The film deals with a cache of gold that takes on Sartana against treacherous sibling trio. This Sabata movie gets the usual Western issues , such as greedy antiheroes, violent facing off , quick zooms , exaggerated baddies and musical score with Ennio Morricone influence , among them . The dark , elegant hero named Lee Calloway or Sartana (William Berger) helps three imprisoned brothers (Wayde Preston , Aldo Berti , Giordana) break out from prison under the condition that they give him fifty percent of the stolen gold they have hidden in the desert. The film deals with a cache of gold that have hidden turning into several hands . As freelance gunman named Sartana is double-crossed and appears to chase the nasty thieves , and settles disputes by shooting . Bemusing Spaghetti Western with Sartana as a tough and stranger protagonist , he's an efficient gunslinger acting as judge , jury , and executioner . At the beginning Sartana arrives in a small town where occurs a shootout when a bounty hunter attempts to kill him and he is subsequently betrayed by powerful Norton (Franco Ressel) . Later on , Sartana is taken prisoner by the bandit brothers and suffering hitting , knocks , punches and tortures . It follows the seemingly endless adventures of Sartana in search of a cache of stolen gold . At the end takes place the inevitable confrontation , a spectacular showdown in which Sartana contends against all .
This acceptable Western contains an interesting but twisted plot , violence , double crosses , shoot'em up and results to be quite entertaining , though drags at times , balancing in ups and downs . There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing some violence , crossfire or stunts every few minutes . SARTANA is a fundamental archetype in Spaghetti/Paella genre as well as James Bond in spy-genre , here William Berger-Sartana stars an entertaining SW with lots of action , gun-play and fun . As always , the mythic personage appears elegant and dressed in black and with a killer look . Sartana is the standard by which every spaghetti antihero is measured along with Lee Van Cleef's Sabata and Franco Nero's Django . It's a thrilling western with breathtaking confrontation between the protagonist William Berger against the heartless enemies formed by a trio of brothers led by Wayde Preston . There is a very odd implementation of shots in the camera work during some particular scenes as well as a lot of twists and turns , as the film approaches its climax , as in the final and the unusual conclusion . Austrian William Berger in this Sartana Western , is fine , as he ravages the screen , hit and run and kills . Fair-haired Austrian leading man Berger appeared in many Spaghetti westerns between 1966 and 1987 such as ¨La Grande Notte di Ringo¨, "They Call Him Cemetery" , "Fast hand" , ¨Noose for Django¨, "Jaider's Gang" , among others . He also played several Western as a secondary actor as he had got fame and fortune with his unforgettable co-starring in ¨Sabata¨ as the banjo man , ¨Face to face¨, ¨Keoma¨ , ¨California¨ and ¨Tex¨. He had a reputation for being a rebel and a vociferous anti-establishment figure . Berger's career was also at times interrupted by drug abuse . There appears usual actors from Spaghetti Western such as Franco Ressell as Norton , Federico Boido or Rick Boyd , Franco De Rosa and special mention to Luciano Pigozzi or Alan Collins nicknamed the Italian Peter Lorre as a doll maker ; furthermore two beauties as Jolanda Modio as Juanita and Pamela Tudor as Esther . Atmospheric Eastmancolor cinematography by Sandro Mancori in Technicolor , Techniscope , though being necessary a good remastering and filmed in Elios studios , as usual . Enjoyable musical score by Augusto Martelli , including catching songs performed by Betsy Bell who plays a Saloon Singer .
This Italian production is an exciting Sartana movie starred by William Berger , it is plenty of action , shootouts , double-crosses , twists and loads of violence and blood . Sartana himself is like a crossover between Clint Eastwood's The Man with no Name and ¨Django¨, a black-clad amoral anti-hero ; adding the special characteristics from James Bond , his quirky gadgets and elegance . Sartana character is in equal parts mysterious , cool and deadly ; he is not out there to chase the bandits like a simple bounty hunter , he is just out for money and blood . His quirky gadgets often bring to mind the other similar character , Sabata played by Lee Van Cleef and Yul Brynner . The first Sartana was ¨Gunfighters Die Harder" or "If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death" a trend-setting film by Gianfranco Parolini with Gianni Garco , Klaus Kinski and Fernando Sancho . The best Sartana are directed by Giuliano Carmineo , alias Anthony Ascott, he realized various with George Hilton who replaces to Garco . Hilton played more natural and roguish than Garco who was cold and peculiar . The later "Sartana" movies directed by Anthony Ascott became increasingly cartoonish and humorous . It was followed by director Alfonso Balcazar with ¨Sartana non Perdona or Sonora¨ with George Martin , Jack Elam and Gilbert Roland . Miles Deem directed two Sartanas deemed lousy and cheesy . Furthermore , a string of sequels and rip-offs with other Z-series directors. ¨Sartana in the valley of death¨ perhaps is not a Spaghetti masterpiece, but a watchable and sometimes unusual movie nonetheless .
