SUGAR COLT is a very typical spaghetti western with a starring role for Hunt Powers, an actor who doesn't have much charisma and who annoyed me for the most part. The weirdest part of the film is that Powers is asked to solve a crime early on, so goes in disguise for half of the running time before he reverts to the avenging gunslinger-type role at the climax.
Why Powers goes into disguise makes little sense and really drags down the pace in the first half. Essentially he dresses up as a studious doctor and is abused by everybody as a weakling. Perhaps he was a Sherlock Holmes fan, but these early scenes just feel like the story is treading water. Thankfully, the later action scenes are more fun, even though they're very predictable by genre standards; Powers' character is much more fun when he's kicking backside than when he's moping around and looking on.
Plot summary
Near the end of the American Civil War, an entire unit of one hundred Union sharpshooters vanish into thin air in a rugged, mountainous region. To shed light on their mysterious disappearance, Sugar Colt, a former special agent, superb marksman, and director of a shooting academy, rides into the dusty town of Snake Valley, posing as Doctor Tom Cooper. But, newcomers, especially the brazen ones, are rarely treated with respect in the God-forsaken hamlet. Now, Tom will have to put his skills to good use, as guns have the final say. Will Sugar Colt get to the bottom of what happened to the missing U.S. Cavalry officers?
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Movie Reviews
A slow first half gives way to predictable action in the second
Entertaining spaghetti with a catchy theme.
The main theme to Sugar Colt reminds me of Ennio Morricone's theme for My Name is Nobody made seven or so years later. Luis Bacalov provides the score and Hunt Powers (aka Jack Betts) provides the charisma for this serio-comic quasi-secret-agent spaghetti western with the renowned Sugar Colt (Powers) going undercover to the town of Snake Valley to investigate the disappearance of a regiment of Union sharpshooters at the end of the Civil War. Most of the humor comes from his posing as Dr. Tom Cooper, mild mannered yet accomplished at boxing and fooling the henchmen of the kidnapper. But the film turns more serious once he reveals himself as Sugar Colt, and the recovery of the regiment takes on a tragic air as supporting characters start to drop. Powers is good in this, as he was in most of his starring efforts in Italy; one wonders why he now acts in small parts under his true name Jack Betts. Perhaps, like Nicholetta Machiavelli and some others, fame did not rest lightly on his shoulders...or perhaps he just hated the name Hunt Powers (it does remind one of Dash Riprock) and having had his minutes of fame in Europe, is content being a journeyman actor. Three stars out of four, and fans of Euro-Westerns will like it better than others. Fans of Soledad Miranda will be delighted by her appearance here.
Fun Little Spaghetti Western
Franco Giraldi's "Sugar Colt" of 1966 is an amusing little Spaghetti Western with a nice theme by Louis Bacalov and Ennio Morricone. Even though this quite humorous little Western is occasionally a bit too silly for my tastes, it definitely has its heights too. It was shot on great locations in the Spanish Almeria, Jack Betts is cool as Sugar Colt, and beautiful Soledad Miranda makes a lovely female lead. This is definitely no highlight of the Italian Western genre, but it is an entertaining little time waster for Spaghetti Western enthusiasts like myself.
Disguised as a doctor, gunslinger Sugar Colt (Jack Betts) goes to the town of Snake Valley, in order to avenge a friend's death and fulfill his last wish. An Army corps has disappeared near the little town after the Civil War, and Sugar Colt is investigating to find out what happened...
The score by Louis Bacalov and Ennio Morricone is overall good, but basically divided in two parts. There is a very cool main theme, and then there is a quite annoying score for the sequences that are meant to be funny, which lowers the value of the entire score. Jack Betts, who is infamous amongst Spaghetti Western fans for usually working with the genre's worst director, Demofilo Fidani, fits in very well here. Beautiful Soledad Miranda, who is best known for films directed by cult director Jess Franco, and who sadly died at the age of only 27, fits in very well in the female lead. The film's major weakness is the illogical plot. There is no real reason for Sugar Colt to disguise as a doctor in the first place (other than some amusing situations),for example. Then again, the film is funny and nicely photographed. The film is entirely shot in Almeria, Spain, without doubt the greatest location for a Eurowestern. Genre freaks might notice that the town of 'Snake Valley' is the exact same town that was called 'El Paso' in Sergio Leone's 1965 masterpiece "For A Few Dollars More".
All said, "Sugar Colt" is certainly no masterpiece, and occasionally quite silly, but it is nevertheless a good time-waster for my fellow Italian Western buffs. Recommended.