Watch China 9, Liberty 37 For Free

Truly Dreadful Film

Sorry, this movie sucks

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

"China 9, Liberty 37" sounds like the final score of a high school girls' basketball game, but it is the American title of this spaghetti western. Fabio Testi plays the part of Clayton Drumm, a gunslinger who avoids the hangman's noose by agreeing to take on a job--the murder of a man, Matthew Sebanek (Warren Oates), whose land is desired by the railroad. He rides to the man's property and insinuates himself into the household. Like Clint Eastwood, he is the quiet, deadly type and the lady of the house, Catherine (Jenny Agutter) takes a hankering to him.During his stay on the property, Drumm's emotions are stirred and he questions his decision to murder the man.A large part of the story is a romance. But most of the characters are driven by pride or greed, so you know love will probably suffer in the crossfire.Better known for such films as "Walkabout" and "Logan's Run", Jenny Agutter does a credible job as the object of men's desires. Nudity is a sizable part of her role. Testi, as the strong silent type is enough to stir a frontier woman's imagination. Oates, as usual, plays a scruffy, steely-eyed guy.I found the story interesting, but technical issues--like imbalanced sound and choppy editing--sometimes get in the way.

I always enjoy reading the reviews on this site because I learn so much about films like this, the genre they represent and the impact they might have had on other movies, actors and directors. For my part, I've seen a fair number of spaghetti Westerns but I'm no expert. All I know is, once a midget shows up, there's a circus usually not far behind, followed by impossibly choreographed acrobatics that mesh into some kind of fight scene. Surprisingly, that wasn't the case here. Sure the midget and the circus made an appearance, but what knocked me out of my chair were those strategically placed love scenes; three of those must be some kind of record. Jenny Agutter in the nude was not what I was expecting on the Encore Western Channel in prime time, and I don't know whether to be shocked or surprised by that. But it does hold one's interest.Some advice if I may for those reviewers who had a hard time following the dialog. I had no trouble, even with Fabio Testi's accent, once I enabled the sub-titles option on my TV. I do that now as a general precaution for just such an eventuality. Surprising what a good job some captioners do, providing dialog you don't even hear at all sometimes.Always great to see Warren Oates in one of his classic TV Western appearances, so catching him here in a lead role was twice the treat. That was a cool move showing Clayton Drumm (Testi) how fast he was with a gun in that early set up. Made you wonder what would happen once the real thing came around. Worth the wait I would say.Where the movie takes a refreshing break from the hero getting the girl occurs at the finale here when Drumm simply rides off into the sunset - alone! What a heel! But at least he stayed true to character instead of wimping out for the traditional 'settle down and let's have kids' happy ending. I wonder if that midget made out any better.

A lot of misinformation in some of the other reviews. The character who began to make the, "As long as I've got a face," remark--which was never finished-- was the the younger brother of Oates' character. The last name of Fabio Testi's character, who was nothing but respectful in his comments to Jenny Agutter's Catherine, was Drumm, not Jones. I do agree the score was not good, and I suspect Hellman had little control over that. He wasn't in a position of power after the brilliant "Two Lane Blacktop" flopped. It was coal, not oil, that Matthew (Oates) was counting on to make him rich. And Drumm did not "constantly drink cocaine laced whiskey." He had one bottle of it given to him by the owner of the circus. If I recall this was before the second lovemaking scene in the hotel, and cocaine, for those who don't know, makes one very amorous. I think it was meant as a joke. All that said, I have to agree this not a great Hellman film, and his approach was probably too contemplative for most fans of spaghetti Westerns. Even though the final shootout is more typical of the genre. I love the chief bad guy saying. "This didn't go so well," just before he attempts to surrender and Oates shoots him. It's a measure of Oates' skill as an actor that he manages to gain our sympathy for Matthew, even after admitting having killed a whole family, "right down to the dogs, the cats, and the chickens," for the railroad. I was surprised by Katherine's decision to stay with Matthew (though she really had little choice), and that final scene must have looked amazing in the original Technovision 235:1 frame. I think it symbolized that Oates was finally cutting his ties with his past completely. I think he was sincere when he told Catherine, "No one will hurt you again," meaning he wouldn't. Fabio Testi's accent was thick, but I give Hellman credit for not dubbing him, and for adding a back story about Drumm coming to the USA after his grandparents' death to explain it.And, yes, I think the West was full of people with nearly indecipherable accents. I've lived in the West for near to 20 years, and still can't understand some of the old timers.

One of the few (only?) westerns where sex is the main motivator, a wonderful spaghetti western with Fabio Testi and Jenny Agutter, with Warren Oates and a rare performance by Sam Peckingpaugh. An important film in the ouvre of Monte Hellman, quintessential 70's cult director; a man who has made more great films than Coppola yet remains mostly unknown in his home country. See "Two-Lane Blacktop," "Cockfighter," and "The Shooting."