The Grand Duel (1972)

Lee Van Cleef is Sheriff Clayton, a man out to right a wrong, a man determined to see that Philipp Wermeer (Alberto Dentice) isn’t hanged or killed for a murder he didn’t commit.

Wermeer is less interested in running away — and he has several chances — than in returning Saxon City to not only clear his name but to avenge his own father’s murder.

Back in Saxon City, there are two factions — the peasants — Wermeer’s father was their leader — and the Saxons. When Wermeer’s father discovered silver, the Saxons had him killed. Soon after, the patriarch of the Saxon clan was gunned down; the murder was blamed on Wermeer.

The Saxons are a family with ambitions, both financial and political. Eli is the town sheriff, a man obsessed with seeing the responsible man pay for his father’s death.

Adam is the baby, a dressed-all-in-white dandy, and a psychotic killer to boot. David is the new patriarch. He wants control of the silver; he also dreams of political fame in Washington, D.C.

It all leads to a climatic showdown between the Saxons and Clayton, who has been stripped off his badge because he won’t bend to the will of the most powerful family in the region.

Review:

Not the best Lee Van Cleef Spaghetti that doesn’t include Clint Eastwood, but Giancarlo Santi directs his only Western with more style and flair than most.

For instance, there’s a prolonged opening sequence during which Philipp Wermeer is trapped in a way station, surrounded by bounty hunters eager to grab the $3,000 prize on his head.

Lee Van Cleef’s character calmly arrives and walks right into the way station, but not before disclosing the hiding locations of many of the snipers just waiting for a shot at Wermeer.

Santi also fills the screen with memorable faces, in the style of Sergio Leone. One of the most noteworthy is Klaus Grunberg as Adam Saxon, whose face is marred by pox sores and goes into near orgasmic delight whenever he gets to kill someone.

In one of the film’s more memorable scenes, he uses a gatling gun to mow down a wagon train of innocent people.

Nice title tune, too.

Directed by:
Giancarlo Santi

Cast:
Lee Van Cleef … Sheriff Clayton
Alberto Dentice … Philipp Wermeer
as Peter O’Brien
Horst Frank … David Saxon
Marc Mazza … Eli Saxon
Klaus Grunberg … Adam Saxon
Jess Hahn … Big Horse (stage driver)
Antonio Casale … Hoak
Dominique Darel … Elizabeth
Alessandra Cardini .. Anita
Elvira Cortese … Madame Oro
Anna Maria Gherardi … David Saxon’s wife
Giovanni Filidoro … Old John
Hans Terofal … Jo Barrell

aka:
Il grande duello
Storm Rider
Hell’s Fighters
The Big Showdown
The Loner
The Great Duel

Score: Lios Bacalov

Runtime: 100 min.

Memorable lines:

Stage passenger: “The man said, no one should get out.”
Sheriff Clayton: “I’m thirsty.”

Sheriff Clayton: “Do you know how old I am, Philipp?”
Philipp Wermeer: “Who gives a damn?”
Clayton: “Do you think I’d still be alive if I fooled around with kids that like to play with guns?”

Wermeer, holding a gun on Clayton as he prepares to steal his horse: “I’m going north. To Saxon City.”
Clayton: “Oh, that’s great. It’s a nice place. The cemetery’s on the sunny side of a hill.”
Wermeer: “There’s silver on the sunny side of the hill, too. And I’ve got plenty of guardian angels.”
Clayton: “Don’t push your luck too hard. Even guardian angels get tired.”

Clayton, checking out the room he’s being given, bullet holes in the walls: “Are they all like this?”
Hotel worker: “There are others with women. There are others for card games. This one’s for shooting bullets in. Sleep well.”

Adam Saxon: “Suppose I pay you both $25,000. You take Phillip and you keep him away from here. That’s a pretty good deal, isn’t it?”
Clayton: “I’m too old to sell myself. And Phillip is too young.”

Trivia:

Director Giancarlo Santi helmed just three films, but was an assistant director on “Death Rides a Horse,” “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” and “Once Upon a Time in the West.”

This was apparently the only film for Alberto Dentice, who plays Philipp Wermeer, as well as the only Spaghetti Western for Klaus Grunberg, who plays Adam Saxon.

Jess Hahn, who plays the stagecoach driver named Big Horse, was born in Indiana. He appeared in more than 90 movies, all made overseas, most in French.

Antonio Casale as Hoak in The Grand Duel (1972)

Elvira Cortese as Madame Oro, Alessandra Cardini as Anita and the businessman stage passenger in The Grand Duel (1972)