The final entry in writer & director Giuseppe Colizzi trilogy about Cat Stevens and Arch Hutch Bessy qualifies as a genuine letdown for anybody who enjoyed "God Forgives, But I Don't" and "Ace High." Colizzi's enigmatic narrative furnishes more than enough gunplay, but the plot is neither as audacious as "Ace High" or as complicated as the mystery behind the train robbery in "God Forgives, But I Don't." Indeed, the entire film looks haphazard. Terence Hill and Bud Spencer play the same characters but devoid of personality. The usual grim humor isn't as pervasive, though the violence is. "Boot Hill" lacks a grand scheme, like the casino heist in "Ace High." The action unfolds with an exciting night-time shootout in a frontier town that leaves our hero wounded. Cat (Terence Hill) takes refuge in a traveling circus and eludes discovery until the following day when the circus is on the move. Cat's presence with the circus generates trouble for them because he is a hunted man. At one point, during a high wire trapeze performance, a villain shoots the rope that is an African American's lifeline. Naturally, the unfortunate fellow plunges to his death. Moments before the gunman fired the fatal bullet that slashed the rope, he referred to the black trapeze artist as a "monkey." This is about as racist as "Boot Hill" gets. The cast is pretty spectacular. Woody Strode of 'Sergeant Rutledge" co-stars as a gunman hiding out with veteran Lionel Stander who has a traveling circus, and Victor Buono as an in-name villain. Wayde Preston is virtually unrecognizable as McGavin, a rebellious rancher who clashes with Buono's Honey Fisher. Carlo Rustichelli's orchestral score is lush, while "A Stranger in Town" lenser Marcello Masciocchi's widescreen cinematography is gorgeous. Problem is "Boothill" is only half as much fun as either "God Forgives, But I Don't" or "Ace High." Indeed, "Boot Hill" is not only uninspired but also routine with little to distinguish in its plot.
