Who Killed Johnny R.?

WHO KILLED JOHNNY RINGO? is a Spanish spaghetti western somewhat bizarrely filmed in Germany, hence the presence of popular star Lex Barker who was a huge hit in Germany at the time with his Winnetou series of German westerns. Despite the western setting and the gun-toting action, this doesn't have many of the tropes or indeed the feel of a typical western; at some times it's more of a mystery story with a whodunit aspect to the narrative.

Mistaken and double identities are the main themes here. What's arresting about the film is that it opens with a massive huge action spectacle in which a building is burnt down and a number of characters killed. It then slows down for the rest of the running time, only to pick up at the climax. Barker is an acceptable presence but Marianna Koch is the real scene-stealer. I notice that the film was retitled WHO KILLED JOHNNY R? in some territories, perhaps to avoid confusion with the same year's KILL JOHNNY RINGO, an Italian western. Ringo was a real-life character, as it happens.