The enigmatic Lee Calloway – or Sartana by way of an AKA, played here not by Gianni Garko but William Berger – busts the Douglas brothers out of jail in exchange for a half-share of their stolen, hidden, gold.
The quest first takes the outlaws to the dollmaker, played by the ever-reliable Luciano Pigozzi, billed under his familiar Alan Collins pseudonym, who betrayed them to save his own skin.
The brothers extract their revenge, then turn on Calloway, leaving him tied to a chair with a burning stick of dynamite. Fortunately the dollmaker's daughter, who was down by the river while the outlaws visited, returns just in time to save Calloway from being blown sky high along with the cabin.
Calloway picks up the brothers trail once more and manages to get their pistols, though they escape with the horses. A game of cat and mouse then ensues as the Douglas's lead Calloway into the desert, trying to exhaust him, while he, in turn, strives to get them into range…
All the ingredients certainly appear to be here for an entertaining if formulaic and predictable spaghetti western, but something would seem to have gone wrong in the making.
Perhaps seem in its entirety, with this UK edited version shorn of nearly 20 minutes of material compared to the Italian one, it would be better and make more sense – just where does the dollmaker's daughter go once her narrative function has been fulfilled, for one – but I doubt it.
As it is, the pace is already too languid, with writer-director Roberto Mauri – whose undistinguished filmography also includes the likes of King of Kong Island and the ultra-obscure giallo Ciak, si muore – taking too long to get his main story underway and slowing things down still further with way too many guys riding across the landscape shots. The action is also poorly handled, Calloway seeming to almost shoot and dive for cover in slow motion at times.
There are a few nice touches, such as the musical dolls – even if they are an obvious riff on the musical pocket watches of For a Few Dollars More – and the moment where the tubercular George Douglas doubles up as if he has been shot, then blows Calloway a contemptuous raspberry. But they are insufficient to save what is a pretty mediocre film.
There's not much to say about C'est La Vie's Region Free PAL disc of Sartana in the Valley of Death . It's sourced from a German print, cropped from its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio to one of approximately 1.85:1, though the compositions and framing don't appear to be particularly adversely affected. With the exception of the first few words, which are still in German, the film is presented in English dub only. Otherwise, it's a reasonably okay presentation.
The extras comprise a trailer, featuring some cool Rotoscope-style animation work and making it seem as though there's more female love interest for Calloway than there actually is and a perfunctory two-page text biography for co-star Wayde Preston.
Curiously, the disc also announces numerous other spaghetti western releases that are – or were – supposed to be forthcoming.
In sum, a film and disc for genre completists only.
Copyright © K H Brown 2002-2005
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