1978·Action·1h 45m
7.1
★
Gunslinger Clayton Drumm is about to be hanged when he is given a chance to live if he agrees to murder Matthew, a miner who has steadfastly refused to sell his land to the railroad company. Matthew’s refusal is a major obstacle to the railroad’s plans for expansion.
Directed by Monte Hellman
prostitute
hitman
dynamite
ranch
hanging
spaghetti western
hired killer
the old west
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Where to Watch
Cast
Fabio Testi
Clayton Drumm
Warren Oates
Matthew Sebanek
Jenny Agutter
Catherine Sebanek
Sam Peckinpah
Wilbur Olsen
Isabel Mestres
Barbara Sebanek
Gianrico Tondinelli
Johnny Sebanek
Franco Interlenghi
Hank Sebanek
Charly Bravo
Duke
Sydney Lassick
Sheriff's Friend
Richard C. Adams
Sheriff
Ivonne Sentis
Prostitute
Romano Puppo
Zeb / Zeb's brother
Crew
Monte Hellman
Director
Pino Donaggio
Original Music Composer
John Rubinstein
Original Music Composer
Monte Hellman
Editor
Giuseppe Rotunno
Director of Photography
Valerio De Paolis
Producer
Monte Hellman
Producer
Popular Reviews
6 reviews
Sean
8.0★ · 03/24/26
***52 Westerns in 52 Weeks Challenge***
Week 12: ****Revisionist Western
China 9, Liberty 37 was a movie I had no real expectations of when I put it on. I didn’t look at the cast or concept beforehand so all I had was that title which is without a doubt one of the worst I’ve ever seen, it has absolutely nothing to do with the story and it sounds very unattractive, but if you can get past that I promise this’ll be one of the better and most unique experiences you’ll ever have with the western genre. It’s a story with gunfighters and moments of violence but the thematic focus is far away from those two things, it has a thematic sub-focus on Clayton’s soft-heartedness as a gunslinger but the main focus is on the love triangle drama and the ever-present theme of jealousy that I found so entertaining mixed with this western world. This is also very easily the sexiest western I’ve watched to this point which isn’t something I can say I ever expected from the genre, I’m not mad at it though as these were shockingly some of the best sex scenes I’ve ever seen in a movie and I thought they were placed at the perfect pace to not become overwhelming or out-of-place in the experience. I also thought Fabio Testi, Warren Oates, and Jenny Agutten were all good in their lead roles, Oates stood out to me acting wise but I really enjoyed Testi and Agutten’s chemistry, not just in the scenes I was just talking about but in every one they shared together. Where this fails to be unique is a place I’m happy it isn’t with Pino Donaggio’s perfectly western-feeling music, I say this a lot when I watch one of these but I mean it with the most sincerity this time, this is truly one of the best film scores I’ve ever heard and makes me really want to see more of Donaggio’s work. The cinematography also looked fantastic and gave me a lot of enjoyment, the inventive shot composition gave me something to love that I wasn’t really expecting which, like how I feel about Donaggio, makes me want to see more work from director Monte Hellman and cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno. To get this good a time out of something I wasn’t expecting too much from of is one of my favorite feelings in my movie journey, this is another great example for why I’ve specifically sought out this genre as it’s another stellar 2 hours that subverts what I expect in some ways while also giving me so much of what I love about the western.
