La brute, le colt et le karaté

Around the time this movie was made, the spaghetti western was just about on its last legs. Also, the craze for kung fu movies was starting to die out as well. So it must have seemed logical for the Italians and Hong Kongers to team up and make a movie that mixed both genres (though this movie was not the first to do so.) Though it's perhaps inevitable that a mix of genres would have mixed results. Certainly, the movie has solid production values, and its light-hearted nature is welcome after so many serious spaghetti westerns and kung fu epics. There's also some nudity, unusual for both genres at this time. But the movie feels kind of drawn out, taking its time when the pacing should have been a bit more snappy. Even more surprising is that there isn't a terrible amount of kung fu in the movie, though this may have been because the choreography and direction of the martial arts fights are sub par. Also, the two leads don't manage to generate that much chemistry, though the language barrier might explain this. I'm not saying this is an awful movie, but it is disappointing. If you want to see a good spaghetti western / kung fu mix, watch "The Fighting Fists Of Shanghai Joe" instead.

This obscure, genre-blending Spaghetti Western is hammy and fun, but fails at being very exciting. Nonetheless, it wins points for originality, and the picture is rife with interesting characters and happenings. The print is surprisingly good, considering the film's age and obscurity, and fans of more lighthearted Spaghetti Westerns should be pleased. Lee Van Cleef is star material here, and he hamms it up more in "Blood Money" than anywhere else I've seen. This really is a different performance by Van Cleef, and he lets loose a refreshing side of himself that fans should enjoy. Directed by personal fave Antonio Marghereti, (with help from the Shaw Brothers), "Blood Money" was essentially an exercise in blending a Kung Fu film with a Spaghetti Western, and while the result is still a Eurowestern, the martial arts exchanges and Eastern characters prove amply refreshing. Overall, "Blood Money" is pretty solid, although a bit sloppy, and it reaches a comfortable medium between strangeness and familiarity. The story involves Van Cleef, a safecracker, becoming intertwined in the story of a deceased Chinese aristocrat and his missing estate. After escaping the gallows, Cleef teams up with the Chinese man's nephew, and the two begin their search for the uncle's missing gold. Luckily, the dead man tattooed clues to his riches on the tails of four women, and the unlikely pair must see each girl to unravel the mystery. There were a few parts that dragged, but only briefly, and we left the movie feeling pretty good. This is a solid, if offbeat, comedic Spaghetti Western. ---|--- Reviews by Flak Magnet

As others have said this is a fun little film made late in the Spaghetti Western era and combining the traditional Ravioli oater with the then popular kung fu movie. Spaghetti Western legend Lee Von Cleef plays a gunfighter and bandit who teams up with a martial arts master to recover some gold hidden by the latter's uncle before a Chinese triad or other bandits can get it. To do this they need to put together a map the uncle left which is tattooed on the backsides of his four beautiful wives(thus the Italian title which translates to something like "Where the Sun Doesn't Shine"). This is the funniest part of the movie because all four of the women are sexually frustrated and bitterly disappointed that the heroes are only interested in their "map" (none of which, of course, is very believable). Paul Bartel would later use this exact same hilarious concept in his comedy "Lust in the Dust", but his actresses, played Lanie Kazan and Divine, were of course a little less attractive.

Lee Von Cleef is pretty good here as is the unknown Chinese actor who plays his partner (thankfully, he's not someone like David Carradine but an actual Asian actor). The four women include Erica Blanc, Patty Shepherd, and Femi Benussi. Blanc was kind of wasted as usual (as an actress anyway), but the enigmatic Patty Shepherd, an American who made her entire career in Spain and Italy, always made the most of these small, cameo roles (her most memorable appearance was as the villainess in Paul Naschy's "Werewolf Shadow" where she barely logged more screen time than she does here). Femi Benussi strangely enough is the only one of the quartet who keeps her clothes on, even though taking them off was pretty much her main talent. The fourth wife was played by an attractive but unknown (by me, anyway) Chinese actress. If nothing else though all these actresses can say that in this movie they literally were just a piece of ass.

Really though this movie is pretty tame and innocent both with respect to sex (of which there really isn't any) and violence (especially compared to say Fulci's "Four of the Apocalypse" made a year later). I'd let my kids watch it (if I had any). Definitely recommended, especially to fans of Spaghetti Westerns, kung fu movies, and 70's Eurostarlets.

The "East Meets West" idea of an Asian fighter in the Wild West was not new anymore (see Terence Young's "Soleil Rouge" from 1971, or "Il mio nome e Shanghai Joe" by Mario Caiano, 1973), but "The Stranger And the Gunfighter" was the first time (1974) that an Asian production company, namely Shaw Brothers, came to Italy for a Western production, bringing Lo Lieh as a seasoned star of their own. The kung-fu fighter has to recover a treasure that once belonged to his uncle and return it to China. The map leading to the treasure is tattooed in 4 parts - on the backs of 4 ladies. Yes, that's a bit of a different idea for once ;-). Lee Van Cleef plays a bank robber who assists very unwillingly, but in the end even enjoys a little trip to Asia.

The movie is nowhere near "Soleil Rouge" and Lo Lieh isn't Toshiro Mifune, but it's an entertaining action movie with a story you haven't seen before. "Il mio nome e Shanghai Joe" is a very violent flick, whereas recent movies such as "Shang-High Noon" are silly comedies. What I like best about "The Stranger And the Gunfighter" is that it's well balanced between action and comedy.

"Là Dove Non Batte Il Sole" aka. "The Stranger And The Gunfighter" is certainly not a very good Spaghetti Western, but it's a very funny one.

A Chinese Kung-Fu warrior named Ho Chiang comes to the American Southwest to find his late uncle's treasure. His Family is held hostage by a powerful warlord back in China until he will return with his uncle's fortune. After Ho Chiang saves a gunslinger named Dakota (Lee Van Cleef) from the gallows, the two keep on searching the uncle's fortune together. The Chinese stranger and the gunfighter soon find out that the tattooed bottoms of four ladies are the key to the secret treasure.

"The Stranger And The Gunfighter" is a Spaghetti Western with a nice touch of Comedy and Action. The characters are quite funny, especially the main villain, a psychopathic religious fundamentalist gunfighter and preacher who comes to different towns to "preach the word of God", and and shoot those whom he considers to be sinners. Lee Van Cleef (one of my personal favorite actors of all-time) stars as the gunfighter Dakota, Martial Artist Lieh Lo plays his ass-kicking Chinese buddy Ho Chiang. This Movie is great fun, especially for Spaghetti Western fans like myself. Definitely worth watching!