johnwaynefreak Reviews

Adiós, Sabata (1970)

24 carot spaghetti western and Brynner's only.

[4 February 2003]

Firstly, this is *not* a sequel to 1970's "Sabata" ("Ehi amico... c'è Sabata, hai chiuso!") although it can be considered a follow up of sorts. Lee Van Cleef did not reprise the role until 1971's "Return of Sabata". "Adiós Sabata" was originally about a character called Indio Black and completely unrelated to the previous Sabata story - Indio, I believe, was meant to be nothing more than a bandit. The name was changed to cash in on the success of "Sabata" - though this film could be considered a true Sabata entry as a couple of stars return (Pedro Sanchez, Gianni Rizzo) and the screenwriters and director are the same. Gianfranco Parolini (Frank Kramer) perhaps out does the previous film here, keeping everything tighter - "Sabata" was a little too jokey (although still excellent and one of the truly great Italian westerns) whereas this is blatantly tongue in cheek. I feel the music is better in this film, never intrusive and always fitting: a triumph for Bruno Nicolai, despite the fact that it is incredibly reminiscent of Morricone.

As Sabata, Brynner is a kind of anti-hero counterpart to Chris from "The Magnificent Seven"; he even dresses out all in black here too. Gérard Herter is great as the Austrian Colonel Skimmel at the time of Emperor Maximillian's Mexico - a kind of borderline camp, Bond villain type, complete with monacle and perfectly trimmed moustache. Oh, and yes, he is a dead shot with a rifle. In "Sabata", Franco Ressel's Stengel had his shootout's behind man shaped shields (to live at the peak of danger or some such nonsense) as his playtoy; Herter's Skimmel has an even better one - a drawer beneath a model ship that when opened fires each cannon on the model directly into whoever opens the drawer. Like "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" (which this film contains some surprisingly subtle references to) the plot centres around a shipment of gold: Sabata, Escudo (Sanchez) and Ballantine (Dean Reed) want the wagon load of gold, but it is also coveted by Maximillian's rebels. The scenes with the gold and the gold dust being poured out/spilled is nicely complimented by Nicolai's incidental music which really does bring out the joy of the characters.

I personally think it's a shame that Brynner and the others weren't brought back for another Sabata film because he plays the role much straighter than Van Cleef did and really does come across as a tough guy here, who doesn't need to rely on his gun. "Adiós Sabata" is a classic in it's own right and doesn't need to be viewed with the other Sabata entries. It's only downside is that after surpassing the superb original, it left most people disappointed with the later "Return of Sabata".

Are these subtle hints to Leone's 1966 masterpiece? Sanchez: "Me, I'd make a hiding place no-one would find - stick it in the ground, maybe in a cemetery..." Reed (the last line): "Hey fellas - are you gonna help me pick up the gold or not, you sons of...!" (music takes over)

Ballad of Death Valley (1970)

Berger gives a good performance but cannot save this one.

[3 February 2003]

Lee Galloway/Sartana (William Berger) is a wanted man. The film begins with an ill-fated bounty hunter on his tail (who, upon arriving in town finds the Sheriff is "tied up with a funeral"). Needless to say the hunter doesn't last long - Galloway then breaks the dangerous Craig brothers out of jail - in exchange for half of the gold the gang stole from the army. The brothers unsurprisingly doublecross Galloway and from then on the film degenerates into a formulaic game of cat-and-mouse; that said, I'm sure you can guess the outcome of this tired, uninspired western.

Although the whole affair's rather dull, there are a few nice touches: the scene involving the musical-doll maker (the fake Father Brown from "Sabata"); the catchy music and title song; the attractive landscapes (more lush-green than desert-yellow here); and a scene I find hilarious but shouldn't when, out of Galloway's shooting range, one of the Craig brothers gasps and pretends to have been hit - then sits up and blows Galloway a big raspberry! Alright, I know it's not exactly the Tuco/Gunsmith scene from "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", but what it lacks in subtlety, it makes up for in it's short and sweetness. Trust me. Oh, please yourselves... Another plus is the presence of Berger and Wayde Preston. Both pretty much sleepwalk through their roles but they play them both straight and convincingly and stop this from being a complete and utter waste of time. I guess this isn't bad enough to be in the "so awful it's good" category, but for one or two viewings it's passable. Just make sure you go down the pub/bar before watching it...

*Dumb dialogue* The doll maker's daughter (Clementine in my version) commenting on how economically sound it is to waste food: "I do get pleasure from fixing dinner as if there were a lot of people around - to help us forget we're poor."

A Fistful of Dollars (1964)

"Get three coffins ready" - thankfully, not the last of it's kind.

[31 January 2003]

This film obviously needs no introduction as the movie that influenced the mid-sixties to early seventies avalanche of spaghetti westerns. Although severely panned by the critics on its initial release, "A Fistful of Dollars" and the other two films in the Man With No Name trilogy are now rightly hailed as classics and are the perfect examples of the Anti-Hero pictures. However, like Sergio Leone's other works, they should really only be viewed in their original aspect ratios. As with "The Magnificent Seven", remade from Kurosawa's "The Seven Samurai", this was a remake of Kurosawa's later "Yojimbo".

