Have a Good Funeral, My Friend... Sartana Will Pay

Gianna Garko returns as Sartana in the fourth film in the series and its standard stuff; there's some good shootouts, a suspenseful scene in the mine and the cute Miss Giordono, however I didn't find this as engaging as the others and I felt the scenes were tacked on together. The story elements were more baffling than usual. Garko isn't as engaging as he was in the 2nd Sartana film. But it passes the time well enough, but it doesn't stand out too much.

2 Sartanas in one year? One can only imagine how excited people must have been back then. This may have more story than the previous entry but I reckon it also marked the funural of Sartana - or at least the series itself really satisfied as many viewers as it could. There comes a point where you reach an end. Is it a high note? Probably not the best, but still a decent effort and entry I reckon.

The shootouts are there, the Sartanisms are there to a degree (though as I've said before, you could argue they are borrowed from other Spaghetti Westerns) ... if you are a fan, flaws will not come into account and you'll just enjoy. If you just like the genre, you could worse, on the other hand, there are so many other movies out there ... which to watch first?

Bemusing Spaghetti Western with Sartana as tough and stranger protagonist . Sartana is a fundamental archetype in Spaghetti genre as well as James Bond in spy-genre . Sartana ( Gianni Garco or John Garco ) is a freelance gunman who at the initiation of the film works as bounty killer . He's an efficient gunslinger acting as judge , jury , and executioner . Sartana arrives in a small town called Indian Creek . He settles a dispute between a band who killed a prospector . Garco also acts as protector of a young heir ( Daniela Giordano) , nephew of the murdered prospector . It follows the seemingly endless adventures of Sartana in search of a cache of gold buried in a mine . Sartana confronts an ambitious banker (Antonio Vilar ) and a Chinese Gambling House owner ( George Wang ) who is always telling Confucio aphorisms .

The first movie on Sartana as avenger hero is by Frank Kramer (Gianfranco Parolini) interpreted by John Garco , besides it was starred by Klaus Kinski and William Berger . As always , the mythic personage appears elegant and dressed in black and with a killer look . After being continued by Alfonso Balcazar ( Sartana non perdona or Sonora ). Miles Deem directed two Sartanas which are considered as awful . Anthony Ascott(Giuliano Carmineo) realized several movies with George Hilton who replaces to Garco . Hilton plays more natural and roguish than Garco who was cold and peculiar . Garco starred various Sartanas with Carmineo as ¨¨Sartana the gravedigger'(69) , ¨Light the fuse Sartana is coming¨(71), among others. The movie has the typical Spaghetti characters , as the violent facing , greedy antiheroes, bloody and spectacular showdowns, quick zooms , extreme baddies, and musical score with Ennio Morricone influence , it's composed and conducted by Bruno Nicolai, his usual collaborator who creates a fine and atmospheric score . In the picture there are the habituals Western's secondary cast played by the customary plethora of Italian and Spanish actors as the androgynous Franco Ressell, Luis Induni, Robert Dellácqua , Rick Boyd and the Chinese resident in Italy George Wang and ordinary old man Franco Pesce playing his role as gravedigger . Furthermore, two Eurotrash goddesses, the babes named Helga Line and Daniela Giordano . The picture is well set in Elios Film Studios and Cinecitta, Rome and finely photographed by Stelvio Massi . The movie is regular but professionally crafted by Anthony Scott or Giuliano Carmineo and is pretty entertaining . A cult Spaghetti , essential for the genre lovers.

The first Sartana (1968), by Gianfranco Parolini, is such a dark and brooding spaghetti western gem, that I can't help but wonder what could have happened to the rest of the Sartana entries in his, admittedly, more skillful hands.

Gianni Garko returns for the fourth time to play the titular black-clad anti-hero, after being replaced by the suave George Hilton for A Fistful of Lead. Garko is typically good as the amoral Sartana, in a plot that combines in typical Carnimeo fashion, mystery and action. After old prospector Benson is killed, several people try to get their hands on his land. Nuggets of gold, discovered in his burnt down shackle, suggest that the old prospector hit a motherlode. A corrupt banker and a Chinese saloon owner each will try to convince Benson's niece, now the sole heir of the property, that the land is nothing but acres of sand and therefore worth nothing. Sartana, as usual, is out for himself and will try to play everyone. Of course, things are not always what they seem. There are enough twists and turns to keep things adequately interesting plot-wise.

But plot is barely the reason I love spags. It's the pure style that I look forward, those little moments of pure cinematic gold scattered in the form of stylish shootouts, off-beat characters, weird angles and close-ups, and style-wise, there isn't enough to go around here. The production seems kind of rushed, which probably was, given the low production values. With this being the 4th Sartana entry, everyone seems to be on autopilot by now, and Carnimeo just gets things over in a workmanlinke way. Which is why I wish Parolini would have worked on the sequels. Carnimeo, never an A-list name even by spaghetti standards, seems to be more of an employee instead of an artist, just getting things on budget and on schedule for the producers.

Anyhow, suffice to say there are lots of better spaghettis out there. If you're a seasoned veteran, and need a quick spaghetti fix for a Sunday afternoon, Have a Good Funeral Amigo will do just fine. Just don't expect anything mind-blowing.

Garko and Carnimeo cooperated in some good Italo-Westerns in the late 60s/early 70s, most remarkable is the "Sartana"-Series. This is definitely one of the best Sartana-Movies; tough, cynical and with a lot of humor, seasoned with all herbs of an excellent italo-western. The plot has some twists, good shoot-outs and a decent body count. The soundtrack's fine, good work done by Bruno Nicolai. The cast is standard with lot's of Italian b-movie heroes (ruffini, dell' acqua...) I had a lot of fun with this movie and it's worth watching it more than one time. Check out "Gli fumavano le Colt... lo chiamavano Camposanto",another good movie with Garko.