Ace High

Original title: I quattro dell'Ave Maria

1968
PG-13
2h 2m

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

4.9K

YOUR RATING

Terence Hill, Brock Peters, Bud Spencer, and Eli Wallach in Ace High (1968)

Spaghetti Western Comedy Western

A Greek bandit forms an unlikely alliance with two bounty hunters and an acrobat to take his revenge on the people who framed him.A Greek bandit forms an unlikely alliance with two bounty hunters and an acrobat to take his revenge on the people who framed him.A Greek bandit forms an unlikely alliance with two bounty hunters and an acrobat to take his revenge on the people who framed him.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

4.9K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Goofs
When Hutch lifts the hat off of a corpse, the corpse's actor is clearly breathing.

Quotes
Hutch Bessy: Cacopoulos. What kind of a name is that?
Cacopoulos: A Greek name. My grandfather was a Greek. He was a Greek, like Sophocles, Aristophanes, Plato, Homer.
[He looks around and notices the guards getting tired, so he shifts his tone to a softer, sweeter one]
Cacopoulos: And like Ulysses, he had to keep traveling. He never suffered from homesickness, my grandfather. Oh no. And so, he left the schooner on which he had embarked, and continued his travels on foot, bouncing from place to place, trading in skins, until he came to a Cherokee tribe. And there he was admired by an Indian girl, or he admired her, I don't know which. But the fact is, among other children, my father too was born. And he grew up and raised a family in a small mining town. And he had just the time to do it... when someone shot him dead. And my grandfather told of it, had to get his son's body... and he had to take me, too, still teething... back to his tribe. And I cried... And I cried... And I cried...

Alternate versions
The Italian uncut version is 132 minutes long. The US version is 122 minutes. Other international versions are 117-118 minutes.

Connections
Edited into Spaghetti Western Trailer Show (2007)

User reviews30

Review

Featured review

8/10

Comic western epic with plenty to recommend

This early outing for Bud Spencer and Terence Hill sees the pair in fine form in a huge spaghetti western with loads of story, characters and tons of action to recommend it from the start. The meaty running time consists of dozens of plot twists, dupes, swindles and betrayals and the film never lets up from a spot-on pacing which holds the viewer's attention at all times. The three main ingredients for the film are drama, action and comedy and all are served up in spades. Obviously the Spencer/Hill relationship is played for laughs and both actors put in commendable performances; Hill as the Eastwood-style sharp-shooter, the intelligent member of the pairing, and Spencer as the clumsy but lovable oaf who's as strong as an ox and complements Hill's character perfectly.

The dramatic angle of the storyline comes in the sweaty form of Eli Wallach, reprising his role from THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY as a bandit with a heart of gold who ends up being used and abused by those he considered to be his friends. Wallach's mission of justice makes up the bulk of the film and once again the actor puts in an excellent performance which hugely enhances the film. Writer/director Giuseppe Colizzi understands the old adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" in regard to Wallach's performances so gives the public more of what they have seen already in the Sergio Leone film and the result is no less successful. The script is unusually fine and lends plenty of comic banter and interplay to the scenes between the action sequences.

Speaking of action, there is plenty ranging from bloody boxing matches to more traditional shoot-outs, prison breaks, brawls and even a massive gun battle with a machine gun involved. The suspense is gradually upped for the genius climax, set in a dodgy gambling house as our heroes attempt to make themselves some cash by hiding in the loft and cellar and using the fixed roulette wheel for themselves with disastrous results. The film then plays its own ace by introducing arch-villain Drake, acted by American import Kevin McCarthy (INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS) as one of those slimy villains you just love to hate, and the resulting climax is wonderfully exciting.

Great use of widely differing music is made throughout the film from epic-sounding vocals to waltzes at the end! Technically the movie is proficient with a more than adequate budget put to good use in the sets and costumes; solid, slightly artistic photography; and well-staged action. One of the best I've seen from Spencer and Hill and a film guaranteed to please fans of the genre.