Django, prepare a coffin (3½ Stars)

Over 60 films were made about Django over a 15 year period, from the mid 1960's to the end of the 1970's. He was originally played by Franco Nero, but many other actors stepped into his shoes, including Terence Hill. Something about the character won the public's attention: the black clothes, the brooding stare and of course the machine gun which he used in many of his films.

This early Django film should have featured Franco Nero, but he declined at the last moment to appear in the better paying film "Camelot". Terence Hill was the ideal choice to replace him due to his physical resemblance. In the previous films Django's career isn't stated, he just seems to be a wandering gunslinger. In "Django, prepare a coffin" we find out that he's a hangman. He uses his job to his advantage in a quest for revenge. After the murder of his wife by a corrupt politician he assembles a gang by faking executions and asking the thankful men he's saved to serve in his gang. That's a brilliant idea.

As in all of Terence Hill's films he shoots unnaturally fast. That's his trademark. He frequently turns his back on an enemy, knowing that he can turn and shoot him as soon as he hears a gun click.