A Man Called Blade (1977)
"Mannaja" (original title)

A bounty hunter arrives in a mining town and is hired to track down the missing daughter of the town's crippled mayor and learns she has been kidnapped by the mayor's corrupt right-hand-man and a band of outlaws he is secretly working for.

Director:

Sergio Martino

Writers:

Sergio Martino, Sauro Scavolini

Stars:

Maurizio Merli, John Steiner, Sonja Jeannine

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Maurizio Merli	...	Mannaja
John Steiner	...	Valler
Sonja Jeannine	...	Deborah McGowan (as Sonya Jeannine)
Donald O'Brien	...	Burt Craven
Salvatore Puntillo	...	Johnny Johnny - the impresario
Antonio Casale	...	Dorman - bandits' head (as Nino Casale)
Enzo Fiermonte	...	The government Envoy
Rik Battaglia	...	Gerald Merton - Mannaja's father (as Rick Battaglia)
Aldo Rendine	...	The Fat Passenger in the Stagecoach
Sergio Tardioli	...	The Saloon Barman
Sofia Lombardo	...	Mannaja's Mother (as Sophia Lombardo)
Philippe Leroy	...	McGowan
Martine Brochard	...	Angela
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Enzo Maggio

Storyline

Arriving in the mining town Suttonville, after claiming the bounty of a outlaw known as Burt Craven, a bounty hunter named Blade (armed with a hatchet instead of a gun) is hired by the town's wheelchair bound mayor McGowan and his corrupt associate Voller to track down McGowan's daughter Debra who has gone missing. Blade is unaware that Voller kidnapped Debra and is secretly working for a group of outlaws who are looting shipment of silver from the silver mines that are run the mine owner McGregor. Caught up in Suttonville's affairs, Blade not only has Voller and the outlaws to deal with, he also goes to settle a score with McGowan (who was responsible for the death of Blade's father) and takes on Voller and his gang who are out to gun him down.

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Plot Keywords:

bounty hunter | silver | gun | mine | silver mine | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller | Western

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

13 August 1977 (Italy)

Also Known As:

A Man Called Blade

Filming Locations:

Elios Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Devon Film, Intes Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The reason the exteriors have so much fog and smoke was because the filmmakers were trying to hide the fact that the studio, Elios Studio near Rome, needed to be renovated.

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Connections

References A Fistful of Dollars (1964)

User Reviews

Not a great deal of originality, but still a brilliantly entertaining western!

Sergio Martino is one of my favourite directors, and the reason for that is mostly down to his excellent Giallo films. While Martino did a lot of work in other genres, he was not especially well known for his westerns despite making a handful of them. A Man Called Blade is the last western that Martino made and also the only one I've seen. However, on the evidence of this film; I have to say that he makes a fine western! The film did come rather late on in the Spaghetti Western cycle and as such won't be remembered for it's originality, but A Man Called Blade is entertaining throughout and that's the main thing. The film takes up the common basic western plot of a nameless man drifting into town and causing a stir. The man is named Blade, called such because his choice of basic weapon is a hatchet instead of a revolver. He arrives in town looking to claim the bounty for an outlaw but winds up getting involved with the town's wheelchair bound mayor and his corrupt associates. Naturally, the outlaw ends up causing a disagreement and fighting ensues!

I didn't know a lot about this film going into it, but was very pleased when I discovered that Maurizio Merli was the leading man. He's an actor I know best for his roles in crime films, and although a lot of his stuff is quite similar; I have noticed over the more recent Merli films that I've seen that the actor does actually have quite a good range, and he fits into the gritty western star mould very well indeed here. Westerns are often best remembered for their scores, and indeed the music here is very memorable, although more because it's so unusual compared to what I'm used to from westerns! Action is a very important element of a successful western and this film doesn't let its audience down on that front as we get a constant stream of it which entertains throughout. Martino delivers fistfights and gun fights in droves. The locations used are excellent and the film does have a rather dirty feel, despite the cinematography being crisp and clear. The biggest flaw of the film as far as I'm concerned is the fact that there isn't all that much to separate it from the rest of the genre; but if you're just looking for an entertaining western, you can't go far wrong with this one!