This Italian production is an exciting S.W. movie starred by Paul Sullivan and Klaus Kinski , it is plenty of action , shootouts , double-crosses , thrills , twists and loads of violence and blood . The film deals with a cache of gold turning into several hands and it takes on a strange gunslinger against treacherous gang . This Spaghetti movie gets the usual Western issues , such as greedy antiheroes , violent facing off , quick zooms , exaggerated baddies . As an outlaw called Dan Hogan (Klaus Kinski) and his hoodlums have held up a bank robbery for $100,000 in gold bars . They meet up at Jackal's Ranch , a weigh station for stagecoaches . While waiting for the gold to arrive they meet a stranger , John Webb (Paul Sullivan/Paolo Casella) , who wants half the gold in exchange for guiding them safely to Mexico , but he is really seeking vengeance . John is a tough and rare gunslinger , he's an efficient Pistolero acting as judge , jury , and executioner . Reluctantly , Dan agrees under the condition that they give him fifty percent of the stolen gold they are transporting and they set across the brutal desert for a race to the border with the Rangers hot on their tail . Meanwhile , the nasty gang kidnaps the stagecoach passengers and the freelance gunman named John Webb is betrayed and deceived . John chases the nasty thieves and the ending settle disputes by shooting .
It is an acceptable , passable Western with several titles ¨Renegade Gun" , "Pray to Kill and Return Alive" OR "Prega il Morto , Ammazza il Vivo", "Shoot the Living and Pray for the Dead¨, "To Kill a Jackal¨ contains an interesting but twisted plot about a gang rob a bank and then they hire a mysterious man to guide them across the Mexican border in return for half of the loot . It packs violence , double crosses , shoot'em up and results to be quite entertaining , though drags at times , balancing in ups and downs . There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing some violence , crossfire or stunts every few minutes . It is an entertaining SW with lots of action , gun-play and fun . The main starring is Kinski who appears dressed in dark and with a killer look , gaining a reputation for his ferocious talent and equally ferocious temper . Here he plays with lots of gesticulation and excessive gestures . As he is fine , as he ravages the screen , hit and run and kills . It's a thrilling western with breathtaking confrontation between the protagonist Paul Sullivan against the heartless enemies formed by a brutal gang led by Klaus Kinski . This western is made during his Italian period when Klaus starred a lot of Westerns , later he collaborated with Werner Herzog with whom played several prestigious films . They later collaborated on five movies : Aguirre (1972), Woyzeck (1979), Nosferatu, (1979), Fitzcarraldo (1982) and Cobra Verde (1987). As Kinski starred numerous Spaghetti such as Black Killer , If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death , Bullet King , Shangai Joe , Clint the solitary , The Ruthless Four , Nevada Kid , The return of Clint , and specially famous resulted to be his acting in ¨For a fistful of dollars more¨ . There is a very odd implementation of shots in the camera work during some particular scenes as well as a lot of twists and turns , as the film approaches its climax , as in the final and the customary conclusion . Atmospheric Eastmancolor cinematography by Franco Villa in WideScreen , though being necessary a good remastering and filmed in Elios studios , as usual , and El Lacio . Enjoyable musical score by Mario Migliardi , including catching song heard at credit titles .
The motion picture was middlingly directed by Joseph Warren or Giuseppe Vari (1916-1993) and it was filmed in parallel with another spaghetti western, The Last Traitor, which also was directed and written by Vari and Bolzoni in 1971 . Vari was a craftsman who directed all kinds of genres such as Sci-Fi : Urban Warriors , Wartime : Raiders of the Bloody Beach , Adventure : Legend of the Sea Wolf , Nunexploitation : Sor Emmanuelle , Cloak and Sandals : Revenge of the Barbarians , Rome versus Rome , Conquest of the Normans , and specially Spaghetti such as 1971 Il Tredicesimo è Sempre Giuda , 1969 Un Posto all'inferno , 1968 Un Buco in Fronte , 1967 Con Lui Cavalca la Morte , 1967 Un poker Di Pistole , 1967 The last gunfighter and 1966 Deguello .
