El kárate, el Colt y el impostor (1974)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Antonio Margheriti

Writers:

Miguel De Echarri (only credited in Spanish version)
Barth Jules Sussman (writer)

Release Date:

April 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Western

Tagline:

The fastest gun in the West joins with the most brutal hands in the East!

Plot:

A martial artist joins a hard-hitting gunfighter in the search for treasure while bandits step into their way.

Plot Keywords:

Treasure Hunt | Heritage | Spaghetti Western | Buddy | Female Nudity

Cast

Lee Van Cleef	...	Dakota
Lieh Lo	...	Ho Chiang
Patty Shepard	...	Russian mistress & Her twin-sister
Femi Benussi	...	Italian mistress
Karen Yeh	...	Chinese mistress
Julián Ugarte	...	Yancey Hobbitt
Erika Blanc	...	American mistress
Goyo Peralta	...	Indio
Al Tung	...	Wang
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Barta Barri	...	Sheriff
Alfred Boreman
Paul Costello	...	Wang's Lawyer
Manuel de Blas	...	Brothel Owner
Jaime Doria
Anita Farra
Mariano Martín
Ricardo Palacios	...	Calico
George Rigaud	...	Lord Barclay
Ernesto Vañes

Also Known As:

Blood Money
Là dove non batte il sole (Italy)
Long hu zou tian ya (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
Moneda sangrienta (Spain) (working title)
The Stranger and the Gunfighter

Runtime:

Italy:105 min | Spain:100 min | USA:107 min | West Germany:98 min

Country:

Spain | Italy | Hong Kong | USA

Language:

Spanish | Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Spain:18 | West Germany:18 (nf) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1976) | Sweden:(Banned) (1975) | UK:18 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Company:

Champion films

Movie Connections:

Edited into 42nd Street Forever, Volume 3: Exploitation Explosion (2008) (V)

Soundtrack:

Rye Whiskey

Average but funny and comical spaghetti western

The movie narrates as a Chinese hero(Lo Lieh) tries retrieve the money that a feudal lord gave up at his uncle for inversion in America.The uncle dies and the sole clue to recover it is leading a tattoo message on the butts of his fours lovers(Erika Blanc,Femi Benussi,Patty Shepard).He's helped by an American thief,Dakota(Lee Van Cleef); both go track down until discover the exciting final surprise.

The picture is a collaboration among Italian producer Carlo Ponti and Hong Kong Shaw Brothers ,famed producers of chop socky cinema and in charge of distribution in Asian market. The storyline is embarrassing and absurd but has agreeable moments. The violence isn't crude but slight and predominate the comedy. Lee Van Cleef is very old and with wig,his interpretation is wooden and graceless(Colonel Mortimer and Sentence are left time ago). Special mention to secondary cast:Julian Ugarte who plays a traveller priest with a church roulotte, besides of two Eurotrash babes:Erika Blanc and Femi Benussi. The motion picture takes part of a little genre during 1970 years that blends spaghetti western and martial arts with influence of David Carradine Kung Fu series(1972-1975),thus as example:¨Karate law in the west¨ by Tonino Ricci,¨My name is Shangai Joe¨by Mario Caiano,¨the return of Shangai Joe¨by Bitto Albertini. It's a production Spaniard-Italian and was shot in Almeria(Spain). The adjusted cinematography is by Alejandro Ulloa (Horror express). The film is regularly directed by Anthony M. Dawson. Rating: mediocre but amused.