Com Sartana Cada Bala é Uma Cruz

Sartana, bounty hunter and gunfighter, witnesses the robbery of a shipment of gold.

He finds his way into town where he meets with a lot of suspicious stares from the locals. He also meets with Samuel Spencer, who seems to own the company in this company town.

The gold shipments are being stolen, so Spencer agrees to hire Sartana to protect the next gold shipment. Numerous dull-witted villains make attempts on Sartana's life, but he survives.

Eventually, Sartana's nemesis Sabbath (he of the white coat and parasol) rides into town. With a showdown inevitable, Sartana and Sabbath square off to settle the score.

I wasn't going to watch this movie because i'm not such a huge fan of spaghetti western, but it's actually quite good. Sartana is a Clint Eastwood clone in looks and acting.

There's more than its share of continual shoot outs to make the movie move along. The story doesn't really matter so much. The action is fun.

It's a mindless but fun 90 minutes.

There's so much insane gun play in this film I was hardly in need of a plot. At one point, there's a bandit lighting matches stuffed between his toes for a laugh, and then along comes Sartana, knocks the guy out by shooting a sign that falls on the guy's head, then Sartana lights the last match by shooting it, then sparks up a cigar using the match! Why didn't this film win dozens of Oscars?

You've got Sartana after gold, the bandits after gold, some shady businessmen after gold, the gold miners after their own gold (how dare they!), and a bar owning chick...after gold. Oh, and another gunslinger called Sabbath after gold. He carries a white parasol, reads Shakespeare's sonnets, and constantly refers to his mother. Again, why no Oscars?

There's also a running gag where the bandits constantly try to get the drop on Sartana, but Sartana's always got a pistol hidden somewhere. I can't think of a single slow spot in this film at all, and Stelvio Massi's hyperactive camera-work coupled with Carnimeo's direction make for one of the more entertaining Italian Westerns.

So the third entry to the Sartana anthology gets a new - Sartana. It seems to be the only one with a different actor and it is even simpler than the other ones. But that might not make it worth less than the other movies. A lot of shootouts, big body count and so forth. So all the pillars for a successful Spaghetti Western one might think.

Then again, there is repetition. And not just repetition from other movies, but repetition in the shootouts. While they may come up with some nice ideas (a hole here, a hole there, hidden gun there, hidden gun there and a slapstick "rifle"/knife combo towards the end), it may not be enough to convey others. Whatever floats your boat ... or rides your horse I guess ...

(1970) I Am Sartana, Trade Your Guns For A Coffin/ C'è Sartana... vendi la pistola e comprati la bara!

DUBBED SPAGHETTI WESTERN

The first 20 minutes was kind of too over the top and ridiculous. I could not get into the movie until after I had to make sense to what I just saw, which it was not until after the second or third viewing is when I was able to grasp in terms of events. Bounty hunter, Sartana (George Hilton) is watching from a distance with a telescope of some men traveling with a wagon until he spots someone he recognizes. And it appears one of the wanted men happens to be on one of the posters. But just as he was about to make his move, a group of bandits then show up and kill all of the men there. And just as soon as the bandits finish their business when one of them threw a stick of dynamite. Sartana is seeing all of this, and he manages to put it out by throwing his water pale a mile from where he is standing up at the mountains, shooting the pale of water to put the dynamite out. He then grabs one of the sand bags that is supposed to be filled with gold dust, and he sees that it is filled with nothing but sand. After he collects his bounty award, he then goes to an almost desolate Mexican village or area. As Sartana attempt to ride through the town someone then tries to stop him, and he manages to shoot the sign over the bandit to knock him out. And he then walks into a Mexican saloon, where there is no one other than a bandit on the table stuffing himself and the bar owner, he stirs trouble with the bandit, and he lets him run out. And where is bandit runs off to, he grabs other bandits. Three of them show up to confront Sartana as he is about to eat something sitting exactly at the same spot where the bandit was sitting. As they see Sartana's holster hung on the hanger, they think he is unarmed. But as they draw their guns at him, he shoots all three of them through the round loaf of bread placed on front of him. The other bandits are looking through the window as the young child of a mother held against her will escapes and runs into the saloon. The little child then offers his savings to save his mother, but he refuses. While the bandits are waiting, sticks of dynamite are seen coming through the fire place, and they all run out. Sartana succeeds shooting all of them, for it was obvious the sticks of dynamite are actually candles. He then gives the mother and her child some money before they on their way, and asks for some information regarding gold shipments.

George Hilton replaces Gianno Garko as Sartana and does a competent job and is very cool as he shoots, bluffs, double bluffs, and triple bluffs his way through this fairly entertaining western. It's standard stuff, and though some times the story elements can be puzzling ( its those double bluffs again), it's keeps one watching. It's OTT, but heys it's Sartana with his bag of tricks ( includes a shooting loaf.) Its fun.