Quattro dell'Ave Maria, I (1968)

Director:

Giuseppe Colizzi

Writers:

Bino Cicogna (writer)
Giuseppe Colizzi (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

3 September 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Western

Tagline:

The smile that kills...

Plot:

An outlaw Cat Stevens (Mario Girotti) is saved from the noose and is then hunted by his saviors when he goes back to crime...

Plot Keywords:

Spaghetti Western | Bounty Hunter | Cowboy | Execution | Outlaw

Cast

Eli Wallach	...	Cacopoulos
Terence Hill	...	Cat Stevens
Bud Spencer	...	Hutch Bessy
Brock Peters	...	Thomas
Kevin McCarthy	...	Drake (as Kevin Mc Carthy)
Tiffany Hoyveld	...	Thomas' wife
Federico Boido	...	Drake's blond henchman (as Rick Boyd)
Armando Bandini	...	Bank cashier
Livio Lorenzon	...	Paco Rosa
Steffen Zacharias	...	Harold
Remo Capitani	...	Cangaceiro
Bruno Corazzari	...	Charlie
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dante Cleri	...	Bankier, playing cards with Cacopoulos
Antonietta Fiorito
Isa Foster
Franco Gulà	...	Old man, talking to bankier
Corrado Olmi
Aldo Sala	...	Casino employee, trying to break through door
Luciano Telli	...	Roulette player, sitting right beside Cacopoulos
Giuseppe Terranova	...	Treasurer in Casino
Edoardo Torricella	...	Roulette player, sitting left beside croupier (as Eddardo Torricella)
Giancarlo Badessi	...	Man with moustache, promoting the black boxer giant (uncredited)
Roger Beaumont	...	Croupier (uncredited)
Frank Braña	...	Henchman with jail key (uncredited)
Gildo Di Marco	...	Henchman, choked by Hutch Bessy (uncredited)
Riccardo Pizzuti	...	Henchman (uncredited)
Vicente Roca	...	Ramirez (member of the drum head court martial) (uncredited)
Enzo Santaniello	...	Irish family's boy (uncredited)
Simonetta Santaniello	...	Irish family's daughter (uncredited)

Directed by
Giuseppe Colizzi

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Bino Cicogna		writer
Giuseppe Colizzi		screenplay
Giuseppe Colizzi		story

Produced by
Bino Cicogna	....	producer
Giuseppe Colizzi	....	producer

Original Music by
Carlo Rustichelli

Cinematography by
Marcello Masciocchi		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Marcello Malvestito

Art Direction by
Gastone Carsetti

Costume Design by
Luciana Fortini

Makeup Department
Massimo De Rossi	....	makeup artist
Anna Graziosi	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Maurizio Maravidi	....	production manager (as Maurizio Maravisi)
Sergio Nasca	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Silvana Mangini Colizzi	....	assistant director
Luigi Mangini	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Franco Bassi	....	sound mixer
Augusto Troiani	....	sound engineer
Maurizio Troiani	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
Erasmo Bacciucchi	....	special effects
Eros Bacciucchi	....	special effects

Stunts
Ferdinando Poggi	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Giovanni Bonivento	....	assistant camera (as Gianni Bonivento)
Antonio Schiavo Lena	....	camera operator
Antonio Serafini	....	still photographer
Claudio Tondi	....	assistant camera

Editorial Department
Francesco Malvestito	....	assistant editor (as Franco Malvestito)

Music Department
Bruno Nicolai	....	conductor

Other crew
Margherita Autuori	....	publicist (as Rossetti)
Maurizio Biasini	....	production secretary
Giuseppe Fioravanti	....	administrator
Enrico Lucherini	....	publicist
Renato Moretti	....	script supervisor
Raffaele Mottola	....	dialogue coach (as Ray Mottola)
Matteo Spinola	....	publicist

Production Companies

• Crono Cinematografica
• Finanzia San Marco

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1969) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Paramount Home Video (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Ace High (UK) (USA)
Four Gunmen of Ave Maria
Have Gun Will Travel (UK)
Revenge at El Paso
Revenge in El Paso

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for western violence. (re-rated)

Runtime:

132 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:M | UK:15 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1970) | Sweden:15 | USA:M (original rating) | USA:PG-13 (2004 re-rating)

Filming Locations:

Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Company:

Crono Cinematografica

Quotes:

[Cacopoulos holds up a wealthy young man]
Cacopoulos: So don't worry, I just need a small amount. Just enough for the bare necessities.
[looks at the money]
Cacopoulos: Well, no. Money corrupts men, it softens him. So to keep you young and pure, I think I'll take everything.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Familie Knots, De: Omkoperij (#1.6)" (????)

Mediocre spaghetti Western.

Bud Spencer and Terence Hill click perfectly as a team and Eli Wallach, obviously enjoying himself, provides some funny moments. But the plot is so rambling that for about the first three quarters of the running time (a slow 120 minutes) it is never entirely clear what the various characters are trying to accomplish; they simply seem to be going from one place to another. It all gets more involving in the last 30 minutes or so, but still, if you're not a VERY dedicated fan of the genre, you can safely miss this one - it is nothing special. (**)