Following orders from a gringo partner, Gen. Valiente (Tano Cimarosa) arrives in Two Arrows at noon on a Sunday to rob the town bank.
A wedding is taking place; all the townsfolk are supposed to be at church.
But rebellious young Loring Vandervelt (Peter Lee Lawrence) isn’t. He’s hanging out at the local saloon. So is a newcomer to town, Mark Harrison (Luis Davila).
They intervene, forcing Valiente’s small army of henchmen to retreat. Valiente gets away with the bank loot, but it isn’t long before Vandervelt and Harrison have that too.
So they form an uneasy alliance, hiding the bank money until the trail cools to the point where they can split it up and start spending it safely.
Harrison has a reason for hanging around Two Arrows, and it has nothing to do with thievery. He wants to know who Valiente’s accomplices are.
One of them, saloon owner Frank Braddock, desperately wants to recover the stolen bank money.
Of course, so does Valiente.
Peter Lee Lawrence as Loring Vanderbilt, showing the effects of a barroom brawl in Death on a High Mountain (1969)
Luis Davila (Louis Dawson) as Mark Harrison, the man who winds up a partner with Loring Vanderbuilt in Death on a High Mountain (1969)
Review:
A light-hearted romp of a Spaghetti that really doesn’t stand out from a dozen other films of its ilk. And don’t bother wondering about the English title; no one dies on a high mountain.
Tona Cimarosa has the best part as a Mexican general who will never leave his sombrero behind and keeps throwing away medallions of patron saints when things go badly, often hitting one of his men in the eye when he does so.
And, in perhaps the film’s funniest bit, the orders from his gringo partner arrive in the form of a series of drawings so he can pin them on the side of a wagon and explain them to his men. Then he has one of those men destroy the orders by eating them.
Both of the major female roles are of a secondary nature. Barbara Carroll plays Loring’s younger sister, who takes a bit of a fancy to Mark Harrison and is forever encouraging Loring to reconcile with his father.
Agnes Spaak is Braddock’s wife and isn’t bashful about speaking out when her husband’s plans seem a bit wrong-headed.
Agnes Spaak as Mrs. Braddock and Antonio Gradoli as her crooked husband Braddock in Death on a High Mountain (1969)
Barbara Carroll as Daphne tries to convince her wilder brother Loring to settle down in Death on a High Mountain (1969)
Directed by:
Fernando Cerchio
Cast:
Peter Lee Lawrence … Loring Vanderbilt
Luis Davila … Mark Harrison
as Louis Dawson
Tano Cimarosa … Gen. Valiente
Barbara Carroll … Daphne Vanderbilt
Antonio Gradoli … Frank Braddock
Nello Pazzafini … Billiard player
Silvio Bagolini … Stevens
Giampiero Littera … Sheriff
Agnes Spaak … Arlena Braddock
Jesus Guzman … Augustine
as Jesus Areta
Frank Brana … Capt. Young
Rafael Hernandez … Curling
Also with: José Marco, Juan Antonio Elices, Ricardo Valle, Emilio Messina, Antonio Pica, Empedocle Buzzanca, Alberto Plebani, Natale Nazzareno, Rufino Ingles, Manuel Segura
Runtime: 98 min.
aka:
La morte sull’alta collina
Tano Cimarosa as Gen. Valiente, the Mexican bandit leader in Death on a High Mountain (1969)
Jesus Guzman as Augustine, Gen. Valiente’s assistant in Death on a High Mountain (1969)
Memorable lines:
Loring Vandervelt, to a man in the saloon: “When you speak of my father, call him Mr. Vandervelt. Better yet, don’t say anything. You might live longer.”
Valiente’s man who’s expected to destroy robbery plans by eating them: “Couldn’t we burn them? Just this once.”
Harrison: “You just go back into town and something will happen.”
Loring: “Very clear. I’m supposed to be the honey that attracts the flies. That’s nice.”
Harrison: “Don’t worry about it. I’ll be there to be the spider that gets the flies later.”
Loring to Braddock: “I’ll be the best behaved escaped prisoner this jail ever saw.”
Augustine: “I did order the retreat. But nobody seemed to pay any attention.”
Gen. Valiente: “Of course not. They’re all dead.”
Silvio Bagolini as Stevens, who’s also trying to win money off Loring Vanderbuilt’s talent in Death on a High Mountain (1969)
Rafael Hernandez as Curling, the pool shark Loring Vanderbuilt challenges in Death on a High Mountain (1969)
Trivia:
Peter Lee Lawrence will be familiar to Spaghetti fans, but perhaps not Luis Davila. But he played the lead in Dynamite Jim (1966) and a supporting role in Pancho Villa (1972), starring Telly Savalas.
The marked the second Spaghetti for Tano Cimarosa. He went on to appear in two more comedy Westerns — A Man Called Amen (1972) and They Still Call Me Amen (1973).
The elder Vanderbilt, father of Daphne and Loring, in Death on a High Mountain (1969). Does anyone know who plays this part?
Frank Brana as Captain Young, the crooked cavalry officer in Death on a High Mountain (1969)
Jesus Guzman as Augustine with his commander Gen. Valiente (Tano Cimarosa) in Death on a High Mountain (1969)
Agnes Spaak as Mrs. Braddock, helping her husband spot impending trouble in Death on a HIgh Mountain (1969)
Barbara Carroll as Daphne proves that Loring isn’t the only Vanderbuilt with backbone in Death on a High Mountain (1969)
Peter Lee Lawrence as Loring Vanderbilt, sensing scoundrels at work in Death on a High Mountain (1969)
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