El kárate, el Colt y el impostor (1974)

Director:

Antonio Margheriti

Writers:

Miguel De Echarri (only credited in Spanish version)
Barth Jules Sussman (writer)

Release Date:

April 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Western

Tagline:

The fastest gun in the West joins with the most brutal hands in the East!

Plot:

A martial artist joins a hard-hitting gunfighter in the search for treasure while bandits step into their way.

Plot Keywords:

Treasure Hunt | Heritage | Spaghetti Western | Buddy | Female Nudity

Cast

Lee Van Cleef	...	Dakota
Lieh Lo	...	Ho Chiang (as Lo Lieh)
Patty Shepard	...	Russian mistress & Her twin-sister
Femi Benussi	...	Italian mistress
Karen Yeh	...	Chinese mistress
Julián Ugarte	...	Yancey Hobbitt
Erika Blanc	...	American mistress

Also Known As:

Blood Money
Là dove non batte il sole (Italy)
Long hu zou tian ya (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
Moneda sangrienta (Spain) (working title)
The Stranger and the Gunfighter

Runtime:

Italy:105 min | Spain:100 min | USA:107 min | West Germany:98 min

Country:

Spain | Italy | Hong Kong | USA

Language:

Spanish | Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Spain:18 | West Germany:18 (nf) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1976) | Sweden:(Banned) (1975) | UK:18 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Company:

Champion films

Movie Connections:

Edited into 42nd Street Forever, Volume 3: Exploitation Explosion (2008) (V)

Soundtrack:

Rye Whiskey

Entertaining combination of all sorts, though not KUNG FU.

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!