The Stranger and the Gunfighter

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The Stranger and the Gunfighter
American film poster
Directed byAnthony Dawson
Screenplay byGiovanni Simonelli
Antonio Margheriti
Story byBarth Jules Sussman
Produced byCarlo Ponti
StarringLee Van Cleef
Lo Lieh
Patty Shepard
Femi Benussi
CinematographyAlejandro Ulloa
Edited byGiorgio Serrallonga
Music byCarlo Savina
Production
companies
Compagnia Cinematografica Champion
Harbor Productions
Shaw Brothers Studio
Midega Films
Distributed byColumbia Pictures (US)
Release date
  • 1974 (1974)
Running time
105 minutes
CountriesItaly
United States
Hong Kong
Spain
Box office$1.85 million (US rentals)[1]

Là dove non batte il sole, also known as The Stranger and the Gunfighter and El kárate, el Colt y el impostor, is a 1974 kung fu Spaghetti Western comedy film directed by Antonio Margheriti and starring Lo Lieh and Lee Van Cleef. The film is based upon an original screenplay by Barth Jules Sussman who received sole screenplay credit as can be seen in the film credits. The names of the other writers listed elsewhere in this article were attached after production ended, to take advantage of Italian tax rebates. It was produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio in collaboration with an Italian company, and filmed on location in Hong Kong and Spain. For English-language release, the film was retitled The Stranger and the Gunfighter and Blood Money.[2][3]

The film's plot involves treasure hunting in the Old West. A martial artist and a thief are tasked with retrieving a buried treasure on behalf of a warlord who formerly owned it. They will have to collect the various segments of a treasure map, while competing with rival treasure hunters.

Synopsis[edit]

Martial arts expert Ho Chiang journeys to America's Wild West on a life-or-death mission: he must retrieve his late uncle Wang's missing fortune and return it to a powerful Warlord (the original owner of the fortune), or his family will be executed. Ho frees the thief who unintentionally killed his uncle after blowing Wang's safe, Dakota, as he is the only man who knows Wang's final resting place.

Upon recovering the body, the pair discovers clues pointing to an apparent buried treasure. Notes on the dead man's body promise that the location of the treasure will be illuminated by a map, divided for security into four segments, each one tattooed as a message on the buttocks of all of Wang's four mistresses. Armed with photographs of the women, Ho and Dakota form an uneasy alliance and set out in search of the map tattoos and the promised riches, only to be closely followed by a bloodthirsty Preacher, who wants to divide the fortune between himself, a strong Aboriginal ringfighter and a gang of criminals.

Cast[edit]

Production[edit]

The Stranger and the Gunfighter was produced at a time when the Shaw Brothers were attempting to branch into more international co-productions, often genre-bending. The same year also saw the Shaw Brothers Studio teaming with the UK's Hammer Studios to produce The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires, a kung fu gothic horror film.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Big Rental Films of 1976". Variety: 14. January 5, 1977.
  2. ^ "Là dove non batte il sole". spaghetti-western.net. Retrieved 2014-04-26.
  3. ^ "Blood Money". hkfilm.net. Retrieved 2014-04-26.

External links[edit]

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