Uccidete Johnny Ringo

Soundtrack:

Pippo Caruso (aka Giuseppe Caruso) was born in 1935 in Belpasso, Catania in Italy, and is without a doubt one of the most noted names in Italian television. He actively works with the presenter Pippo Baudo. For cinema he has written soundtracks for films such as “Maladolescenza” (available on CD from Digitmovies CDDM022), “Women Against Women” (“Le evase”), “Porca Società,” and  “L’Occhio Dietro La Parete.” 

For our CD (31:32 min) we were able to use the mono master tapes from the original recording session which allowed us to record the entire OST, except for one song by actress Greta Polyn that was missing from the reel. On some of the tracks you can hear a slight hissing sound which was not possible to eliminate despite adequate restoration.

Caruso composed a symphonic score that was inspired more by the epic Hollywood sound than the popular music of Italian Westerns. For the main score, the soloist Franco De Gemini and his harmonica are alternated with a romantic love theme and dramatic music. 

Director and Cast:

Directed in 1966 by Gianfranco Baldanello. Starring Brett Halsey, Greta Polyn, William Burke, Lee Burton, Ugo Carboni, Franco Castellani, Attilio Dottesio, Angelo Dessy, Consalvo Dell'Arti, Barbara Loy, Antonio Menna, Ray Scott, Rod Smith, Fred Shentrens, Fausto Signoretti, Agostino De Simone, Guy Gallay, Frank Gulas, Gualtiero Isnenghi, James Harrison, Amedeo Trilli Arico, Nando Angelini, Mimo Billi, Renzo Cesana, Liana Del Balzo, Anna Filippini, Ciccio Barbi, Mara Berni, Gina Mattarolo.

Plot:

Johnny Ringo, a Texas Ranger, is appointed by the State Department to expose a mysterious money counterfeiting organization. The only clue is that a certain Victor Mellin, an employee of the Federal Bank, had disappeared 15 years earlier with two 10 dollar plates. Ringo travels incognito to Eagle Pass, a city on the border with Mexico, where he suspects the trade of the false money is taking place. A shady man named Jackson owns a saloon and runs the counterfeiting ring.  One night, one of his men attempts to give Ringo some false bills while they are playing. He notices and starts a dispute with Jackson’s men while Jackson is sedated by the sheriff. The sheriff then pretends to take Ringo to jail and locks him up. 

In the meantime, Jackson realizes that Ray Scott (the key man in Ringo’s investigation and one of Jackson’s men) is trying to convince Annie, the singer in the saloon, to run away with him to Mexico. Jackson blames Ray for the death of a Mexican citizen to prevent him from stealing Annie away. Wounded, Ray is able to escape after publicly threatening to expose Jackson’s organization. Now a ruthless hunt for the fugitive is underway, but the outlaws can’t defeat Ringo, who won’t let them take away the only person who could accuse the counterfeiter and his accomplices. Finally Ringo is able to expose the entire ring and discovers the sheriff is Victor Mellin, the counterfeiter.