La brute, le colt et le karaté

The movie narrates how a Chinese hero (Lo Lieh) tries to retrieve the money that a feudal lord gave up to his uncle for inversion in America . The uncle dies and the only clue to recover it is leading some tattoo messages on the butts of his fours lovers (Erika Blanc, Femi Benussi, Patty Shepard). The protagonist is helped by an American thief named Dakota (Lee Van Cleef) , both of them track down clues until discover the exciting final surprise.

The picture is a collaboration between Italian producer Carlo Ponti and Hong Kong Shaw Brothers , famous producers of Chop-Socky cinema and in charge of distribution on Asian market . The storyline is embarrassing and absurd but has its agreeable moments here and there . The violence isn't crude but slight and predominates the comedy . Lee Van Cleef is very old and with wig , his interpretation is wooden and graceless (Colonel Mortimer and Providence roles were left time ago). Special mention to secondary cast as Julian Ugarte who plays a traveler priest in a church-roulotte ; besides , three Eurotrash babes as Erika Blanc , Patty Shepard and Femi Benussi . The motion picture takes part a little genre in which during the 1970s achieved splendor and blended Spaghetti Western and martial arts with influence of David Carradine-Kung Fu series (1972-1975) , for example : ¨ Red sun ¨ by Terence Young , ¨Karate law in the west ¨ by Tonino Ricci, ¨ My name is Shangai Joe ¨ by Mario Caiano, ¨ The return of Shangai Joe ¨ by Bitto Albertini , and ¨The white , the yellow and the black¨ by Sergio Corbucci . It's a Spanish-Italian production , a Paella/Spaghetti Western , and was shot in Almeria (Spain) where during the 60s and early 70s were filmed uncountable Westerns . The adjusted cinematography was realized by expert cameraman Alejandro Ulloa (Horror express). The film was regularly directed by Anthony M. Dawson or Margheritti . Rating : mediocre but amusing.

Lee Van Cleef stars as a rugged cowboy who arrives in the town of Monterey seeking the fortune of the Chinese Mr Wang. Blowing open the four safes in the bank, he discovers nothing more than photos of women in all four of them. But Mr Wang walks in on the fourth explosion and is killed. Van Cleef is charged with the murder of Wang and sentenced to hang. Back in China, warlords are furious to learn that Wang's money is missing and send forth Wang Ho Kian, a young warrior and Wang's nephew, in search of it... Wang Ho arrives in time for the hanging and saves Van Cleef from the noose. Together, the two form a friendship and set off in pursuit of the late Mr Wang's bounty...

The film plays as more of a kung fu action than a western, but is none the worse for it. Utilising the acting talents (and one or two other features) of various lovely ladies - and a plot device used in Dick Emery's 1972 film "Ooh... You Are Awful" (namely that the tattoos on four women's backsides hold the key to a fortune) - the film shows that while the golden age of spaghetti westerns was beginning to come to an end, the industry could still produce little gems like this.

While the final showdown isn't exactly a Dance of Death, with both bullets AND karate kicks flying you can't really go wrong, can you? Whilst the music isn't exactly memorable, and at times the dialogue is awful (yea, yea, it's all lost in the translation, I know), the majority of the action scenes are good, although at times the synchronisation of the kung fu kicking and the "Ow!"s are on par with the dubbing of the worst spaghetti western. A decent time-filler.

"Blood Money", also known as "The Stranger and the Gunfighter", is an interesting combination of gun play and flying fists. Lee VanCleef may not be at the top of his game, but the unusual and entertaining story makes up for any edge he might have lost. I found more humor here than in any of the "Trinity" films. If you look at the entertainment value alone, I would say this is about on a par with "Death Rides a Horse" or "Kid Vengeance". It is definitely inferior to "The Good the Bad and the Ugly", "For a Few Dollars More", and "The Big Gundown". Overall, I would recommend "Blood Money" as a must see for Lee VanCleef fans. - MERK

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!