Review of Sabata the Killer

"Gunmen of Rio Grande" director Tulio Demicheli's bloodthirsty European horse opera "Sabata the Killer" shouldn't be confused with either of the two Lee Van Cleef "Sabata" westerns helmed by Gianfranco Parolini or Parolini's own retitled "Adios, Sabata," with Yul Brynner, which was originally entitled "Indio Black." Demicheli's western concerns a "Good, the Bad, and Ugly" trio-Peter Lee Lawrence, Anthony Steffen, and genre stalwart Eduardo Fajardo. Peter (Peter Lee Lawrence of "For A Few Dollars More) plays a bank clerk with a gambling addiction that lands him deeply in debt with the town's leading citizen, Garfield (Alfredo Mayo of "Hell's Commandos"), and nothing that he does seems to deliver him from his problem. One day, two gunslinging bank robbers cruise into town. Sabata (Anthony Steffen of "Stranger's Showdown") and Mangosta (Eduardo Fajardo of "The Mercenary") hold up Garfield's bank. The local newspaper The Globe publishes an account of the robbery, and Sabata and Mangosta are upset when they read that $5-thousand dollars was taken. By twists and turns, Peter winds up in cahoots with these two outlaws who cruise the Southwest in a convertible Ford touring car. Although neither Demicheli nor his scenarists establish a chronological date for this Italian, Spanish, and German co-production, "Sabata the Killer" looks like it takes place around the same time that Sam Peckinpah's fracas "The Wild Bunch" occurred, since they use automobiles and wield pump-action shotguns. Demicheli never lets the action lag, so you're in one spirited shoot'em up after another, while our threesome struggle with the question of how to divide the loot up among themselves. Mangosta ranks as the most interesting character of the three; this sneaky Mexican loves to knit when he isn't shooting adversaries. Unlike most Spaghetti westerns about greed and money, "Sabata the Killer" doesn't let anybody get away with their crimes. After our three anti-heroes mow down a small army of Americans below the border in Mangosta's village, they turn on each other, and the film concludes with all the money that they fought over getting scorched in a fire, while they don't fare much better. Altogether, "Sabata the Killer" isn't a bad European western. Indeed, it goes against the grain, since everybody appears to bite the dust. Demicheli and co-scenarists Florentino Soria and Nino Stresa of "Viva! Django" punish everybody involved with the money, which sets it apart from countless other westerns. "Garringo" lenser Aldo Ricci's widescreen cinematography is fine, and the cast is as solid as a Spaghetti western can possibly be with the leading threesome who were seasoned stars in their own right of several Spaghetti westerns. The production itself looks really good, too. "Relentless Four" composer Marcello Giombini provides a catchy orchestral soundtrack that enlivens the action. This is an above-average production in terms not only of the cast but also the lush production values.