WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

ma-cortes The war with Mexico over , the new republic of Texas is born . Set in 1836's Texas just after the Republic won its independence from Mexico. President Houston is actively working to have the new republic join the United States of America . But rebel forces , aided by a foreign power , are plotting against him . Houston , busy reorganizing the exhausted forces of Texas sends his faithful scout Erastus . As President Sam Houston instructs one of his agents to put down the plotters , the tough deaf-mute Erastus Smith (Anthony Quinn and based on real-life character) to carry out a dangerous mission . Deaf Smith is the man who hears with his eyes and speaks with his gun . Accompanying him is his best friend the sex-obsessed Johnny Ears, (Franco Nero) who falls for a beautiful prostitute (Pamela Tiffin) , Susie the ¨hooker¨ . But the rebels and the general Martin (Franco Graziosi) have intercepted a message that a deaf-mute spy is in their midst . At the beginning ,there takes a place a massacre executed by rebel henchmen (Romano Puppo , Luciano Martino) against McDonald family and things go wrong .Pasta Western picture is set post American-Mexican war but ignores the wealth of the authentic history and becomes yet another action/adventure/humor Western and this decent production delivers what it should . However , it relies heavily on the peculiar relationship between Deaf Smith/Anthony Quinn and Johnny Ears/Franco Nero . Here there are some historical remarks about Texas , as the Republic's future is in doubt, with various factions and foreign powers hoping to sway matters to their own advantage . And based on facts , as Deaf Smith was a soldier in Houston's army distinguished for destroying a bridge and there's actually a Deaf Smith County in Texas . Although it has some anachronisms as an out of time machine gun and hokey historical events . It is a decent Western with comedy , tongue-in-cheek , action and plenty of shoot'em up , gun-play , explosion , and some moments results to be quite entertaining . Including a spectacular ending when our protagonists using a machine gun and a lot of dynamite execute a slaughter in which they take down themselves the enemy army . Anthony Quinn gives over-acting as the deaf-mute Erastus "Deaf" Smith , to infiltrate and put down one of the growing rebel factions and sympathetic acting by Franco Nero as his companion Johnny Ears who must not only do Smith's hearing for him, but must also conceal Smith's handicap . Acceptable support cast full of ordinary Spaghetti secondaries as Luciano Rossi , Goffredo Unger , Tom Felleghi , Renato Romano and Romano Puppo . It packs an anti-climatic musical score by Daniel Pattucci and attractive ¨ballad of Deaf Smith and Johnny Ears¨ sung by Ann Collin . And an atmospheric cinematography in Eastmancolor by Tonino Delli Colli , though a perfect remastering is necessary , being shot on location in Gelato falls , El Lacio , Rome and Almeria , Spain , as usual . The motion picture was regularly directed by Paolo Cavara , a craftsman who made all kinds of genres . As Paolo directed Giallo as ¨Black belly Tarantula¨ , ¨E Tanta Prava¨, Drama/war : ¨La Cattura¨, ¨comedy : "Virility" , ¨Il Lucamone¨, ¨La Lacandiera¨ and especially shock-documentary as ¨L'Occhio Salvaggio¨, ¨Mondo cane¨ , ¨La Donna Nel Mondo¨, ¨Witchdoctor in Tails¨, and ¨I Malamondo¨ .

vandino1 Whenever you have a lively Franco Nero (or his clone Terence Hill) in a western you've got one thing in your favor already. But that's the only thing in this film's favor. Otherwise you have the flat dubbing, tinny and wretched music scoring, and predictably imbecilic action scenes typical of these spaghetti westerns. First of all, Anthony Quinn plays a deaf mute, a casting decision on the far side of stupidity (although obvious that his name would lend box office value). An actor of such ebullience and renown for his growling/shouting presence is reduced to pantomime. It takes you right out of the film in every scene because you keep expecting that famous voice to come bursting out any moment. And then there is co-star Tiffin who plays a likable character but her voice is mostly shrill. Better if SHE had been the mute. And the rest of the cast is the usual standard issue Italians-on-the-range from central casting in Rome. The script is also standard issue (with the exception of the deaf-mute angle) so we get parts of 'Duck You Sucker/A Fistful of Dynamite' and a Gatling gun finale ala 'The Wild Bunch.' The finale is especially bad since a platoon of gunslingers blast away at Gatling gun-wielding Quinn with no discernible effect, as if the act of using such a gun makes you impervious to all lead fired in your direction. Then there is the hideous music score that features two absurdly dated songs: one during the opening credits that sounds like a TV commercial jingle for hair spray, and a second one in the middle so derivative of Burt Bacharach that it's lawsuit-worthy. Needless to say, it's a tortured viewing experience to watch a western set in Texas in 1836 that is almost completely cast with Italians and features soft pop tunes from 1972. And how can you think of this film at all without scratching your head at the incredibly bizarre freeze-frame at the very end? What in blazes were the director/writer/powers-that-be thinking with that shot of Nero screaming in what should have been a sweet-to-bittersweet final moment? All it needed was horror music. Yeesh!

travelintom I like the above comment: "Watchable if not recommended". I just saw it on TV as "Deaf Smith and Johnny Ears". It breaks my heart that AMC didn't show the full credits as I am haunted by the music and cannot identify the tune.Erastus "Deaf" Smith was actually a soldier in Houston's army and was distinguished for destroying a bridge that cut of Santa Ana's retreat at the battle of San Jacinto. The movie, of course, is pure fiction with no historical basis.Anthony Quinn has always been one of my favorites and it pleases me that a Mexican actor has found such worldwide success. His AMC interview is well worth a watch.

doppelganger36 The plot of this movie and the characters may be a little bit suspect but the photography is brilliant and, to add to the appeal, so was the music which was written by a name that I have never heard of before i.e. Daniele Patucchi. Soundtrack collectors like myself may be interested to know that the main themes are available on a CD entitled "Wanted - Dead or Alive". catalogue No. CVS 900-020. I enclose the number as it is an Italian CD but if I found it in Australia you can guarantee that it is more readily available elsewhere.Anthony Quinn and Franco Nero, who have appeared together in other productions, have this rapport between them that is so obvious. See this movie! Don't analyse it. Just sit back and enjoy it!