Week 12: ****Revisionist Western
China 9, Liberty 37 was a movie I had no real expectations of when I put it on. I didn’t look at the cast or concept beforehand so all I had was that title which is without a doubt one of the worst I’ve ever seen, it has absolutely nothing to do with the story and it sounds very unattractive, but if you can get past that I promise this’ll be one of the better and most unique experiences you’ll ever have with the western genre. It’s a story with gunfighters and moments of violence but the thematic focus is far away from those two things, it has a thematic sub-focus on Clayton’s soft-heartedness as a gunslinger but the main focus is on the love triangle drama and the ever-present theme of jealousy that I found so entertaining mixed with this western world. This is also very easily the sexiest western I’ve watched to this point which isn’t something I can say I ever expected from the genre, I’m not mad at it though as these were shockingly some of the best sex scenes I’ve ever seen in a movie and I thought they were placed at the perfect pace to not become overwhelming or out-of-place in the experience. I also thought Fabio Testi, Warren Oates, and Jenny Agutten were all good in their lead roles, Oates stood out to me acting wise but I really enjoyed Testi and Agutten’s chemistry, not just in the scenes I was just talking about but in every one they shared together. Where this fails to be unique is a place I’m happy it isn’t with Pino Donaggio’s perfectly western-feeling music, I say this a lot when I watch one of these but I mean it with the most sincerity this time, this is truly one of the best film scores I’ve ever heard and makes me really want to see more of Donaggio’s work. The cinematography also looked fantastic and gave me a lot of enjoyment, the inventive shot composition gave me something to love that I wasn’t really expecting which, like how I feel about Donaggio, makes me want to see more work from director Monte Hellman and cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno. To get this good a time out of something I wasn’t expecting too much from of is one of my favorite feelings in my movie journey, this is another great example for why I’ve specifically sought out this genre as it’s another stellar 2 hours that subverts what I expect in some ways while also giving me so much of what I love about the western.
***52 Westerns in 52 Weeks Challenge***
Week 12: ****Revisionist Western
China 9, Liberty 37 was a movie I had no real expectations of when I put it on. I didn’t look at the cast or concept beforehand so all I had was that title which is without a doubt one of the worst I’ve ever seen, it has absolutely nothing to do with the story and it sounds very unattractive, but if you can get past that I promise this’ll be one of the better and most unique experiences you’ll ever have with the western genre. It’s a story with gunfighters and moments of violence but the thematic focus is far away from those two things, it has a thematic sub-focus on Clayton’s soft-heartedness as a gunslinger but the main focus is on the love triangle drama and the ever-present theme of jealousy that I found so entertaining mixed with this western world. This is also very easily the sexiest western I’ve watched to this point which isn’t something I can say I ever expected from the genre, I’m not mad at it though as these were shockingly some of the best sex scenes I’ve ever seen in a movie and I thought they were placed at the perfect pace to not become overwhelming or out-of-place in the experience. I also thought Fabio Testi, Warren Oates, and Jenny Agutten were all good in their lead roles, Oates stood out to me acting wise but I really enjoyed Testi and Agutten’s chemistry, not just in the scenes I was just talking about but in every one they shared together. Where this fails to be unique is a place I’m happy it isn’t with Pino Donaggio’s perfectly western-feeling music, I say this a lot when I watch one of these but I mean it with the most sincerity this time, this is truly one of the best film scores I’ve ever heard and makes me really want to see more of Donaggio’s work. The cinematography also looked fantastic and gave me a lot of enjoyment, the inventive shot composition gave me something to love that I wasn’t really expecting which, like how I feel about Donaggio, makes me want to see more work from director Monte Hellman and cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno. To get this good a time out of something I wasn’t expecting too much from of is one of my favorite feelings in my movie journey, this is another great example for why I’ve specifically sought out this genre as it’s another stellar 2 hours that subverts what I expect in some ways while also giving me so much of what I love about the western.
