Review: Sabata

Lee Van Cleef is the title character, who is investigating a bank robbery in a small Texas town. The bank was heavily guarded by Army soldiers, all of whom were gunned down. Sabata finds and kills the robbers and returns the money. What Sabata doesn’t yet realise is that the robbery was actually orchestrated by corrupt town officials like the effete governor Stengel (Franco Ressel). They’re not happy with this, and put up a reward for anyone willing to kill the man. William Berger plays a smirking banjo player whose instrument hides a deadly surprise, and whose allegiance is largely to himself. Ignazio Spalla plays the town drunk, essentially a chatty, chubby counterpart to the lithe, monosyllabic Sabata.

 

One of Lee Van Cleef’s better spaghetti westerns, this 1969 film from director Gianfranco Parolini and co-writer Renato Izzo is pretty damn cool, just like its star. Cool from moment one, Van Cleef was truly versatile, able to play either side of the fence with ease and macho coolness. To me is the pre-eminent star of the subgenre, not Clint Eastwood or Franco Nero, or Terence Hill etc. A smirking, smug William Berger and the Bud Spencer-ish Ignazio Spalla are also rock-solid, in what is kind of a Sergio Leone-esque trio of outlaw characters alongside Van Cleef (essentially in the Clint Eastwood role this time). Pale-eyed Franco Ressel is also quite good in a foppish villain part, and there’s a lot of cool little directorial flourishes throughout as well. The director might be a 2nd rate Sergio Leone, but he sure is a lively and entertaining 2nd rate Sergio Leone (when most of these films were helmed by the 3rd and 4th rate Leone imitators, let’s be honest). I just wish the plot were handled a little more clearly, it takes a fair while before you manage to get your bearings.

 

Like most spaghetti westerns after “A Fistful of Dollars”, this owes pretty much everything to Sergio Leone. However, for a Leone knock-off this is one of the better and cooler ones. Solid performances, slightly confusing plot. A must for Lee Van Cleef fans, though William Berger’s banjo-gun nearly steals the show. Damn good, Morricone-esque music score by Marcello Giombini is another highlight.

 

Rating: B-

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