Review of Forty Guns

I came across this gem by chance after half a lifetime of devotion to the spaghetti westerns of Leone and an unshakeable belief that Once Upon a Time in the West is the greatest Western of all. Suddenly the genre makes a lot more sense. From the fantastic opening shots as Stanwyk and her 40 thieves bear down on Sullivan and his brothers, to the numerous murderous shots which come out of nowhere, to the nihilistic pronouncements of all the major characters the overwhelming impression is that all the great modern westerns were paying homage to Forty Guns in a hefty way. Even the musical moments are strangely effective. The funeral song is a haunting hint of the musical "theme" which accompanies Claudia Cardinale's walk through the station in Once Upon a Time. Add to that the smoking sexuality of a mature Stanwyk and some of the best double entendres going and this is 76 minutes of economic, cult Western heaven. Don't miss it , Clint's tension building walks down "Main street" took their first steps here !