La preda e l'avvoltoio

Daniel O’Hara saves himself from the attack of a group of outlaws that kill everyone aboard the coach who he's traveling on, his father too. As he's come to a little village, Daniel finds out that the local sheriff and some notables are all in the gang who murdered his dad. One by one he kills all the villains, completing his vengeance. It's a really undemanding Western that you can see with not much yawns and indignant mumblings; thanks to the craft of a solid artisan like Rafael Romero Marchent. Peter Lee Lawrence isn't exactly a monster of acting, but still manages to do his roles with dignity and professionalism. At the end it scores higher than many euro western of the same period.

This spaghetti Western has a dizzying number of alternate titles. I saw it under the title "The Artist is a Gunfighter",although the actual opening credits called it "Revenge of the Resurrected". It's ALSO known,however, as "Prey of the Vultures" and the original Spanish title roughly translates to "A One Dollar Reward". An artistically inclined young gunfighter (Peter Lee Lawrence) survives a stagecoach robbery and subsequent massacre that claims the life of his father. He draws details of what all of the masked killers were wearing and comes to work as a stable-hand in a town where all of the villains are leading double lives as the towns most respectable citizens. He turns them against each other by posting "wanted" posters (with a one dollar reward) accusing them of their crimes. Unfortunately, he has to confront them more directly when he finds out that the sheriff,and the father of his sweetheart (Orchidea DeSantis), is apparently one of the gang.

This is a very decent story and pretty entertaining film. It really keeps you guessing who the last member of the gang is. The idea of the town's most respectable citizens being secret cut-throat bandits is the kind of cynical touch that marks the 60's and 70's Italian films and makes them somewhat different from their earlier American inspirations (well, that and the inept dubbing). Peter Lee Lawrence is pretty good here, but he has kind of cruel-looking features that make him much better as a villain or a very ambiguous anti-hero than as the kind of true-blue character he plays here (I liked him better, for instance, as ambitious low-level mafioso in "Long Arm of the Godfather"). Orchidea DeSantis was not well-suited for spaghetti Westerns since she looks too Latin to be very believable as a 19th century gringa (which is what she plays here), but on the other hand, she is too fair-skinned to believably portray a Mexican woman. (She also, unfortunately, has to conceal her voluptuous body under prim 19th century garments--talk about hiding your light under a bushel!).

The only serious gripe I had about this though is that it has not (yet) been released on legitimate DVD. I hope somebody gets around to releasing some of these more obscure pasta oater someday very soon. Many of these are pretty worthwhile flicks.

Chorizo or Paella western crammed with Spaghetti , co-produced by Spain and Italy ; though this time being a production more Spanish than Italian one. It deals with Danny Lom (Peter Lee Lawrence) who attempts to avenge his father's death (Luis Induni) who was killed when both of whom traveled in stagecoach . Danny escapes and he goes a little town job hunting , as he works for a blacksmith (Raf Baldassarre) . There Danny asks for help a suspect sheriff (Andres Mejuto) and he falls for his daughter (Orchidea De Santis) . Danny suspects on a powerful and wealthy owner called Wolley . Danny , then , puts a poster on the town : ¨Reward : 1 dollar¨ for Fitzgerald Wolley (Alfredo Mayo) , dead or alive , one of the executioners of the bank hold-up at Johnville and guilty of other crimes too , nicknamed 'The Resurrected' .

This enjoyable Tortilla/Ravioli Western contains thrills , action , crossfire , a love story , pursuits , twists and drags at times , balancing ups and downs . It's a thrilling western with spectacular outdoors filmed in Colmenar Viejo , Manzanares Del Real and La Pedriza (Madrid) ; dealing with a continuous confrontation among the merciless protagonist against several opponents while he is seeking vendetta . Well crafted Western with entertaining screenplay from the usual Ernesto Gastaldi and same director Rafael Marchent , acceptable cinematography , though being necessary a alright remastering , and slick production design by the habitual Jaime Perez Cubero and Luis Galicia . The movie has the typical Spaghetti characters , being both , violent and exciting , as the bloody facing on , greedy antiheroes , dusty and spectacular showdowns , quick zooms , extreme baddies , adequate score by Nora Orlandi and being professionally directed by Rafael Romero Marchent . The picture is starred by Peter Lee Lawrence , he is good in his usual tough role , here playing a young avenger . Peter Lee Lawrence plays a violent young and favourite with girls , this time with Orchidea De Santis as the sheriff's daughter . Blond German youth Peter Lee Lawrence , who made his uncredited debut in Sergio Leone "For A Few Dollars More" (1965), was the hero in a lot of Spaghetti Westerns . His short cinematographic history can be enclosed in nine years of Italo-Spain co-productions such as "More Dollars for the MacGregors" , ¨Winchester justice¨,"Pistol for a Hundred Coffins", ¨The man who killed Billy the Kid¨ , ¨Fury of Johnny Kid¨ and several others . Furthermore , a largely secondary cast plenty with Spanish secondaries , all of them ordinary in Chorizo western , such as : Frank Braña , Andres Mejuto , Lorenzo Robledo ,Luis Induni , Emilio Rodriguez , Alfredo Mayo and Carlos Romero Marchent , director's brother .