Week 12: ****Revisionist Western
China 9, Liberty 37 was a movie I had no real expectations of when I put it on. I didn’t look at the cast or concept beforehand so all I had was that title which is without a doubt one of the worst I’ve ever seen, it has absolutely nothing to do with the story and it sounds very unattractive, but if you can get past that I promise this’ll be one of the better and most unique experiences you’ll ever have with the western genre. It’s a story with gunfighters and moments of violence but the thematic focus is far away from those two things, it has a thematic sub-focus on Clayton’s soft-heartedness as a gunslinger but the main focus is on the love triangle drama and the ever-present theme of jealousy that I found so entertaining mixed with this western world. This is also very easily the sexiest western I’ve watched to this point which isn’t something I can say I ever expected from the genre, I’m not mad at it though as these were shockingly some of the best sex scenes I’ve ever seen in a movie and I thought they were placed at the perfect pace to not become overwhelming or out-of-place in the experience. I also thought Fabio Testi, Warren Oates, and Jenny Agutten were all good in their lead roles, Oates stood out to me acting wise but I really enjoyed Testi and Agutten’s chemistry, not just in the scenes I was just talking about but in every one they shared together. Where this fails to be unique is a place I’m happy it isn’t with Pino Donaggio’s perfectly western-feeling music, I say this a lot when I watch one of these but I mean it with the most sincerity this time, this is truly one of the best film scores I’ve ever heard and makes me really want to see more of Donaggio’s work. The cinematography also looked fantastic and gave me a lot of enjoyment, the inventive shot composition gave me something to love that I wasn’t really expecting which, like how I feel about Donaggio, makes me want to see more work from director Monte Hellman and cinematographer Giuseppe Rotunno. To get this good a time out of something I wasn’t expecting too much from of is one of my favorite feelings in my movie journey, this is another great example for why I’ve specifically sought out this genre as it’s another stellar 2 hours that subverts what I expect in some ways while also giving me so much of what I love about the western.
Noah McGuire
6.0★ · 02/03/26
I don’t really think it’s that much to write home about it. A banging soundtrack and a movie that’s, well it’s good but it’s not like “woah holy shit that was astounding” at least it wasn’t for me. Somebody else might find something in this one but to me it was just okay, not bad no not in the slightest, even entertaining, but not enough to be really good. I personally would probably not recommend it.
I don’t really think it’s that much to write home about it. A banging soundtrack and a movie that’s, well it’s good but it’s not like “woah holy shit that was astounding” at least it wasn’t for me. Somebody else might find something in this one but to me it was just okay, not bad no not in the slightest, even entertaining, but not enough to be really good. I personally would probably not recommend it.
Mateo Criado
7.0★ · 10/03/25
Película rarísima. Primero que nada yo soy un gagá que me vi una versión 20 minutos mas corta sin darme cuenta en donde se notaba que le faltaban partes. Pero más allá de eso, es un western muy raro.
En ningún momento hay una identificación emocional con ningún personaje, salvo con ella, quizás. La película mantiene una distancia tremenda con los personajes y con lo que sucede. Está todo el tiempo dando vuelta lo que se supone que va a pasar, lo que uno como espectador cree que va a pasar por ya haber visto tantas veces películas con estas situaciones; el triángulo amoroso entre dos pistoleros y una mujer, la persecución con la cautiva, el cazarrecompenzas, el duelo final, etc. Pero nunca se resuelve como uno espera. La persecución no termina en nada, el triángulo amoroso se mantiene hasta el final, el duelo final mantiene a los dos vivos, incluso es la mujer quien termina decidiendo quien "gana" en el final.
Incluso en la dirección es extraña la película. Mantiene mucho los planos generales, alejados, con los personajes moviendose constantemente en el encuadre, con los distintos niveles de profundidad, en donde entran en juego las relaciones entre los personajes, y se abstiene de los primeros planos expresivos que en general acostumbran los westerns. El montaje es rarísimo, pero eso creo que es también porque vi una versión falopa y no la posta posta, pero bueno, hay unos cortes muy extraños, unas elipsis que cortan en el medio de la escena, en el medio de la canción.
También tiene una desvergüenza llamativa la película, en donde la sexualidad está muy evidenciada pero no hay un goce o morbo como puede haber en el cine de los 70s, ni tampoco están esas fuertes emociones que despiertan estas situaciones. No sé, estoy sorprendido con la película. Por otro lado, un título rarísimo que casi casi fue la razón por la que vi la peli.
