Seen It: If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death (1968)

This past week's near-miss of a snowstorm, and the unnecessary "snow day" that came with it, allowed my the free time to crack into my Spaghetti Westerns 44 Movie Collection and check out director Gianfranco Parolini's If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death (1968) starring Gianni Garko aka John Garko with "The Special Participation of" Klaus Kinski. I am trying to vary the actors with each spaghetti western I watch and though this is my first Sartana film (there four other official Sartana films) starring John Garko, that kooky Klaus Kinski keeps popping of like a bad penny.... in fact, true to typecasting, he once again plays hired-gun, accept this time one who's weapons of choice are throwing knives.

If You Meet Sartana... was also my introduction to William Berger, a smirky Kinski-esque American character actor, who plays the antagonist to Garko's protagonist--though these roles become increasingly more confused as the movie hurtles toward it's inevitable "final showdown" towards the end of the film wherein everyone seems to turn on one another making for a somewhat confusing final reel.

Berger's Lasky comes across as a roguish man-at-arms who, thanks to the actor's performance, is slightly sympathetic despite initiating a number of gunfights. One especially clever scene has Lasky being pursued into a cabin by a rival gang, only to have him sneak out though a window as the camera closes in on a box of dynamite inconspicuously hidden on the porch. Once a safe distance away, Lasky fires at the box thereby intentionally detonating all of the dynamite with the "bad guys" inside. Classic!

All of the tropes of a traditional Spaghetti Westerns are present, including one of my emerging favorites, the old-timer/casket maker who serves as both the hero's confidant and comic relief. This time his name is Dusty, played by Franco Pesce, and in a nuanced addition to the character we learn that he is also an artist of sorts who works as casket maker only through chance.

While If You Meet Sartana... contains a solid story with a number of such character flourishes which tweak the genre, the film's score leaves much to be desired. For better or worse, much of a Spaghetti Western's re-watchability can be attributed to the quality of the score and the manner in which it (when done well) enhance the story being told. Unfortunately, this film's score, by Piero Piccioni, is filled with much too much clanging saloon piano music and some truly odd silences. Ultimately, it is the simple sound of the musical pocket watch Santana employs to spook Lasky throughout, that makes the only positive impression on the viewer. (Though the same thing was done to greater effect in Leone's Fistful of Dollars).

Despite some weakness, I can recommend If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death (1968) as a perfectly serviceable, though with slightly better execution than the run-of-the-mill equivalents. There are many worse ways to spend a snow day...