Dinheiro Sangrento

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.

It looks and feels more like a western than a chop-socky movie, but THE STRANGER AND THE GUNFIGHTER is worth the admission in the sea of obscure cinema. Those who like the Shaw Brothers martial arts movies will notice that the western setting is a drawback, but thanks to star Lo Lieh, it won't be all too disappointing. He provides enough blow-by-blow techniques to make it worthwhile. Actually, the studio known for Asian martial arts films teamed up with another company in the making of this. It may be the raciest western I've ever seen as the pair must search for clues in finding the treasure by.....looking at the butts of beautiful broads!!! Somehow, it all makes sense with the story. The mighty Lo Lieh is funny at wanting to see a female's backside, but it's Lee Van Cleef who keeps his personality as a solid spaghetti western star, and both pair well. Plenty of gunslinging, kung fu, cheesecake, and laughs await in this odd, unusual, but greatly entertaining western. This one is getting too tough to find nowadays as it hasn't been currently available again in years. I'm willing to cross my fingers on a re-released special edition that could come up any time soon (i.e. FIVE DEADLY VENOMS). Highly recommended!

If numbers of titles is a good sign then things look promising for this film since I picked it up as "The Stranger and the Gunfighter" but when I pressed play it said "la brute le colt et le karate" as the title but then also said "Blood Money" in brackets as an alternative title but on IMDb I found it as "El kárate, el Colt y el impostor". I came to this film because I was watching random titles from the Shaw Brothers back catalogue and suddenly found this western crossover which didn't even feature their distinctive shield on the titles even though they are listed as one of the (many) production companies behind it. The plot is a typical exploitation one which is trying to make the most of the popularity at the time of spaghetti westerns and also of kung-fu movies; in this case Ho Chiang comes to America from China to get his late uncle's money but when he arrives all he finds is some smutty photographs which gunslinger Dakota tried to rob, also thinking there was money. Ho realizes that the photos are a map, or rather photos of women who have the map tattooed onto their bottoms. Needing local help, Ho and Dakota team up to seek the bottoms and the treasure, although a deranged preacher is on their trail seeing the same thing.

On the face of it, this film is easy to dismiss as a cheap rip-off just looking to grab as many viewers as possible by combining genres that were selling at that time but there is nothing new under the sun and it is really no different from films like Rush Hour or Shanghai Noon with Jackie Chan partnered to an American star to bring several audiences and style together. Yes it does feel cheap but it is actually quite a lot of fun simply because it doesn't take itself too seriously. The plot is the first very obvious clue (it is a hunt for bottoms) but generally the tone is one of silly fun and the material generally supports this. How this humor would have played to Chinese fans I can only imagine but for me it worked pretty well as trashy entertainment. The martial arts action is very limited and they don't make the best of Lo Lieh in that sense but he is actually very good with his delivery and has good chemistry with Van Cleef. Van Cleef buys into it well even if some of his stuff is a bit silly, but again he seems to be having fun.

The Stranger & the Gunfighter (call it what you will) is not a great film. It sets its sights low but generally it does produce some genre- splicing trashy fun even if it never captures what makes both genres good in their rights – this is particularly evident in the low level of martial arts action. Ultimately it is a trashy exploitation film but, if you meet it on that level, it is a quite fun one.

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.

"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!