If You Meet Sartana... Pray for Your Death (1968)

Crooked bankers plan an insurance swindle and hire a Mexican gang to steal the bank's gold but they also pay Lasky's gang to kill the Mexicans.

Director:

Gianfranco Parolini (as Frank Kramer)

Writers:

Luigi De Santis (story), Fabio Piccioni (story)

Stars:

Gianni Garko, William Berger, Sydney Chaplin

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gianni Garko	...	Sartana (as John Garko)
William Berger	...	Lasky
Sydney Chaplin	...	Jeff Stewal (as Sidney Chaplin)
Gianni Rizzo	...	Alman
Fernando Sancho	...	Jose Manuel Mendoza
Klaus Kinski	...	Morgan (as Klaus Kinsky)
Andrea Scotti	...	Perdido (as Andrew Scott)
Carlo Tamberlani	...	Rev. Logan
Franco Pesce	...	Dusty
Heidi Fischer	...	Evelyn
Gianfranco Parolini	...	Gambler (as J. Francis Littlewords)
Maria Pia Conte	...	Jane
Sabine Sun	...	Girl at the Saloon
Sergio Jossa	...	(as Serge Jossa)
Antonietta Fiorito

Storyline

After a stagecoach is robbed and the passengers murdered, a long and tangled series of surprise attacks a murderous double-crosses leaves the coach's strongbox in the hands of the killer Lasky. It is up to the legendary hero Sartana to track down the missing money and determine just who is ultimately behind the grisly robberies and killings.

---

Plot Keywords:

grindhouse film | mercilessness | italo western | surprise | money | 

---

Taglines:

The gunman with the deadliest arsenal in the West

---

Genres:

Action | Mystery | Western

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Italian censorship visa # 52140 delivered on 13-8-1968.

---

Goofs

As the stagecoach chase progresses, the stagecoach and riders get closer to the trees and the curve in the road behind them, rather than farther away.

---

Quotes

Jose Manuel Mendoza: How many times I tell you... that my name is Don José Manuel Francisco Mendoza Montezuma de la Plata Perez Rodriguez... but you can call me General Tampico!

---

Connections

Referenced in The Hateful Eight (2015)

User Reviews

Just an average Spaghetti Western.

I am a big fan of Spaghetti Westerns (the good ones, anyway), and was really looking forward to seeing "Sartana." I loved the film "Django"--I can understand why it was so successful and inspired so many imitation Django-films. But after viewing the English language video of "Sartana", I can't see any reason why "Sartana" inspired any imitators, or was so successful. To me, "Sartana" was just an average Spaghetti, with a high body count--mostly resulting from the villains killing each other. I watched the video twice, and I still don't understand the plot--it was a jumbled mess; perhaps the original Italian version made more sense. Klaus Kinski's role was limited to just a few scenes, with almost nothing to do. William Berger made a charismatic villain, but his personality inexplicably alternated between bravery and cowardice. (And I don't know how Berger was able to recruit gang members, the way he was always killing his own men.) The unshaven anti-hero Garko (who bore an uncanny resemblance to James Franciscus in some scenes) was pleasing but unexceptional in the lead role, his only unique feature was his weapon, a tiny four-barrel pepperbox-style pistol--which in reality, with its short barrels and tiny bullets, should have been vastly inferior in range, accuracy and effectiveness when compared to an ordinary six-shooter. Even the background music was bland. Too many incidents were lifted from the Leone/Eastwood films: the musical watch, the metal plate deflecting a bullet, the eccentric coffin maker. And Sartana wins the final showdown by using a trick, instead of his skill. "Sartana" is a historically important Spaghetti Western because of its success and the number of imitators (in name, at least) that it inspired, but there are many better films within the Spaghetti Western genre.

Details

Country:

Italy West Germany

Language:

Italian English

Release Date:

14 August 1968 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Gunfighters Die Harder

Filming Locations:

Manziana, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

ITL137,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paris Etolie Films, Parnass Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Telecolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1