En ningún momento hay una identificación emocional con ningún personaje, salvo con ella, quizás. La película mantiene una distancia tremenda con los personajes y con lo que sucede. Está todo el tiempo dando vuelta lo que se supone que va a pasar, lo que uno como espectador cree que va a pasar por ya haber visto tantas veces películas con estas situaciones; el triángulo amoroso entre dos pistoleros y una mujer, la persecución con la cautiva, el cazarrecompenzas, el duelo final, etc. Pero nunca se resuelve como uno espera. La persecución no termina en nada, el triángulo amoroso se mantiene hasta el final, el duelo final mantiene a los dos vivos, incluso es la mujer quien termina decidiendo quien "gana" en el final.
Incluso en la dirección es extraña la película. Mantiene mucho los planos generales, alejados, con los personajes moviendose constantemente en el encuadre, con los distintos niveles de profundidad, en donde entran en juego las relaciones entre los personajes, y se abstiene de los primeros planos expresivos que en general acostumbran los westerns. El montaje es rarísimo, pero eso creo que es también porque vi una versión falopa y no la posta posta, pero bueno, hay unos cortes muy extraños, unas elipsis que cortan en el medio de la escena, en el medio de la canción.
También tiene una desvergüenza llamativa la película, en donde la sexualidad está muy evidenciada pero no hay un goce o morbo como puede haber en el cine de los 70s, ni tampoco están esas fuertes emociones que despiertan estas situaciones. No sé, estoy sorprendido con la película. Por otro lado, un título rarísimo que casi casi fue la razón por la que vi la peli.
Película rarísima. Primero que nada yo soy un gagá que me vi una versión 20 minutos mas corta sin darme cuenta en donde se notaba que le faltaban partes. Pero más allá de eso, es un western muy raro.
En ningún momento hay una identificación emocional con ningún personaje, salvo con ella, quizás. La película mantiene una distancia tremenda con los personajes y con lo que sucede. Está todo el tiempo dando vuelta lo que se supone que va a pasar, lo que uno como espectador cree que va a pasar por ya haber visto tantas veces películas con estas situaciones; el triángulo amoroso entre dos pistoleros y una mujer, la persecución con la cautiva, el cazarrecompenzas, el duelo final, etc. Pero nunca se resuelve como uno espera. La persecución no termina en nada, el triángulo amoroso se mantiene hasta el final, el duelo final mantiene a los dos vivos, incluso es la mujer quien termina decidiendo quien "gana" en el final.
Incluso en la dirección es extraña la película. Mantiene mucho los planos generales, alejados, con los personajes moviendose constantemente en el encuadre, con los distintos niveles de profundidad, en donde entran en juego las relaciones entre los personajes, y se abstiene de los primeros planos expresivos que en general acostumbran los westerns. El montaje es rarísimo, pero eso creo que es también porque vi una versión falopa y no la posta posta, pero bueno, hay unos cortes muy extraños, unas elipsis que cortan en el medio de la escena, en el medio de la canción.
También tiene una desvergüenza llamativa la película, en donde la sexualidad está muy evidenciada pero no hay un goce o morbo como puede haber en el cine de los 70s, ni tampoco están esas fuertes emociones que despiertan estas situaciones. No sé, estoy sorprendido con la película. Por otro lado, un título rarísimo que casi casi fue la razón por la que vi la peli.
En ningún momento hay una identificación emocional con ningún personaje, salvo con ella, quizás. La película mantiene una distancia tremenda con los personajes y con lo que sucede. Está todo el tiempo dando vuelta lo que se supone que va a pasar, lo que uno como espectador cree que va a pasar por ya haber visto tantas veces películas con estas situaciones; el triángulo amoroso entre dos pistoleros y una mujer, la persecución con la cautiva, el cazarrecompenzas, el duelo final, etc. Pero nunca se resuelve como uno espera. La persecución no termina en nada, el triángulo amoroso se mantiene hasta el final, el duelo final mantiene a los dos vivos, incluso es la mujer quien termina decidiendo quien "gana" en el final.