The story itself is simple enough: a stranger (Clint Eastwood) arrives in town, and goes to work for two rival families, the Rojos (led by Gian Maria Volonté) and the Baxters (headed by Wolfgang Lukschy). He plays the two families off against each other while collecting the money from both. The levels of Eastwood's enigmatic character work well - the 'man' who rids the town of the rival gangs, and also the more caring 'man', who allows Marisol (Marianne Koch) and her husband and son to escape.

All the trademarks of the Leone westerns are here: the gorgeous panoramic shots of the Spanish hillsides; the action-packed set pieces and unflinching violence (although rather tame and blood-free by today's standards); the close-ups of eyes during the buildup to the showdown; and a memorable grand scale score from Ennio Morricone. Here, the music is not used in quite so operatic a way as in "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" for example, and the story is not so much told by the music as it was in Leone's "Once Upon A Time in the West". With a fine performance from Eastwood, this shot him to movie stardom in the States, where all three films were shown in relatively quick succession. Other stars from the silver screen went in an opposite direction, appearing in the spaghetti westerns to try and breathe new life into their flagging careers. "A Fistful of Dollars" remains a solid film throughout and is still entertaining today, although from this particular genre, better was yet to come...

(Classic sample dialogue) Silvanito - José Pepe Calvo: "Ah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah hah - that was a fine idea you had my friend! What was it again...?"

A Town Called Hell (1971)

Incomprehensible but enjoyable western with Tinker out "Lovejoy".

[4 December 2002]

An incredibly confusing collaboration between Spain and Great Britain, starring Robert Shaw, Stella Stevens and Martin Landau. Stevens is the widow who arrives in the town of Bastard out to get the man who murdered her husband; Shaw is the priest who clearly knows more about the murder than is prepared to let on; Landau is the Mexican army Colonel, intending to have the murderer executed in Mexico City. The only lead the hunters have is a single name: Aguila. That said, the plot is really difficult to follow and the film needs at least two viewings.

"A Town Called Hell" contains some good, tense moments and striking images: Stella Stevens sleeping in a coffin, driven in a hearse through the Spanish desert by Dudley Sutton (Tinker from the BBC's "Lovejoy"). As with most foreign westerns, the dubbing is atrocious and there are some laughably awful moments - a dead soldier, killed with barbed wire, takes a few steps as the wire fence is pushed to the ground. The script is, unusually, quite intelligent with many possibilities, unexplored themes and good ideas. The relationship between Shaw and Landau is both well written and well played out. The music is simple but effective, especially the religious tones in the scenes with Shaw in the church.

Overall, the complexities of the plot aside, the film is very good. With strong performances from Shaw and Landau, it holds interest and is well paced by the director - and any film starring Telly Savalas (killed off early on here) as a Mexican bandit can't be all bad...

Pancho Villa (1972)

Telly Savalas, a comedy moustache and one hell of a train crash.

[3 December 2002]

Telly Savalas stars as the Mexican rebel Villa, `the only man to invade the USA!' Although the story had been told historically before (i.e. `Villa Rides' with Yul Brynner) this version is played more for laughs. This was made at the height of Savalas' popularity in the year that Kojak became a household name.

Here, Villa `borrows' $30,000 to buy guns for his rebel cause. He sends his partner Scotty into America to do the trade, but while there he is double-crossed. He escapes back to Mexico where Villa prepares to take revenge on the men who cheated him. He crosses the border and captures the American town of Columbus.

This western pits a mainly Spanish cast against Savalas, Clint Walker, Anne Francis and Chuck Connors. They give good performances although Savalas has a tendency to go over the top at times; so does the film, with dumb scenes such as when a whole room of soldiers cannot (at the command of Connors as Col. Wilcox) swat a fly. But this scene is justified however, as Wilcox explains `By killing that fly, I am saving your lives'. Well, ahem, quite. Yes, the script is that bad. But keep watching for the `exciting' climax . When the film is boring, it's awful, but some scenes are excellent, helped no end by Savalas' performance.

Bad Man's River (1971)

Pretty dumb excuse for Van Cleef to make a film.

[27 September 2002]

Not really a spaghetti western; as well as Italy it was financed by Spain and France. It's meant to be a comedy western, MEANT to be; it has a handful of funny lines and a bizarre accent from James Mason. It's a complete mystery to me why he and Lee Van Cleef bothered to appear in this. Put simply, the film is boring - the characters are cardboard and the actors look like they'd be having more fun watching paint dry. The plot is clichéd and contrived, and difficult to follow. The freeze-frames at the beginning are just plain stupid. Beautiful as Gina Lollobrigida is, she just can't carry the film alone. Eugenio Martin really hasn't got an excuse for rearing such a turkey here, as the following year, he [the director] went on to make the far superior horror classic "Horror Express".

