Sartana nella valle degli avvoltoi

Ice cold outlaw William Berger frees three brothers on the verge of execution in exchange for fifty percent of their unrecovered loot. Unfortunately for him, recovering the money isn't as easy as he'd hoped for, having not accounted for the double-cross the brothers have planned.

What could have been a run-of-the-mill spaghetti western is made more watchable by an interesting performance by Berger, who plays his role with no emotion whatsoever, making the few times he shows any joy or compassion look like the mimicry of a sociopath!

As far as everything else goes, direction and production values are adequate, though it's the gun-play and seeing how the aloof Berger reacts to different situations and challenges that really makes the film fun.

Sartana in the Valley of Death (1970) I found was much better then most have reviewed. It was nice to see William Berger in his only SW lead role as Calloway. This is not a Sartana film as they tried to market it as to draw a larger crowd. I watched the 78 minute cut version which was not bad and most have viewed this version I am getting the original 98 minute version soon and will follow-up. The 78 minute people have to take in consideration that with 20 minutes gone we have problems like Calloway shooting in the ground and it blowing up also when Calloway meets with the one Craig brothers it was grossly edited and it rushes into Calloway going into the Sheriff's office.

The lead score "A King for a Day" by Augusto Martili at first made me laugh then it grew on me like cancer and got stuck in my head for three days. This song reminded me of a untalented Italian Elvis impersonator singing.

The main annoying problem, I had with the film one was everyone kept calling Berger's character Galloway and on the wanted poster it shows Calloway. All in all for a low budget SW it was a nice flick about Calloway, who is a gun for hire that wants 50% of the loot the Craig brothers stole and hide in order for him to break them out of jail. They decide to play cat and mouse games and double cross him in order to keep whats theirs. The opening scene of the movie shows how Calloway is worth every red cent and if you double cross him you die...

I liked William Berger in this film and I liked the story. The final gunfight was very exciting. It was something like the one in For a Few Dollars More.

The ending wasn't all that funny, though and I thought the film dragged somewhat in the middle. The jailbreak was good and so was the hunt through death valley. I think many of the same people who were in Sabata were in this film although I am not sure.

The theme song "King for a Day" was very good and fitted the film. All spaghettis should have good music and this one does.

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."

I found this film quite disappointing. There are some good moments but the pace is pedantic. The storyline involves the usual hunt for hidden gold spaghetti western fare, but was, at times, non-sensical, unless I fell asleep in the middle, which may have happened. The dialogue and acting was quite poor in parts. William Berger's hair colour looked ridiculous and at time he almost looked like a peroxide blonde. The music was quite odd at times and often did not match the mood. The Japanese DVD release version was of surprisingly good quality. Not recommended unless you are a spaghetti western die-hard like me and must see them all.