Incluso en la dirección es extraña la película. Mantiene mucho los planos generales, alejados, con los personajes moviendose constantemente en el encuadre, con los distintos niveles de profundidad, en donde entran en juego las relaciones entre los personajes, y se abstiene de los primeros planos expresivos que en general acostumbran los westerns. El montaje es rarísimo, pero eso creo que es también porque vi una versión falopa y no la posta posta, pero bueno, hay unos cortes muy extraños, unas elipsis que cortan en el medio de la escena, en el medio de la canción.
También tiene una desvergüenza llamativa la película, en donde la sexualidad está muy evidenciada pero no hay un goce o morbo como puede haber en el cine de los 70s, ni tampoco están esas fuertes emociones que despiertan estas situaciones. No sé, estoy sorprendido con la película. Por otro lado, un título rarísimo que casi casi fue la razón por la que vi la peli.
PoochieVince
6.0★ · 07/05/25
Weird little Western with a hazy, dreamlike vibe. Felt more like drifting through a memory than watching a movie. It's not dull, just kind of aimless in an oddly compelling way.
The whole thing has a dusty, faded charm, even if it doesn’t totally come together.
Glad I saw it, even if I’m not sure why.
The whole thing has a dusty, faded charm, even if it doesn’t totally come together.
Glad I saw it, even if I’m not sure why.
Weird little Western with a hazy, dreamlike vibe. Felt more like drifting through a memory than watching a movie. It's not dull, just kind of aimless in an oddly compelling way.
The whole thing has a dusty, faded charm, even if it doesn’t totally come together.
Glad I saw it, even if I’m not sure why.
The whole thing has a dusty, faded charm, even if it doesn’t totally come together.
Glad I saw it, even if I’m not sure why.
John Lewis
6.0★ · 07/17/24
This is really good. A spaghetti western that feels like an American western. Good performances especially Warren Oates. I went back and forth on who I felt was sympathetic and the final gunfight was really good.
However, try to find the tcm print and not whatever garbage print is on Pluto tv. It’s got some pretty horrendous cuts, shaky panning shots, and you’ll have a hard time making out peoples faces unless it’s a close up due to the compression.
Here’s a link to the trailer for the tcm version.
https://www.tcm.com/video/1119705/china-9-liberty-37-1978-original-trailer
I couldn’t find the full tcm print to watch.
However, try to find the tcm print and not whatever garbage print is on Pluto tv. It’s got some pretty horrendous cuts, shaky panning shots, and you’ll have a hard time making out peoples faces unless it’s a close up due to the compression.
Here’s a link to the trailer for the tcm version.
https://www.tcm.com/video/1119705/china-9-liberty-37-1978-original-trailer
I couldn’t find the full tcm print to watch.
This is really good. A spaghetti western that feels like an American western. Good performances especially Warren Oates. I went back and forth on who I felt was sympathetic and the final gunfight was really good.
However, try to find the tcm print and not whatever garbage print is on Pluto tv. It’s got some pretty horrendous cuts, shaky panning shots, and you’ll have a hard time making out peoples faces unless it’s a close up due to the compression.
Here’s a link to the trailer for the tcm version.
https://www.tcm.com/video/1119705/china-9-liberty-37-1978-original-trailer
I couldn’t find the full tcm print to watch.
However, try to find the tcm print and not whatever garbage print is on Pluto tv. It’s got some pretty horrendous cuts, shaky panning shots, and you’ll have a hard time making out peoples faces unless it’s a close up due to the compression.
Here’s a link to the trailer for the tcm version.
https://www.tcm.com/video/1119705/china-9-liberty-37-1978-original-trailer
I couldn’t find the full tcm print to watch.