Brad Harris is a debt collector named Durango. He’s expensive, but effective. He gives debtors 10 seconds to pay up. And he always keeps 10 percent.
Then he arrives in Tucson, gets suspicious about a man wearing an eye patch, and winds up retrieving $100,000 in stolen bank money.
Bank President Ferguson (Gino Lavagetto) balks at Durango’s fee. But Durango convinces him to pay.
That night, Ferguson’s henchmen steal back Durango’s share. And when it looks like Durango’s going to continue to be a problem, he’s framed and tossed in jail with El Tuerto (Jose Torres), the man who masterminded the bank robbery in the first place.
They break out, and hotel manager Margot (Gisela Hahn) fills Durango in on what’s happening in Tucson.
Ferguson lends money to everyone, it seems. Then he demands payment, far sooner than they can afford. When they can’t pay, he seizes their property. It happened with her own father, who once owned the hotel. Now he’s dead and she works for Ferguson.
Before long, the debt collector and the bandit are working together.
Brad Harris as Durango in Durango is Coming, Pay or Die (1971)
Jose Torres as El Tuerto in Durango is Coming, Pay or Die (1971)
Review:
Nearly everything in the film seems like an imitation of something that came before it, from our cool Clint Eastwood-esque hero to Torres with his Eli Wallach impersonation.
Harris — called Django in the English version of the film I watched — does have a slick habit of not being tied down by the ladies. And he always collects his 10 percent, even when he’s working on the side of right.
The plot includes a poisonous snake, a fake suicide and main characters who learn morse code so they can steal secrets from the telegraph office that sits next to the hotel.
The cast features Gino Lavagetto as the primary villain. He tries hard, but doesn’t come off as very sinister. In fact, you’re likely to wonder why his two goons put up with him and don’t just take his money themselves.
Gino Lavagetto as Ferguson, the crooked banker, in Durango is Coming, Pay or Die (1971)
Emilio Messina as Diego Avellana, the bandit leader who works with Durango, in Durango is Coming, Pay or Die (1971)
Directed by:
Roberto Bianchi Montero
Cast:
Brad Harris … Durango
Jose Torres … El Tuerto
Gisela Hahn … Margot
Maretta Procaccini … Jane Sullivan
as Maretta
Gino Lavagetto … Ferguson
Roberto Messina … Morris
Ivo Scherpiani … Sullivan
Emilio Zago … The Reverend
Emilio Messina … Diego Avellana
Gino Turini … Esquimindi
Other credited cast members: Gisleno Procaccini, Claudio Trionfi, Franco Pasquetto, Irio Fantini, Attilio Dottesio, Sandro Scarcilli, Virgilio Ponti, Fulvio Pellegrino, Fortuanato Arena, Giovanna Cianfriglia, Gaetano Scala, Domenico Cianfriglia, Arnaldo Dell’Acqua, Omero Capanna, Vincenzo Maggio, Bruno Arie
Runtime: 1oo min.
aka:
Arriva Durango, paga o muori
Music: Lallo Gori
Gisela Hahn as Margot, the hotel manager who takes a liking to the hero, in Durango is Coming, Pay or Die (1971)
Maretta Procaccini as Jane Sullivan, a settler’s daughter, in Durango is Coming, Pay or Die (1971)
Memorable lines:
Ferguson: “Offer you a cigar?”
Durango: “No thanks. I find that smokin’ slows me down. And I need to draw fast.”
Durango, reciting his calling card when he’s about to collect a debt: “You’ve got 10 seconds.”
Durango to Tuerto: “Put your patch on. It improves your looks.”
Townsman, watching Ferguson’s funeral procession; “May his lousy soul rest in peace, even though he was a bastard. That’s what I say.”
Ivo Scherpiani as Sullivan, a settler our hero helps, in Durango is Coming, Pay or Die (1971)
The banker Ferguson’s henchmen in Durango is Coming, Pay or Die (1971)
Trivia:
According to the good folks with the Spaghetti Western Database, this was the second of a planned three-movie series of films starring Brad Harris as Sabata. But after “Wanted Sabata,” his character became “Durango” for this film, which was followed by “Django … Adios,” made up of mostly already shot footage sliced together for a new movie. Harris’ character is called Django in the English version of this film that I watched.
Gisela Hahn might be familiar to Spaghetti fans from her role as Sarah in “My Name is Trinity.” She also had a small role in “Don’t Turn the Other Cheek” (1971). In 1980, she’d play the female lead in the comedy musical “White Pop Jesus,” in which disco Jesus comes back to earth to battle the Italian mafia.
The Sheriff in Durango is Coming, Pay or Die (1971)
Brad Harris as Durago with Maretta Procaccini as Jane Sullivan and Ivo Scherpiani as Pa Sullivan in Durango is Coming, Pay or Die (1971)
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