After the Franco Nero film "Django" appeared, a lot of unscrupulous movie folks began releasing movie after movie with the name Django in the title--but they had little to do with this original film. "He Who Shoots First" (also known as "Django Shoots First") is one of these faux Django films. Now I am not sure if the film was meant to be a knockoff or if, perhaps, the folks doing the dubbing just decided on their own to make it a Django film. But, at least the leading man, Dutchman Glenn Saxson looks a bit like Nero.

The film starts with Django going to see his father and finding him dead--having just been shot down by a bounty hunter. Not wanting to pass up a good opportunity, Django shoots the bounty hunter and brings his dad's corpse to town to claim the reward!! Only later does he learn that perhaps his father was NOT a criminal but was up on trumped up charges by folks intend on stealing his half interest in a local gambling hall. So, for most of the rest of the film, Django needs to fight the local scum who are trying to kill him and then claim what is rightfully his.

Aside from the film having the audacity of having Django claim the bounty on his own dad(!!),I also really liked the ending as well as the music. The soundtrack was a good bit better than the average Italian western. But, apart from these things, the film had little to offer other than folks getting punched and shot. Not especially remarkable but a decent time-passer.

FYI--At one point, one of the folks says "A man can't testify against his wife" but in American law this isn't exactly true. A man cannot be FORCED to testify against his wife. But, if he wants to help the prosecution by testifying against her he is surely welcome to do so.

Easygoing saddle tramp Glenn Saxson finds his father cooling off on the back of a bounty hunter's horse. Killing the bounty hunter, he takes his father's body into town to claim the reward, where he's informed by ambitious local Fernando Sancho, that his dad was actually quite wealthy and set up by his greedy business partner. The two then team up with a mystery man, carrying a switchblade stiletto cane, to take on the murderous big-shot.

Django Shoots First is another colorful, fast-paced spaghetti western. There isn't much new here, but it's a pleasantly entertaining way to spend an hour and a half, with an adequate amount of action, plot-twists, and gun-wielding heavies.

There's also a good score by Ennio Morricone's frequent collaborator Bruno Nicolai and a neat early cameo in the film's final scene, by Italian genre favorite George Eastman, who's minus his distinctive facial hair.

Although no authority in the field, I've seen enough Italian westerns to know that they're ALWAYS worth peeping if only for A) the music, B) the women and C) the violence which is more gritty and relentless than in westerns produced in any other country. The legendary work of Sergio Leone and Sergio Corbucci naturally state this theory the most, but even all the obscure and low-budget genre efforts coming from this country are worth tracking down. Particularly the numberless "Django" rip-offs/unofficial sequels are immensely entertaining, like for example this exciting & surprisingly humorous adventure directed by Alberto De Martino. Glenn Saxson (a Dutch guy) takes over the title role of cult icon Franco Nero and, although not half as charismatic as Nero, he does a fairly adequate job as the indefeasible gunslinger hero who – like the title implies – always shoots first and never ever misses his target. The screenplay of this film is compelling and actually rather clever, and there isn't a single dull moment throughout the entire playtime. We meet Django as he recovers his father's dead body from a bounty hunter. Since there was the huge reward of $5.000 on his head, Django decides to collect the money himself instead of respectfully burying his father in a last resting place. Shortly after his arrival in town, however, he learns that his father wasn't a criminal at all, but a businessman framed by his former partner & bank owner Kluster. With the help of a few friends he met in the saloon, Django stays to avenge his father and claim his rightful inheritance which is about 50% of the entire town. You may anticipate all the regular ingredients of Spaghetti Westerns, like outrageous bar fights, grisly vendettas and violent ambushes, but there's also room for original sub plots in this film! One of Django's accomplices, for example, hides a mysterious secret that only gets revealed late in the film and then neatly fits in with the main storyline. Also, the film's whole climax (and particularly the comical epilogue) is very spectacular and creative. Bruno Nicolai's musical score is phenomenal as usual and both Ida Galli & Erica Blanc provide the required female beauty. "Django Shoots First" is a minor must-see for die-hard fans of this sadly extinct Italian genre.