D: Leon Klimovsky; S: Manuel Sebares, Tito Carpi; C: Aldo Pinelli; M: Carlo Savina; with: Antonio de Teffè (“Anthony Steffen”), Frank Wolff, Gloria Osuna, Alfonso Rojas

Django (Antonio de Teffè) is a bountyhunter and engaged by a mine corporation to retrieve a certain sum of dollars, stolen by the gang of Jim Norton (Frank Wolff). The silent gunslinger works effective: Before we see the opening credits, three of six of the rogues are buried, and the money is back to its owner. But are these the sought-after dollars? Django has to prove the legal ownership for the corporation. To collect some evidence, he wents to a small hicksville in Montana, where Trevor, the respectable twin-brother of Jim Norton, who is reportedly murdered in the meantime, lives as a farmer. On his way Django finds the dead body of the new sheriff, murdered before taking office, and assumes his identity. Manipulator of this murder and many other mess is rich Amos Brownsberg (Alfonso Rojas), who leads the local cattlemen in their conflict with the farmers on-site. In this idyllic village Django finds the two missing gangsters on his list, who are now members of Brownsberg’s mob, and Trevor, who owns a little farm. Sheriff Django is leery and he supposes, that peaceful Trevor in fact is evil Jim Norton. But further activities by Brownsberg and his gang, e.g. the murder of a federal judge, leads to an escalation of the conflict and force Django to help the farmers to oppose the superior cattlemen. In the meantime the pressure on Trevor, who naturally IS Jim, rises, because Django and his two former comrades peril his cover.

I/Sp 1966

Die Gunslinger says:

Average SW, credited for born Argentinian Klimovsky, but actually was made by his assistant Enzo Girolami, who made his unofficial debut in the genre. The plot about the perplexeties around the two Nortons, minegold, love and sheriff’s honour is overloaded, especially there’s no tension around, if you know, what I mean. Antonio “Stoneface” de Teffè is over-challenged with his part the longer the film goes: Things work out fine, playing an efficient gunslinger at the beginning, but he starts skating on thin ice with his sheriff-charade and the appearance of his love interest, beautiful Norton daughter Sally (Gloria Osuna). His true metamorphosis from a bountyhunter to a straight sheriff to me seems quite unbelievable. Frank Wolff as a fast-handed gangster with something like a heart of gold, has his debut in the SW too, but has to tear-jerk a bit tooooo much, folx.

Optically the capable made film stands in the tradition of the US-Western, which becomes also evident in the score by Savina, a blend of vehement Marlboro-Country-Strings-Horns-Spirit and typical SW choirs. Nice title song.

Rating: $$$

Bodycount: ca. 5 Mexicanos, ca. 45 Gringos

Explicit Brutalities:

- Norton’s former mates Buck (José Luis Lluch) and Sam (Ennio Girolami) torture their ex-boss to get their part of the booty out of the mine holdup. But he sticks strictly to his claim, being his brother Trevor

Luv’:

Norton’s daughter Sally and Django fall in love, but “thanks” to de Teffè the excitement contains. Outrageous 0/10

Splatter: 0/10

Specials: