IMDb > The Deserter (1971)

The Deserter (1971) More at IMDbPro »

Overview

User Rating:
5.4/10   89 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 12% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Writers:
Stuart J. Byrne (story)
Clair Huffaker (screenplay)
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Contact:
View company contact information for The Devil's Backbone on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
25 March 1971 (West Germany) more
Genre:
Western
Tagline:
The Deserter and his blood bath brigade -- they drenched the west with terror!
Plot:
Bitter over his wife's death due to what he believes was army negligence, Capt. Viktor Kaleb deserts... more | add synopsis
User Comments:
A Nixon Doctrine Spaghetti western with Rambo in buckskins... more (6 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Bekim Fehmiu ... Captain Victor Kaleb

Richard Crenna ... Major Wade Brown
Chuck Connors ... Reynolds

Ricardo Montalban ... Natachai
Ian Bannen ... Cpt. Crawford
Brandon De Wilde ... Ferguson
Slim Pickens ... Tattinger
Woody Strode ... Jackson
Albert Salmi ... Schmidt
Patrick Wayne ... Cpt. Bill Robinson
Fausto Tozzi ... Orozco
Mimmo Palmara ... Chief Mangus Durango
John Alderson ... O'Toole
Doc Greaves ... Scott
Lucio Rosato ... Jed
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Djavolja kicma (Yugoslavia: Serbian title)
La spina dorsale del diavolo (Italy)
Ride to Glory (USA) (video title)
The Devil's Backbone (USA)
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Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
100 min
Country:
Italy | USA | Yugoslavia
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Certification:
UK:AA | Iceland:12 | Finland:K-18 | Norway:16 (1971) | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:PG
Filming Locations:
El Torcal de Antequera, Málaga, Andalucía, Spain more
Company:
Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica more

Fun Stuff

Quotes:
Tattinger: What's that dog doing?
Captain Viktor Kaleb: Get away from there!
Tattinger: Why, he was fixin' to eat that
[dead]
Tattinger: Indian!
Captain Viktor Kaleb: One tried to eat him once.
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FAQ

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
3 out of 5 people found the following comment useful.
A Nixon Doctrine Spaghetti western with Rambo in buckskins..., 21 June 2004
5/10
Author: Ramon_Rojo from Kansas City, MO

What can I say about this film?

Well, it has to be first Nixon doctrine spaghetti western with a frustrated general complaining about the rules of engagement that prevent him launching a search-and-destroy mission on an Apache stronghold in Mexico (Hmmmm...substitute Apaches for the Vietcong and Mexico for Vietnam...) It even has a buckskin Rambo, that being Captain Kaleb, who wants to take out the entire Apache nation after his wife is murdered.

Well, this gets me to the movie. It is one of those movie that used to get made in the Sixties and Early Seventies where scores of actors are assembled in various stock roles, with a screenplay that has recycled every action movie convention without much spark or imagination. And then there's Bekim Fehmiu. I've seen more vivid performances from driftwood.

In short, it's one of those movies you watch on a Saturday afternoon, when nothing else is on and pay very little attention to it.

The only exception I would have to make it for Piero Piccioni's score. It's got that cheezy late sixties jazz thing going on (apologies to Dennis Miller..)

Other than that, it is nothing terribly memorable...

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Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits IMDb Western section
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