Sabata the Killer review

Review of Sabata the Killer aka Arriva Sabata! (1970).

Plot

Bank robbers Sabata (Anthony Steffen) and the Mexican Mangosta (Eduardo Fajardo) cause a lot of commotion with their automobile when they arrive in town. Mangosta first walks into a shop to buy a pair of knitting needles. Not to use as a weapon, but because he is going to knit a sweater! When they enter the bank, bank clerk Peter (Peter Lee Lawrence) recognizes Mangosta from a wanted poster, so he puts $4,000 from the register in his own pocket. As a result the bank robbers only have a loot of $985. This suits Peter well, because the money allows him to pay off his gambling debts to Mr. Garfield. And he also has $2,000 left.

When the bank robbers read in the newspaper that $5,000 was stolen from the bank, they know they have been tricked by bank clerk Peter. They return to town to con him into giving them the rest of the loot. But Peter has already gambled it all away and has a new debt to Mr. Garfield of $10,000. Mr. Garfield offers Peter a way out if he agrees to cooperate as an insider in a bank stagecoach robbery. Shortly after Peter is confronted by Sabata and Mangosta for the missing loot. He decides to switch sides and to pull off the robbery with Sabata and Mangosta. This earns him much more money than working with Mr. Garfield. The robbery went smoothly, except for the fact that they are closely followed by Mr. Garfield and the sheriff. Sabata, Mangosta and Peter hid the loot in an abandoned mine. The next step is to get rid of the showy automobile which also leaves tire tracks. They trade the automobile for horses but it turns out to complicate things. Because now they are mistaken for horse thieves. The three men now depend on each other to survive and eventually retrieve the loot. But not everyone sticks to the plan. Even the knitted sweater from Mangosta will play a role in the denouement!

Comment

The Arriva Garringo poster with the three protagonists shooting from the automobile really appealed to me. When I saw the names of Anthony Steffen and Peter Lee Lawrence on the poster, it raised my expectations. And I can't say I was disappointed. The automobile vs. horse shootouts were well filmed and very entertaining. A big letdown was the music. The action scenes are supported by slapstick music while the scenes are not very funny. It’s striking that the film becomes more comical near the end, but the music becomes more serious and is more often omitted. Director Tulio Demicheli seems to have gone all out to make an all-encompassing comedy western. Some scenes are laughable, like the knitted sweater, but I’m still not sure whether that is positive. But it definitely isn’t enough for a good comedy western movie.

Aside from the music, I thought the first hour of the movie was pretty good. After this hour the story seems to come to an end, but then suddenly everything accelerates. A lot happens in the last half hour and considerable time jumps are made. The film becomes more and more unbelievable and absurd and that’s a pity. The last part felt unnecessary and I lost my interest a bit. I’d prefer it if the movie was a bit slower, with more background information, dialogue and character development. Because the three main characters are fascinating. I liked the acting and the chemistry between the actors. The themes about friendship, loyalty and suspiciousness were interesting.

Final Verdict: 6/10

Director Tulio Demicheli made four spaghetti westerns and this is the first one I have seen. It seems to be the most notable movie from this director. A few years after Sabata the Killer (1970) he made his last spaghetti western, also starring Anthony Steffen. It’s called Uno, dos, tres... dispara otra vez (1973) aka Tequila.

Conclusion

Sabata the Killer is an entertaining movie. Especially the first part contains nice action scenes with the use of an automobile. The mismatched slapstick music is a big letdown. The film has a good cast and the three protagonists form an interesting alliance. Unfortunately, the story jumps in the last half hour and felt unnecessary and a bit absurd. But there is enough of action and entertainment for the true spaghetti western fan.

Written and published by Meceita, August 16, 2023.