China 9, Liberty 37 (1978)

About to be hanged, Clayton Drumm (Fabio Testi) is granted a pardon.

In return, he agrees to kill a man named Matthew Sebanek (Warren Oates), who has settled on land the railroad wants and isn’t inclined to sell.

When Drumm shows up at Sebanek’s ranch, the older man immediately senses why he’s there, but invites him into his home anyway.

And the hired gunman quickly develops a liking for the older Sebanek, who was once a hired gun himself, killing for the railroad.

Deciding he won’t go through with the job he was paid to do, Drumm announces his plans to leave.

Before he can, Sebanek’s wife Jenny interrupts his midnight swim. The two wind up making love.

Discovering her infidelity the next morning, Sebanek beats his wife until she stabs him in the back, then knocks him out with a rolling pin.

She flees, figuring she’s killed her husband, catches up with Drumm and convinces him to take her to Liberty.

Sebanek isn’t dead. But he’s mad as hell and determined to track down Drumm and his wife with the help of two brothers and a third relative.

As for the railroad? Well, they now have two men on their hit list.

Review:

A Spanish-Italian co-production, filmed in Italy (partly in Almeria) by an American director and a better than average Western, thanks largely to the love triangle element.

And rather than rush the action, director Monte Hellman gives us time to get to know the three main characters, all of whom have weakness, but all of whom viewers might be inclined to root for.

That includes Jenny Agutter as a young, pretty wife, unappreciated by her much older husband, when the viral Clayton Drumm shows up at their ranch.

The action picks up in the second half of the film as Matthew sets out in pursuit of Clayton and Catherine. Figuring Matthew is dead, they’ve become frequent lovers by that point.

And, of course, the railroad sends out its henchman to do away with both former employees.

If the film has a drawback, it’s Testi in the lead role. As good as he looks shirtless, he’s not exactly a great actor. And he wasn’t dubbed, leaving some lines of dialogue unintelligible.

Directed by:
Monte Hellman

Cast:
Warren Oates … Matthew Sebanek
Fabio Testi … Clayton Drumm
Jenny Agutter … Catherine Sebanek
Gianrico Tondinelli … Johnny Sebanek
Franco Interlenghi … Hank Sebanek
Paco Benlloch … Virgil Sebanek
Isabel Mestres … Barbara, Virgil’s wife
Carlos Bravo … Duke
Sam Peckinpah … Dime novelist Wilbur Olsen
Natalia Kim … Cassie

Also with: Sydney Lassick, Richard C. Adams, Yvonne Sentis, Romano Puppo, Luis Prendes, Helga Line, Mattieu Ettori, David Thompson, Tony Brandt, Piero Fondi, Luciano Spadoni, Frank Clement, Daniel Panes, Jose Murillo, Raphael Albaicin, Luis Barboo

Runtime: 98 min.

Music: Pino Donaggio
Song: “China 9 Love Ballad” by Ronee Blakley

aka:
Amore, piobo e furore
Gunfire
Clayton & Catherine
Clayton Drumm
Love, Bullets and Frenzy

Memorable lines:

Sheriff to Clayton Drumm, as he’s about to be hanged: “You know what you’re going to be come tomorrow, greaseball? A big hunk of meat and a little headline.”
Clayton: “That’s better than being a bag of shit every day.”

Catherine: “Who’s Mr. Drumm?”
Matthew: “He’s a gunman. The best around.”
Catherine: “Seems nice enough.”
Matthew: “I think he’s come to kill me, Catherine. Paid by the railroad, I imagine.”

Claytron Drumm: “You’re pretty calm, knowing the railroad is coming after you.”
Matthew: “Well, I never learned how to run.”

Matthew, of the railroad: “It doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done for them. You get in their way, and they’re gonna move you.”

Clayton Drumm, upon Catherine telling him she thinks she killed her husband: “A man’s life for a moment’s weakness. It doesn’t seem like a fair exchange.”

Clayton Drumm: “You’re the second married woman I’ve been with.”
Catherine: “What happened to the first?”
Clayton: “I shot her husband. Right after he killed her.”

Clayton to Catherine: “I’ve always tried to find peace for myself. It’s not good to rely on people or things or new places to make you happy. I need you tonight. And I hate you for it.”

Johnny to Catherine: “All this is because of your whoring. Well, we’ll be planting your stud before sundown.”

Matthew to Clayton: “You ain’t gonna last long, son. There ain’t no soft-hearted gunfighters.”

Trivia:

Check out the credits. Yep, that’s acclaimed director Sam Peckinpah playing the role of a dime novelist who tries to convince Catherine to sell her lover’s story. Peckinpah actually had bit roles in three other Westerns — Wichita (1955), Junior Bonner (1972) and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973).

This mark the last Western for director Hellman and star Warren Oates. Hellman also directed “Ride in the Whirlwind” and “The Shooting” (both 1966). Oates had appeared in dozens of Western TV shows and films, including 1962’s “Ride the High Country,” which bears some similarities to this film.

Jenny Agutter started her film career at age 12, is probably best remembered for roles in “Logan’s Run” (1976) and “American Werewolf in London” (1981) and was still acting in the TV series “Call the Midwife” as of 2020.

The film’s strange title comes from a sign post shown early in the film, indicating the general location of Warren Oates’ ranch. There’s an actual sign post that reads “China 9 Liberty 27” in Beaumont, Texas.

Warren Oates as Matthew Sebanek, ordering a stranger off his land in China 9, Liberty 37 (1978)

Fabio Testi as Clayton Drumm, hired to kill a man he has no interest in killing in China 9, Liberty 37 (1978)