MAN OF THE EAST (1974) **

Terence Hill stars as an English dandy who travels to the Wild West to inherit his outlaw father’s home.  In his father’s will, he asked that his three bandit friends teach Hill how to become a man.  Meanwhile, he rides around on a bike, acting like a dork, which naturally catches the eye of a pretty young woman.  They fall in love and predictably, her father just so happens to want Hill’s father’s land.  The local tough guy has a crush on her too, which sets off a war between them.

 

Man of the East isn’t really funny enough to be a comedy (although I did like the scene where Hill mistook his horse for a gymnastics horse) and there’s not enough action to cut it as a western.  We get an OK barroom brawl, but nearly all of the comedic gags land with a thud.  It also takes an inordinate amount of time to unfurl its slim premise.

 

I did like seeing Plan 9's Gregory Walcott playing the ringleader of the bandits.  It's probably the same exact role that would have gone to Bud Spencer if he had been available.  He's okay I guess, but his character’s name, Bull Schmidt is the funniest thing about him.

 

Hill doesn’t do a bad job.  It’s just the material isn’t up to snuff.  It’s definitely not up to the levels of enjoyment of the Trinity movies.  Director Enzo Barboni (who also did the Trinity pictures with Hill) just allows the film to run on much too long.  125 minutes is just too sprawling of a running time for such a dumb little forgettable western.

 

AKA:  A Man from the East.