IT CAME FROM THE BOTTOM SHELF!

When it comes to Euro-Westerns or Spaghettis, most movie viewers’ knowledge of the genre begins and ends with the film’s directed by Sergio Leone (“The Man with No Name” trilogy, Once Upon a Time in the West).  However, the Western genre was as popular in Italy in the Sixties and Seventies as comic book movies are in the U.S. today.  Consequently, over 500 Spaghetti Westerns were produced during the period, and there are a few gems to be found beyond the Leone canon.  Devotees of the genre will likely be familiar with the work of Sergio Corbucci (Django, The Great Silence, Companeros) and Sergio Sollima (The Big Gundown, Face to Face), but Franco Giraldi’s A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die (Un minuto per pregare, un istante per morire, 1968) is lesser-known even amongst Spaghetti super-fans.  Hopefully, Kino Lorber’s new Blu-ray release will bring some more attention to this worthy entry in the Euro-Western genre.

Alex Cord (who had the thankless job of stepping into John Wayne’s boots to play the Ringo Kid in the 1966 Stagecoach remake) plays Clay McCord, an outlaw on the run, with the ridiculous price of $10,000 on his head (approximately $250,000 in today’s dollars).  While incredibly quick on the draw, Clay suffers from occasional seizures in his gun arm, which spasms at unexpected and inconvenient times (similar to the infirmity suffered by John Wayne in El Dorado).  Ducking bounty hunters and the local law, headed up by Marshal Roy W. Colby (Arthur Kennedy), McCord takes refuge in the outlaw-run town of Escondido, but he finds the bandits as unwelcoming as the police.

Through flashbacks (a familiar Euro-Western trope), we are shown that McCord’s father suffered from epileptic fits and was tormented by unfeeling townspeople.  Clay fears that his seizures will doom him to the same fate, but an offer of amnesty from the Governor of New Mexico (Robert Ryan) and the love of a good woman (Nicoletta Machiavelli) may provide a possible escape from a life of drifting and destitution.

Outside of Sergio Corbucci’s The Great Silence, A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die may be the most downbeat of the Spaghetti cycle.  However, it is anything but a slog.  The script is better than those found in most second-tier Spaghettis, and the film is peppered with a several rousing action set-pieces.  These action scenes include some clever, original bits of business, along with the expected ricocheting gunshots, whinnying horses, and explosions.

The cast is also above-average for a Western of this type.  It is a shame that this is the only Euro-Western starring Alex Cord, as he is a fantastic lead — equally adept with physical action (he performed his own stunts) and the dramatic emoting required of the character.  He holds his own against Robert Ryan and Arthur Kennedy, two top-tier character actors who seemed incapable of giving a sub-par performance or conveying a false note.  The rest of the cast is mostly rounded out with Italian actors, whose faces will be familiar to anyone who has seen any of the Spaghetti Westerns directed by Leone or Corbucci.

Unfortunately, the original 118-minute European cut of the film seems to be lost to the ages.  Kino Lorber provides an excellent-looking 4K restoration of the 99-minute American version, and overall it plays pretty well, despite a handful of jarring edits (mostly during the first half hour) that seem to be the result of the American cut-down.  Happily, Kino was able to find the original extended ending from the Italian version.  This alternate ending is provided on the disc as an extra, rather than being seamlessly edited back into the film, because the footage only exists in extremely poor quality (in what appears to be VHS taping of a Japanese television broadcast).  While the picture quality is poor, the Italian ending is absolutely essential viewing.  It ends on a much darker note than the U.S. version, and it is much more in keeping with the rest of the film.  In my mind, it is the only “true” ending of the movie.

A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die may not land in the highest rank of Spaghetti Westerns, but it is a worthy, entertaining entry in the genre.  As a Euro-Western fan, I was extremely happy to watch it for the first time in this beautiful Blu-ray presentation from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Italy/C-99m./Dir: Franco Giraldi/Wr: Louis Garfinkle, Ugo Liberatore, /Cast: Alex Cord, Arthur Kennedy, Nicoletta Machiavelli, Robert Ryan,

For Fans of: If you love the Italian Westerns of Sergio Leone, such as A Fistful of Dollars, but you have watched them to death.  A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die will likely scratch your Spaghetti Western itch.

Video: The A Minute To Pray, A Second To Die [Blu-ray] from Kino Lorber Studio Classics provides an excellent presentation of the film.  The picture quality of the Blu-ray disc is sharp, rich, and colorful; and the soundtrack comes through beautifully in the DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel audio.  The Blu-ray is rounded out by a nice collection of extras.  Here’s what’s included:

• BRAND NEW 4K REMASTER OF THE FILM struck from the original camera negative
• Audio Commentary by filmmaker Alex Cox (Repo Man).  He is also an Euro-Western authority, having written 10,000 Ways to Die: A Director's Take on the Spaghetti Western.
• Alternate Ending (Again, this is absolutely essential viewing.)
• Multiple Euro-Western trailers from the Kino catalog
• Optional English subtitles for the main feature

Streaming: At the time of this review, A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die was not available through any of the standard streaming services.

More to Explore: I suggest following A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die with the best of the somber Euro-Westerns, Sergio Corbucci’s The Great Silence (1968).

Trivia: Sergio Corbucci was involved in the early stages of development for this film, and he was originally supposed to direct.  However, he eventually walked away from the project.  Many believe that some of the dark passages of the script of A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die may have influenced Corbucci in creating The Great Silence.

For More Info: There are several good books on the Euro-Western genre, including the previously mentioned tome by Alex Cox.  However, the best overview and history of the genre is provided in Any Gun Can Play: The Essential Guide to Euro-Westerns by Kevin Grant.