Django Defies Sartana

Django (Tony Kendall) returns to his hometown of Tombstone to find his brother, local banker Steve, hanging from a noose. Steve has been executed following accusations that he had teamed up with Sartana (George Ardisson) to empty the safe of the bank, and had assisted his new colleague in the murder of bank manager Mr Singer (Bernard Faber). In reality, Singer had entrusted Steve with the task of confronting Sartana, and paying him to leave Tombstone rather than raiding the bank. A disgusted Sartana refuses this offer.

Believing his brother to be innocent, Django sets out in pursuit of Sartana to discover the truth. The two heavy-weight protagonists stand face to face in combat, before learning that all is not as it seems with Singer's murder, and team up on a quest for justice and revenge.

On locating a copy of "Django Against Sartana" I was immediately convinced that it would be a low budget, fairly average flick, name-checking the established characters in a vain effort to generate interest. But there is no denying that my squinting eyes display the threatening figures of Django and Sartana in front of me. It must be said however, a recent visit to the opticians had highlighted that I have clearly needed glasses for sometime (yet my vanity had prevented it). Reaching for said specs soon confirmed my original expectations - this Django is certainly no Nero (and not even a Hill or Steffen), and Sartana is no Garko. We are talking Z-list Django and Sartana here! Only the vague costume resemblance provides a hint to the identity of these feared gunfighters.

Despite my obvious mickey-taking, I must say that I did really enjoy this film - probably largely because it was such an unintentional parody of the genre to which it belongs (it certainly wasn't for the wooden character acting!). The story did provide some great entertainment though, even if it was fairly predictable. I did also enjoy the effect of the freeze-frame grand entrance of the main characters.

However...... I couldn't hold my hand to my heart and recommend it to anyone. And I guess, truth be told, I never thought I would be able to.