At the height of the genre’s popularity, quite a few American actors headed overseas to star in a spaghetti western or two (several, in some cases). But I was today years old when I discovered that Peter Graves was among them. He’s the big marquee name in The Five Man Army, and his casting is as odd as it sounds.
Not to disparage ol’ Jim Phelps himself, but Graves’ delivery and demeanor always seemed more suited to consulting me on my finances or colonoscopy results. As the leader of a band of outlaws planning a daring train robbery, he doesn’t quite sell it. However, that ain’t necessarily a dealbreaker. Graves may look and sound out of place among his more grizzled international co-stars, but with tempered expectations, The Five Man Army is a lot of fun.
Drawing obvious inspiration from The Magnificent Seven (with a little Wild Bunch thrown in), the story concerns The Dutchman (Graves), an army officer-turned-outlaw who is hired by revolutionaries to steal half-a-million in gold from the vicious Mexican army. To pull it off, he recruits four men with particular sets of skills…war buddy and explosives expert Augustus Bennet (John Daly), perpetually hungry brute Mesito (Bud Spencer), former acrobat Luis Dominguez (Nino Castelnuovo) and a Japanese swordsman simply known as Samurai (Tetsuro Tamba).
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| "Wait a minute...I don't recall accepting this mission." |
Though there are a few meandering stretches during the first two acts, well-executed action sequences keep things lively. It also helps that, Graves and The Dutchman notwithstanding, most of the main characters are quite engaging, played by guys who look and sound like they do belong in a spaghetti western. Conversely, the antagonists are all simply cannon fodder…and worse shots than Imperial Stormtroopers. The propulsive final act depicts the robbery itself, which is exciting, suspenseful and violent enough that we don’t stop to question its plausibility. Adding additional oomph to the proceedings is yet another evocative score by Ennio Morricone.
The Five Man Army isn’t gonna make anyone forget Once Upon a Time in the West, to say nothing of the films which inspired it. But while Peter Graves seems a little out of his element, this relatively obscure western is pretty entertaining…maybe even worth repeated viewings.
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