Released in 1976-77, "God's Gun" is a Matzo Ball Western about a preacher (Lee Van Cleef) who chases down a band of outlaws (led by Jack Palance) to apprehend a murderer. After the thugs get revenge the preacher's spiritual son (Leif Garrett) teams-up with the one person who can set things aright. Sybil Danning co-stars as a saloon girl and Richard Boone has a minor role.This Hebraic Western is stylized with a Spaghetti flavor, but is badly executed. I could never get a grip on the tone the filmmakers were shooting for. Is it semi-camp? Semi-parody? It's obviously not something to take too seriously, but sometimes the viewer's evidently supposed to. Since you can't take the story seriously it prevents you from caring about the events of the story and thus it's boring.Thankfully, there are some highlights. For one, it was shot in Israel, which is unique for a Western. Secondly, there are a few stunning women, including Sybil Danning when she was around 23 and an uncredited saloon babe named Jessie. Thirdly, it's got Jack Palance and Lee Van Cleef; two Western icons. And, fourthly, Leif Garrett is surprisingly good at around 13 years-old.But the confused tone and relative dullness do it in.The film runs 94 minutes.GRADE: Borderline D+/C- (3.5/10 Stars)

"God's Gun", along with the following year's "Kid Vengeance" was the last time Lee Van Cleef appeared in the western genre. (The two movies were probably filmed back to back.) In this western, Van Cleef is supported by a once in a lifetime supporting cast, with Sybil Danning, Leif Garrett, Jack Palance, as well as Richard Boone (though Boone's appearances barely make up one solitary minute of the running time.) You might think a western with this cast would be a lot of fun, but for the most part it isn't. Producers Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus obvious didn't command polishing of the screenplay, since the finished product is filled with questions that aren't answered for a long time (like with Garrett's character becoming mute for a long time), or aren't answered at all (when Van Cleef's preacher character has the drop on the bad guys early on, why is only one of them put in jail? And when Garrett's character flees the area on horseback later, why is he later without a horse?) The biggest problem with the screenplay, however, is that there is a lot of obvious padding. Had the movie been shortened here and there for fifteen to twenty minutes, it would have run a lot smoother. The musical score isn't bad, but you don't watch a movie just for the music. In the end, the movie is strictly for Van Cleef and/or spaghetti western fans, and even they may be annoyed by the movie's shortcomings.

The notorious Clayton gang, led by smiling' Sam(Jack Palance),pillage Texas towns of their monetary resources, shooting(..or stabbing)folks who offer resistance against them. When a priest draws the ire of the group, in regards to his hand in the jailing of one of the Clayton boys, responsible for stabbing a man in the back, they retaliate by murdering him in cold blood right in front of his church. What the Claytons didn't expect was that the priest had a twin brother living in Mexico, an expert gunfighter with a dead aim.The peaceful little town of Juno City was founded by Father John(Van Cleef), but this tranquility is disrupted when the Claytons ride into town immediately raising havoc. Before you know it, a card-player receives a knife in his back, Jess Clayton(Robert Lipton), the one responsible, is arrested after Father John quietly infiltrated their campsite, and the Clayton gang take temporary residence in Juno City after gunning the town's priest at sunrise. Father John's boy child assistant, the cherubic Johnny(Leif Garrett)flees Juno City in search of his brother Lewis(also Van Cleef)finally finding him, informing Lewis of the bad news. Lewis, instilled with the moral lessons taught to him by his brother, decides to handle the situation with the Claytons in a most unusual way, by not using his guns, but through clever tactics where they themselves harm each other. In essence Lewis will "call up the ghost" of Father John, by donning his Catholic dress, startling the Clayton gang in the process, with Johnny's help. Before you know it the Claytons are at his mercy, despite the fact that he doesn't even have his gun on his person, a risky decision that somehow rules in his favor! You know that the big gunfight will come to pass as Lewis and Sam have the climactic stare-down. Stunning development establishes a twist in regards to Sam's relationship with Johnny.Preposterous final twenty or so minutes is hard to accept realistically..we must swallow the idea that Van Cleef's Lewis will not use his gun in a battle of wills against a host of trigger-happy goons. They seemingly become so intensely frightened, each Clayton member make certain hapless mistakes which cost them their lives. Sybill Danning features prominently in the story as Johnny's saloon-owning mother, Jenny..and she's gorgeous, never having looked as glamorous as she does in this film. Jenny is a courageous broad who is quite vocal in her hostility towards the Claytons and how her town's local law enforcement stand idle allowing them complete control. Palance is all smiles as Sam, gleeful in his gang's criminal activities, joyous in their deplorable behavior. Van Cleef has dual roles, successfully conveying two distinct personalities which is a thrill to watch(..or at least it was for this fan). How cool is seeing Van Cleef in a showdown with Palance! It's like a dream come true for me! Richard Boone has a minor role as Juno City's sheriff who doesn't wish to concern himself with the Claytons, pleading with Father Lewis to avoid going after Jess for the back stabbing.Director Gianfranco Parolini(Sabata) adopts the usual camera techniques we are accustomed to, with lots of tilted angles and zooms. The Claytons are your usual rambunctuous bunch who enjoy their roles as bandits / killers, while also attempting to rape the saloon girls and the town Judge's daughters. GOD'S GUN is never too violent, and the film, except for the finale where the Claytons fall prey to their fears of the possibility of a Priest rising from the grave to get them, is rather formulaic and ordinary. Still great to see Van Cleef and Palance working in the same film.

The strangest thing of all about this terrible western is that while it has the look feel and especially the SOUND (loud, overdone) of a spaghetti western, most of the talent involved in the top positions were not European, including the director. Also, the three male leads did not sound right. The lead Lee van Cleef, sounded like himself most of the time , but Jack Palance and Richard Boone were dubbed. This is especially clear with Richard Boone who has a very distinctive voice. If someone out there can tell me why you would dub a distinctive sounding American actor's voice into English, please tell me. I liked the plot twist of the twin brother but this is a bad movie. Enough said!