$20,000 for Every Corpse (1971)

Dyanik Zurakowska is Helen Brice, who returns home in the middle of a storm to find her husband crumpled on the floor and a wounded gunman in her home.

The husband Dale (Miguel de la Riva) has been knocked unconscious in a robbery attempt. But the gunman soon succumbs to his wounds.

Turns out he’s the notorious outlaw Red Burkett, who’s been leading a war against the railroad company laying tracks in the area. And there’s a $20,000 reward on his head.

Dale collects the reward, but doesn’t have it for long. Ralston, a gunman hired to take Burkett’s place, steals it from him.

Against his wife’s wishes, Dale begins practicing his six-gun skills, determined to get the reward money back.

Against the local sheriff’s advice, he also gets mixed up in the hostilities between the railroad and the bandits.

After all, it’s not just about the reward money anymore. Those outlaws have burned the Brice’s home to the ground, and they need the $20,000 to start over.

Miquel de la River (Michael Rivers) as Dale Brice, the rightful owner of the reward money in $20,000 for Every Corpse (1971)

Dyanik Zurakowska as Helen Brice, worried about her husband Dale in $20,000 for Every Corpse (1971)

Review:

There’s the potential for a decent Spaghetti Western here: A farmer accidentally kills a notorious bandit, finds himself suddenly rich, but has the money stolen and is determined to get it back. In spite of the fact that his wife doesn’t like what the quest for the $20,000 is doing to him or their life together.

But after a very talky first half of the film, the action kicks in. Which isn’t necessarily a good thing because the rest of the film consists of haphazardly filmed shootouts during which the same bend in a railroad is attacked multiple times and a stick of dynamite manages to throw up some dust, but doesn’t do much to damage the railroad tracks.

Then, in the middle of the final gun battle raging in town, Helen Brice comes casually driving her buckboard into town, right into the middle of danger. What? She’s deaf? She couldn’t hear the gunfire?

And come to think of it, there were signs of trouble way back in that opening scene when she seemed much more concerned about the wounded gunman in her home than the husband lying lifeless on the floor.

Jose Truchado as Ralston, leader of the gang opposed to the railroad in $20,000 for Every Corpse (1971)

Guillermo Mendez as the sheriff in $20,000 for Every Corpse (1971)

Directed by:
Jose Maria Zabalza
as Peter Harrison

Cast:
Miguel de la Riva … Dale Brice
as Michael Rivers
Dyanik Zurakowska … Helen Brice
as Barbara Carson
Jose Truchado … Ralston
Guillermo Mendez … Sheriff
Fernando Sanchez Polack … Red Burkett
as F.S. Polack
Jose Maro … Raleigh
Cesar Garcia … Darby (Raleigh henchman)
Enrique Navarro … Merchant
Juan Cortez … Railroad representative

Also with: Ricardo Costa, Ramon Lillo, Manuel Rojas, Antonio Orengo, Jose Maria Zabalza

Runtime 81 min.

aka:
Ehi! Gringo… scendi dalla croce
20000 dollars pour un cadaver

Music: Ana Satrova

Juan Cortez as the railroad boss in $20,000 for Every Corpse (1971)

Cesar Garcia as the bandit Darby, with Helen Brice (Dyanik Zurakowska) at gunpoint in $20,000 for Every Corpse (1971)

Trivia:

* This marked the final Spaghetti Western for Dyanik Zurakowska, who appeared in eight such films. She’d make about a dozen more films — horror flicks, comedies and crime dramas — before retiring from acting, including starring roles in “Sexy Cat” (1973) and “The Vampires Night Orgy” (1973).

* According to some Spaghetti sites, director Zabalza made this film, “Bullets Over Dallas” (1970) and “Adios Cjamango” (1970) simultaneously. Zurakowska and de la Riva wear identical customes here to the ones they donned in the latter film. And some of the ranch burning footage in the two films is identical.

Dyanik Zurakowska as Helen Brice tries to help wounded bandit Red Burkett (F.S. Polack) in $20,000 for Every Corpse (1971)

Dyanik Zurakowska as Helen Brice and Miquel de la Riva as Dale Brice disagree over the wisdom of getting involved in the railroad’s fight in $20,000 for Every Corpse (1971)