The movie has various titles as Prey of Vultures" , "Revenge of the Resurrected¨ , "The Artist Is a Gunfighter¨ and Spanish title ¨Un Dolar de Recompensa¨ , being compellingly produced by Eduardo Manzanos Brochero who started producing ¨Il Coyote¨ and ¨The Jiusticia De Coyote¨ by Joaquin Romero Marchent with Abel Salazar and Gloria Marin . After that , he produced with his company Copercines ¨Vengeance of Zorro¨ and ¨L'Ombra di Zorro¨ (1962) by Joaquin Marchent with Frank Latimore . Eduardo Manzanos built a Western town in Hoyo De Manzanares (Madrid) with sets by Cubero and Jose Luis Galicia , today sadly disappeared , called ¨Golden City¨ where filmed several Western as Welcome Padre Murray , Brandy , various Zorros and this one . He produced various films for Marchent brothers as Joaquin Romero Marchent : ¨Cabalgando Hacia Muerte¨ , ¨Three good men¨; and Rafael Marchent : ¨Quien Grita vengeance¨, ¨Two crosses in Danger Pass¨ ; and for Italian directors as ¨Sabor Odio¨ by Umberto Lenzi¨and ¨Winchester 1 between 1000¨ by Primo Zeglio .

The motion picture was well directed and in his own personal style by Rafael Romero Marchent at his best . Rafael Romero Marchent (Madrid, Spain, May 3, 1926), was brother of Joaquin Luis Romero, recently deceased , who was the first to shoot Westerns in Spain . At first , Rafael Romero began in films as an actor , but when his career began to wane, he preferred to spend time behind the camera . Rafael is an expert writer and director of Spaghetti Western as proved in ¨Two crosses on Danger Pass¨, Cry for revenge¨, ¨Two guns for two twins¨ and ¨Sartana Kills Them All¨ or ¨Un par Asesinos¨. While his brother Joaquin Marchent is deemed the Paella Western's best director , his first film was ¨El Coyote¨ and the sequel titled ¨Revenge of Coyote¨ shot in Mexico ; after that , he filmed ¨The shadow of Zorro¨ and ¨Revenge of Zorro¨, he went go directing Western as ¨ Riding to death ¨ , ¨Adventures in the West¨ , ¨Three good men¨, ¨Sabor Venganza ¨ and the most popular and violent ¨Condenados a Vivir¨ . Plus , he wrote for his brother Rafael Romero Marchent the followings Western : ¨Manos Torpes¨, ¨Ocaso Un Pistolero¨ , ¨Garringo¨ and ¨Sartana Kills Them All¨. Rating : Passable and decent , though contains some flaws and gaps ; however , it results to be pretty entertaining . Worthwhile watching for the Spaghetti/Tortilla Western aficionados .

If you are a fan of spaghetti westerns, "Prey of Vultures" (a.k.a. "Prey for Vultures" will pass the time agreeably enough. If not, it's likely you may be bothered by some problems in the movie. The movie gets to a good start, setting up the situation well. However, much of the remaining part of the movie is somewhat slow (though it never gets downright boring.) There is a twist in the story before the end, though I think most people will be able to predict it long before it happens. The movie could also have done with a few more action sequences, though there's compensation from the fact that the climatic gun/fist fight sequence is pretty good. There are also decent production values for what seems to have been a slightly underbudgeted production. As I indicated earlier, this movie is mainly for fans of the genre instead of newcomers.

Peter Lee Lawrence and his father sell their ranch, anticipating an easier life in St. Louis. Thrown from his stagecoach while chased by bandits, he watches from afar as his father is murdered and his life savings plundered. Discovering the bandits are all prominent citizens of a nearby town, he begins a series of anonymous public announcements intended to trick the outlaws into destroying themselves.

Prey For Vultures (great title!) is less flamboyant than other spaghetti westerns, though the script is pretty crafty at times and it's hero as resourceful as he is mild-mannered.

While certainly not the greatest that the genre has to offer, it's slightly above average and hits all the right marks, with a fair amount of action, a likable young hero, and some entertaining twists as well. Lawrence's revenge is quite satisfying!