Inferior and embarrassing Macarroni or Gazpacho Western with plenty of crossfire , brawls , double-crosses , duels and loads of gun shooting . Barret (Pierre Brice) is an ambitious town boss who is murdering homesteaders for their land through extortion and the use of force, as he is taking over all the properties in the area. But Barret is actually an outlaw wanted for 1000 dollars reward , being nicknamed ¨The Branded¨, that's why he has branding iron on the back . Caulder (Antonio Molino Rojo), a gunman in Barret's service, wields an iron fist with his band . Alerted the army , they send an agent , Ted Mulligan (Steven Tedd or Giuseppe Cardillo), to end the oppression of Barret , but a bounty hunter crosses the path of both . While a prospector (Fernando Sancho) deeply attachment to his intimate mule is eagerly seeking gold and eventually he encounters a gold nugget. Later on , the nasty Barret's henchmen kill his mule and he then seeks vendetta , an usual plot in Spaghetti western . Along the way a mysterious bounty hunter goes after bandits .
¨You Are a Traitor and I'll Kill You! (United States)¨or ¨The Federal Man (World-wide, English title)¨ or ¨Les charognards meurent à l'aube (France)¨or ¨An eisai zontanos... htypa!¨or ¨Una cuerda al amanecer¨ is just a ridiculous and obscure Tortilla Western filled with go riding , fights and duels , though mostly developing in poor scenarios . Lousy screenplay by Manuel Esteba himself who also directed this absurd and non-sense Chorizo/Spaghetti Western . Here appear important main and secondary actors from Spaghetti/Tortilla or Paella Western that give terrible interpretations . It is a Spanish made western that came to the big screen when the top time of the genre was falling down . In fact , the late sixties and 'seventies' is not the best time to find out good spaghetti westerns . It's a Spanish/Italian realization , two country co-production but is clearly dominated by the Spanish contingent and the traditional leanings of the Italian producers of the time have their stamp on the entire proceedings . But this one is pretty bad , it drags a lot , balancing in ups and downs ; turning out to be below average oater with brief entertaining moments when happen shoot'em up . The movie contains typical particularities Spaghetti , as is full of fury , sadism , bloodbaths , gun-down and close-ups of grime-encrusted faces . It does not follow utterly the typical paths of the European western wave around seventies , it lacks both the sarcasm and the Eastwood type of antihero . Stars Pierre Brice , here really wasted and in his worst role ; however he was the unforgettable Winnetou , in this character was sensational , Brice was descendant of old French nobility , after enlisting as volunteer to the French Army and fighting in Indochina, he attended acting lessons and got a first small role in some film . In 1962, a German producer searched for an actor who should play the Native American chief Winnetou on a Western movie adapted from novels by Karl May and got to know Brice at the Berlin Film Festival. He got the role and portrayed "Winnetou" in ten more movies with his co-star Lex Barker as "Old Shatterhand". These very successful productions made him a superstar in Germany, winning several awards such as Bambi or the Golden Otto of teenager magazine "Bravo". Furthermore , received Germany's Cross of Merit, First Class as one the most popular Frenchmen in Germany . Although appearing on countless other movies and TV shows, he will always be best remembered as "Winnetou", whom he also played at the Bad Segeberg open air theater. As Pierre Brice/Winnetou played the following ones : ¨Apache gold(1963)¨ by Harald Reinl, ¨Apaches last Battle(1964)¨ by Hugo Fregonese, ¨Last of renegades(1964)¨, ¨The desperate trail¨, ¨Old Surehand¨ (1965) directed by Alfred Vohrer, ¨Old Shatterland(1966)¨ by Harald Philipp, ¨In the valley of death(1968)¨ by Harald Reinl . Furthermore , here shows up a largely familar cast , with plenty of Spanish/Italian secondaries , all of them ordinary in Chorizo/Pepperone western , such as : Steven Tedd as the agent who seeks justice , Antonio Molino Rojo as a hoodlum , Monica Randall as the love interest , Gaspar Indio Gonzalez , David Rocha , Manuel Muñiz Pajarito, and , of course , the always great Fernando Sancho here playing a good prospector become into an avenger when his donkey is wrongly shot to death, among others .
Incoherent and inappropriate musical score , as well as worn-out and faded cinematography by Daniele Patucchi , adding inadequate exteriors shot in unsuitable Spanish landscapes . Mostly filmed in atmospheric though poor scenarios on location in Fraga , (Huesca) , similar to Almeria , Natural Park of Montseny , Bigas , and a Western village located in ¨Spugles De Llobregat¨ built by Balcazar Productions . In these places were shot a great number of Westerns by Catalonian filmmakers as Juan Bosch , Jose Maria Zabalza , Alfonso Balcazar , Juan Jose Balcazar and others . The film was lousily produced and directed by Manuel Esteba in very low budget , including a lot of flaws , gaps and failures . He managed to make an absurd , inferior Western and filled with thrills , gun-play , attacks , and shots . Esteba was a Spanish craftsman , writing and directing ; working from the 60s in all kind of genres and B movies . Esteba was Second Unit Director or Assistant Director of various films and wrote , directed especially Terror genre : ¨Sexo Sangriento¨, ¨Espectro¨, ¨Horror story¨ ; Softcore : ¨Trampa Sexual , ¨Situación Limite¨ ; comedy : ¨El E.T.E. y el Oto¨, Kalatrava Contra Imperio De Karate¨, and Western : ¨20 Pasos Para Muerte¨ and this "You Are a Traitor and I'll Kill You!" . Rating : 2.5/10. Bottom of barrell .
