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

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	...	Reverend 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.

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Plot Keywords:

grindhouse film | mercilessness | surprise | money | stagecoach | 

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Taglines:

The gunman with the deadliest arsenal in the West

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Not Rated

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

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the norwegian cover of vhs tape, not ist the name of the star, Gianni Garko, only the names of Kinsky, Berger and Sidney Chaplin.

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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.

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Quotes

El moreno: You look just like a scarecrow.
Sartana: I am your pallbearer.

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Connections

Followed by Light the Fuse... Sartana Is Coming (1970)

User Reviews

Sartana, angel of death!

It is very obvious why Sartana created an avalanche of sequels, only second to Django. Even if it looks like yet another tale about stolen gold, Mexican bandits and switching allegiances, Sartana feels (and is) different. Of course seen back in 1968, it must have wowed European audiences with its bleak cinematography and nihilistic characters. However, 40 years (!) down the line, and it still feels as refreshingly dark and stylish as ever.

As in with most spaghettis, the plot is near incomprehensible. It has something to do about a stolen shipment of gold and a constant switching of allegiances, as thief betrays thief to get the gold. But, again as in with most spaghettis, the plot isn't the issue at all.

Sartana (1968) is a capsule of pure spaghetti western style. Everything is kept very minimal here, from the scarce dialogues, to the perennially empty town streets. Yet there's a hellish ambiance to proceedings and the nonsensical plot only adds to its psychotronic charm. I gave up trying to follow the plot after a while and just immersed myself in the surreal happenings.

Sartana himself is like a crossover between The Man with no Name (the standard by which every spag antihero is measured) and Django, a black-clad amoral anti-hero. He's not out there to catch the baddies. He's just out for money and blood. His quirky gadgets often bring to mind the other Parolini character, Sabata, but Gianni Garko's character plays on a whole other level. There is of course, the occasional comic relief, in the form of an old gravedigger, but it only confirms that Sartana is indeed a grim western. That same darkness would resurface in Clint Eastwood's High Plains Drifter years later, on the other side of the pond.

Overall, this is a must see for SW afficionados. If you're a fan of Corbucci's nihilistic side (Django, The Great Silence), Sartana will make you cream your pants. Dark, stylish, with a streak of Euro horror running through it, Sartana is a criminally forgotten piece of celluloid. Watch it and find out.