Adiós, Sabata (1970)

Master gunslinger Sabata helps some Mexican revolutionaries steal a wagonload of gold.

Director:

Gianfranco Parolini (as Frank Kramer)

Writers:

Renato Izzo (story), Gianfranco Parolini (story)

Stars:

Yul Brynner, Dean Reed, Ignazio Spalla

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Yul Brynner	...	Sabata / Indio Black
Dean Reed	...	Ballantine
Ignazio Spalla	...	Escudo (as Pedro Sanchez)
Gérard Herter	...	Colonel Skimmel
Sal Borgese	...	Septiembre
Franco Fantasia	...	Señor Ocaño
Turam Quibo	...	Gitano (as Joseph Persaud)
Andrea Scotti	...	José
Nieves Navarro	...	Kingsville Saloon Dancer (as Susan Scott)
Luciano Casamonica	...	Juanito, Village Boy
Salvatore Billa	...	Manuel Garcia Otello
Vittorio Fanfoni	...	Barman
Massimo Carocci	...	Juan de los Angeles
Vittorio Caronia	...	1st Lt. Steiner (as Vitti Caronia)
Omar Bonaro	...	Jesus Rivalta

Storyline

In Mexico, during the rule of the self-proclaimed Emperor of Mexico Maximillian (1864-1867), Mexican revolutionaries and Republican forces try to bring former Mexican President Benito Juárez back to power. The United States in neutral and is going through the pains of the American Civil War. Mexican guerrilla leader Señor Ocaño hires gunfighter Sabata to steal a wagon-load of gold from Emperor Maximillian's Austrian and French forces. When Sabata and his friends, Escudo and Ballantine, finally get their hands on a wagon, they discover it's full of sand rather than gold. They suspect that the gold was stolen by Austrian Colonel Skimmel. Therefore, Sabata and his partners set out to find the gold and give it to the Mexican revolutionaries.

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Plot Keywords:

oppression | black | robbery | dust | small village | 

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Taglines:

There is no crossing him twice.

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Genres:

Action | War | Western

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Certificate:

GP

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

30 September 1970 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Adiós, Sabata

Filming Locations:

Incir De Paolis Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Produzioni Europee Associate (PEA)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was not originally a Sabata film. The original Italian title translates as "Indio Black, you know what? You're a big son of a...", Indio Black being the character played by Yul Brynner, but the title and Brynner's character name were changed for the American release to cash in on Ehi amico... c'è Sabata. Hai chiuso! (1969), the original Sabata film.

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Goofs

AT about 20 minutes, One of the rebels said, "Sabata is in Kingsville TX." The movie is set in 1867, but Kingsville was established in 1904.

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Quotes

Sabata: Ballantine's share goes to my favourite charity... ME!

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Connections

References Django (1966)

User Reviews

OK but should have been better

This is not the same "Sabata" character as in the Lee Van Cleef movies. This character was actually supposed to be named "Indio Black" but they changed his name for the English version. Why they thought that a western with a big star like Yul Brynner wouldn't be popular enough on it's own, and tried to cash in on the Sabata name is beyond me, but studios and distributors did a lot of stupid things to film titles back then, especially with the international releases, so it's par for the course.

Yul Brynner is interesting as the protagonist in this film. Too bad he didn't appear in any other spaghetti westerns. He's no Lee Van Cleef, but he does have a style of his own. His accent makes him sound like Arnold Schwartzeneggar in some parts. Gerard Herter is great as the wicked, Nazi-like Austrian Colonel. I wasn't very impressed with any of the other actors in the movie. Dean Reed was especially awful, and his character, "Ballantyne" was very irritating. I kept hoping he would get killed throughout the whole movie, but that damned Indio Black kept saving him.

The music score is OK, but not as good as most of Bruno Nicolai's other work, and there are very long stretches of the film with no music at all where it probably could use some.

The movie drags a little from the middle to the end. There's lots of action, but it just doesn't have the pizazz or suspense of the really great spaghetti westerns. It would probably be better if it was shorter. Some movies, like Sergio Leone's westerns for example, are able to go on for 2 or 3 hours and not have a dull moment, but this movie isn't one of them. It could have been 15 or 20 minutes shorter.

Overall, the production quality is good, and the story is OK, though it's nothing original. This one is worth watching, but probably for spaghetti western fans only.