Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969) posterBandits are terrorizing Clayton City, and they just aren’t stealing money, they’ve started kidnapping leading citizens and holding them for princely ransoms.

Mayor Frank Colony (Franco Ricci) pays the $15,000 ransom demanded for pretty Susy Prescott (Simonetta Vitelli), but no sooner is she freed than the bandits snatch Ricky, the young son of two other well-off residents of Clayton City.

With all other plans to capture the bandits spoiled, including an ambush gone awry, Sartana is recruited to bring justice to the area.

The mysterious leader of the outlaws immediately recognizes him as a threat and puts all thievery on hold until he’s eliminated.

And to make sure that happens, he travels far and wide to hire four specialists, the whip-wielding Buffalo, the knife-throwing Ramirez, the champion strongman Sullivan and a fast gun named Silky.

Even if Sartana survives all those attempts on his life, he still has to uncover the ringleader of the problems in Canyon City.

Jeff Cameron as Sartana, determined to find out who's behind the kidnappings in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

Jeff Cameron as Sartana, determined to find out who’s behind the kidnappings in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

Franco Ricci (Anthony G. Stanton) as new mayor Frank Colony in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

Franco Ricci (Anthony G. Stanton) as new mayor Frank Colony in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

Review:

Somehow, director Demofilo Fidani clearly came up with a bigger budget this time around. One tip-off is the size of the cast.

Unfortunately, it’s also clear he didn’t know quite what to do with so many actresses and actors at his disposal. So he introduces us to lots of folks, then leaves the character development to our imagination.

That said, if you’re going to spend time with a Fidani film, you can do worse that this one. Cameron is in the lead role of Sartana again, sporting much longer hair time time around and still eschewing the garb we typically associate with the character.

We also get lots of pretty females, including the director’s daughter, a well-done final showdown and a villain dressed like a Mormon. He gives orders to his men from behind a painting that has the eyes cut. That way no one knows his true identity.

Simonetta Vitelli (Simone Blondell) as Suzy Prescott, the first kidnap victim in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

Simonetta Vitelli (Simone Blondell) as Suzy Prescott, the first kidnap victim in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

Anna Liberati as Trudy, held at gunpoint in an attempt to get to Sartana in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

Anna Liberati as Trudy, held at gunpoint in an attempt to get to Sartana in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

Directed by:
Demofilo Fidani
as Miles Deem

Cast:
Jeff Cameron … Sartana
Franco Ricci … Frank Colony
as Anthony G. Stanton
Benito Pacifico … Silky
as Dennys Colt
Celso Faria … Ramirez
Pietro Torrisi … John L. Sullivan
as Peter Torres
Roberto Danisi … Buffalo
as Robert Dannish
Simonetta Vitelli … Susy Prescott
as Simone Blondell
Umberto Raho … Von Krassel
Grazia Giuvi … Fanny
Paolo Figlia … Donovan
as Frank Fargas
Paolo Magalotti … Sheriff Benson
as Paul Carter
Amerigo Castrighella … Pete
as Custer Gail
Mariella Palmich … Von Krassel’s lover
Anna Liberati … Trudy

Runtime: 87 min.

aka:
…e vennero in quattro per uccidere Sartana!
The Four Who Came to Kill Sartana
They Came to Kill Sartana

Score: Italo Fischetti

Benito Pacifico (Dennys Colt) as hired killer Silky with Umberto Raho as Von Krassel in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

Benito Pacifico (Dennys Colt) as hired killer Silky with Umberto Raho as Von Krassel in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

Celso Faria as Ramirez, the knife expert hired to kill Sartana in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

Celso Faria as Ramirez, the knife expert hired to kill Sartana in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

Memorable lines:

Tom, Sartana’s friend: “To think of poor Miss Susy being dragged off by those outlaws makes my blood boil. I don’t know what the devil’s gonna happen to this country.”
Trudy, Tom’s daughter: “Ain’t there somebody who can help us out?”
Seconds later, Sartana knocks on the door.

Saloon girl Fanny, after two men try to kill Sartana in a saloon brawl: “It’s evident that someone doesn’t like you.”

Fanny: “Two men have tried to kill you. You know, there might be more. You’d better come up to my room and rest a while.”

Roberto Danisi (as Robert Dannish) as Buffalo, the whip expert hired to kill Sartana in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

Roberto Danisi (as Robert Dannish) as Buffalo, the whip expert hired to kill Sartana in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

Pietro Torrisi (as Peter Torres) as prize fighter John L. Sullivan, one of the men hired to kill Sartana in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

Pietro Torrisi (as Peter Torres) as prize fighter John L. Sullivan, one of the men hired to kill Sartana in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

Trivia:

Director Fidani appears in this film. He’s the guy in shaded glasses sitting near the head of the dinner table in an early scene. When gunfire rings out, he comforts his wife. He does the same in another scene later in the film after their child, Ricky, has been kidnapped.

Fidani’s daughter Simonette Vitelli is the film’s first kidnap victim and his wife Mila Vitelli Valenza is listed as the producer for this film. So Spaghetti Western fans — is there any chance Fidani’s wife in the film is his real-life wife? (See photo below.) That role doesn’t show up in any cast listings I’ve seen.

Paolo Figlia (Frank Fargas) as Donovan, searching for the men who kidnapped Suzy in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

Paolo Figlia (Frank Fargas) as Donovan, searching for the men who kidnapped Suzy in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

Franco Ricci (Anthony G. Stanton) as Mayor Frank Colony, bidding farewell to Susy Prescott (Simone Blondell) in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

Franco Ricci (Anthony G. Stanton) as Mayor Frank Colony, bidding farewell to Susy Prescott (Simone Blondell) in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

Grazia Giuvi as Fanny, Sartana’s lover in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

Grazia Giuvi as Fanny, Sartana’s lover in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

Mariella Palmich as Von Krassel’s lover in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

Mariella Palmich as Von Krassel’s lover in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

Director Demofilo Fidani (Miles Deems) as the man whose son is kidnapped in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

Director Demofilo Fidani (Miles Deems) as the man whose son is kidnapped in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

The actress who plays the wife of Demofilo Fidani's character in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969). Does anyone know who she is?

The actress who plays the wife of Demofilo Fidani’s character in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969). Does anyone know who she is?

Jeff Cameron as Sartana, trying to solve a mystery with at least four killers on his trail in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

Jeff Cameron as Sartana, trying to solve a mystery with at least four killers on his trail in Four Came to Kill Sartana (1969)

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