And now, the plot: Roy King (Van Cleef) and his bank-robbing gang get caught up in a plan by his ex-wife and her new husband (James Mason) to steal $1 million from the Mexican government. But the group are captured and sent to a rebel stronghold. Besieged and under fire from the Mexican army, the rebel general is forced to offer King and his gang freedom if they can pull the rebel side through. And I only know that basic outline 'cause it's given in a slightly more in depth form on the packaging...

Like I say, "Bad Man's River" is unquestionably awful. It's simply not even worth seeing as a curiosity piece. I bought it in a 2 for £10 sale and now consider that to have been a waste of money. Some people say that for the sake of top billing, Lee Van Cleef appeared in some real stinkers. This time, I'm inclined to agree.

Captain Apache (1971)

Underrated golden nugget, not a classic - just fun.

[27 September 2002]

Produced by America and Spain, this stars Lee Van Cleef as a Union Army... Apache Captain (!) He's out to discover the meaning behind "April Morning" , a dying agent's last words. With very few leads, he starts a tense alliance with a corrupt gun-runner named Griffin (Stuart Whitman), but finds he'll have to work quicker if he's to find out information as his contacts have a rather annoying habit of dying - and just before they tell him as well. The film also stars Carroll Baker (Giant, The Big Country) and Percy Herbert, a bit-part Brit-actor who featured in "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1962) and a couple of "Carry On..." films.

The action scenes here work well, and the humour (mostly intentional) is fairly amusing. Many of the scenes are filled with tension - and the mystery of April Morning is played out well enough to sustain interest and keep you gripped right 'till the end. The music is hardly in the traditional style most westerns follow, although saying that the soundtrack is fine as it includes the novelty of hearing Van Cleef sing "Captain Apache" and "April Morning" with whom, if the lyrics are to be believed, he apparently has a date.

I found this film really enjoyable and very entertaining. After viewing it, I can't get the title song out of my head, although that's most likely a negative point. With the right amount of action and suspense, and a dollop of good humour, this is a movie for little boys of all ages. Recommended.

The Stranger and the Gunfighter (1974)

Neat little film - a combination of the spaghetti western genre and the chop socky.

[24 September 2002]

Lee Van Cleef stars as a rugged cowboy who arrives in the town of Monterey seeking the fortune of the Chinese Mr Wang. Blowing open the four safes in the bank, he discovers nothing more than photos of women in all four of them. But Mr Wang walks in on the fourth explosion and is killed. Van Cleef is charged with the murder of Wang and sentenced to hang. Back in China, warlords are furious to learn that Wang's money is missing and send forth Wang Ho Kian, a young warrior and Wang's nephew, in search of it... Wang Ho arrives in time for the hanging and saves Van Cleef from the noose. Together, the two form a friendship and set off in pursuit of the late Mr Wang's bounty...

The film plays as more of a kung fu action than a western, but is none the worse for it. Utilising the acting talents (and one or two other features) of various lovely ladies - and a plot device used in Dick Emery's 1972 film "Ooh... You Are Awful" (namely that the tattoos on four women's backsides hold the key to a fortune) - the film shows that while the golden age of spaghetti westerns was beginning to come to an end, the industry could still produce little gems like this.

While the final showdown isn't exactly a Dance of Death, with both bullets AND karate kicks flying you can't really go wrong, can you? Whilst the music isn't exactly memorable, and at times the dialogue is awful (yea, yea, it's all lost in the translation, I know), the majority of the action scenes are good, although at times the synchronisation of the kung fu kicking and the "Ow!"s are on par with the dubbing of the worst spaghetti western. A decent time-filler.

Sabata (1969)

Mighty fine spaghetti western

[20 September 2002]

After years of being cast as heavys and in other supporting roles (High Noon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance), by the time Lee Van Cleef was considered a true star, it seemed he'd stick himself in all kinds of garbage for the accolade of top billing. While always giving a good performance, many of his films ARE trashy. This is not one of them...

Lee Van Cleef stars as the mysterious gunslinger of the title, dressed in black. *POSSIBLE SPOILER* He's out to get the town of Daugherty's elite, who at the start of the film, rob $100,000 from an army safe to buy up the land over which the railway is gonna pass. His character here is not dissimilar from the Colonel in "For A Few Dollars More", as he comes fully equipped with a crack shot arsenal of weapons. In fact, I don't recall him missing once in the movie.

William Berger (a spaghetti western regular) stars as Banjo, a guy who'd double cross anyone if the money was good. The character of Banjo is also enigmatic, and perhaps even more interesting than that of Sabata; it's a shame he wasn't bought back for the sequels.

All in all, Sabata makes for perfect late night escapism. As a spaghetti western, it's up there with "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" and is a thoroughly enjoyable movie that keeps it's tongue firmly in cheek. If you're looking for a stylish spaghetti western outside of Sergio Leone territory, this is the one. Try to see it in widescreen.