Sabata (film)

Sabata (Italian: Ehi amico ... c'รจ Sabata. Hai chiuso!, lit. "Hey buddy ... that's Sabata. You're finished!"), is a 1969 Italian Spaghetti Western directed by Gianfranco Parolini. It is the first film in The Sabata Trilogy by Parolini, and stars Lee Van Cleef as the title character. Parolini had previously had a major success with the first Sartana spaghetti western If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death (1968), but the sequels were given to Giuliano Carnimeo. Producer Alberto Grimaldi contacted Parolini for a similar series of Sabata.[2]

Sabata
Directed byGianfranco Parolini
Produced byAlberto Grimaldi[1]
Screenplay by
  • Renato Izzo
  • Gianfranco Parolini[1]
Story by
  • Renato Izzo
  • Gianfranco Parolini[1]
Starring
Music byMarcello Giombini[1]
CinematographyAlessando Mancori[1]
Edited byEdmondo Lozzi[1]
Production
company
PEA[1]
Release date
  • September 1969 (1969-09) (Italy)
CountryItaly[1]

Synopsis

Sabata, a man of few words, arrives in a small Texas town to foil a bank robbery, and discovers that it was a plot by the town's leaders, who want to sell the town to the railroad. Sabata blackmails the leader, Stengel, who then sends various thugs to try and kill him, among them a conflicted killer named Banjo, so named for the musical instrument he carries that conceals a rifle.

Cast
  • Lee Van Cleef as Sabata, A gunman of almost superhuman accuracy and questionable morals, he solves the majority of his problems with a combination of superior firepower and accuracy. His weapon of choice is a peculiar four-barreled derringer, alongside a rifle with an extended barrel.
  • William Berger as Banjo. the only man in the film who is almost on par with Sabata gunfighting-wise. Hiding out in the town after some unnamed trouble in Denver, he seems to know everything that is going on in the town, and tries to make money from both Sabata and Stengel. He carries a banjo everywhere.
  • Ignazio Spalla (as Pedro Sanchez) as Carrincha, a fat alcoholic Civil War veteran who hurls knives at people between rants about the dullness of civilian life and the worthlessness of medals. The majority of his sentences end in insane laughter.
  • Aldo Canti (as Nick Jordan) as Indio/Alley Cat, Carrincha's only "friend", Alley Cat is a silent Indian who performs amazing acrobatics and can escape any pursuer.
  • Linda Veras as Jane, a saloon girl who is attracted to Banjo.
  • Franco Ressel as Stengel, the effeminate villain of the story, he engineered the robbery that set the whole plot in motion. Very smug in the belief that he is superior to the rest of humanity, he kills people with a dart gun concealed in a cane.
  • Antonio Gradoli (as Anthony Gradwell) as Ferguson, one of Stengel's increasingly reluctant partners in crime.
  • Claudio Undari (as Robert Hundar) as Oswald
  • Gianni Rizzo as Judge O'Hara, another of Stengel's increasingly reluctant partners in crime.

Release

Sabata was released in Italy in September 1969.[3]

References

Footnotes
  1. Hughes 2004, p. 217.
  2. http://www.thewildeye.co.uk/blog/reviews/sabata/
  3. Hughes 2004, p. 224.

Sources
  • Hughes, Howard (2004). Once Upon a Time in the Italian West. I. B. Tauris. ISBN 1-85043-430-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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