less happy American version. Now here's the rub--you get BOTH COMBINED on the DVD of "The Fast, the Saved and the Damned" (a DVD collection of four Italian westerns). So, after the film ends, the Italian happy ending is tacked on--and it's all in Italian and with no subtitles! So, up until then, it was dubbed in English and suddenly it's all Italian!! Now I did not have a hard time following what happened (and you probably won't--especially if you are familiar with Spanish or Italian)--but others might feel incredibly frustrated and wonder what is going on in the film. My advice? Ask an Italian friend to watch it with you! The film itself is an okay western--neither a standout nor a dog. Cameron Mitchell plays a man who was sent to prison--yet there WERE folks who could testify that he was innocent but they didn't! So, he escapes and goes looking for them in order to force them to tell the authorities what they know. However, being a film, you KNOW it won't go that smoothly! Decent acting, nice music but nothing much more to make it stand out from the crowd.

Quick draw Cameron Mitchell escapes a federal hard labor camp and returns to his old stomping ground to find the man who could have exonerated him of murder charges, where he reconnects with his estranged daughter, and tangles with two rival gangs, all while contending with his own failing eyesight.The second western directed by Italian favorite Sergio Corbucci, this isn't as good as some of his later work. Still, it's a solid western that's handsomely produced and a lot of fun to watch, with some good gun-play and a memorable title character, effectively portrayed by Mitchell.The climax where Minnesota Clay battles the heavies using only his sense of hearing is quite entertaining.

I just picked up a 3 DVD/9 Movie set of Spaghetti Westerns put out by St. Clair Entertainment and am getting an introduction to some neat Eurowest films. My only familiarity with the genre has been the Clint Eastwood movies, so these are proving to be a treat. "Minnesota Clay" is one of the entries, with a unique twist involving the main character - he's going blind. Cameron Mitchell portrays protagonist Clay, a gunslinger who escapes from a labor camp while waiting to be hanged for murder. The man who can clear him is now in control of Clay's home town, proclaiming himself sheriff and chief desperado. 'Five Aces' Fox (Georges Riviere) and his band of five henchmen carries on a running feud with Mexican bandit Ortiz (Fernando Sancho), while the town suffers in silence.If things weren't hot enough, the presence of Ethel Rojo as Estella turns up the action a few degrees. In turn, she manages to set up Clay and Ortiz for villain Fox, but when a townsman fingers her for Clay's escape, Fox makes her swear on a Bible without giving her a chance to say her prayers.The gradual loss of Clay's vision is handled cleverly, when he fires his weapon he relies more on hearing than sight to find his victim. This will come in handy for the final showdown when his daughter Nancy signals her own presence while Fox waits in ambush. Nancy (Diana Martin) only knew her father as Mr. Clay, having met him for the first time in the course of the film. However that seems at odds with the history of the town, since virtually everyone knew of Clay and his reputation as a fabled gunslinger.The town where the story takes place is never mentioned by name, which I found odd. Besides Fox's saloon, there were only a few other buildings and people in town that we ever see, which made me wonder about one thing. As his gang of outlaws begins to bear down on Clay, Fox demands that a handful of citizens pony up a tribute of a hundred thousand dollars in addition to their regular payment of protection money. Fox never mentioned any plans for leaving town, so what exactly would he have done with all that money?