Last of the Renegades (1964)

Pierre Brice is Winnetou, who saves a pretty young Indian girl named Ribanna from an attacking bear, saving her life.

When her father, Tah-Sha-Tunga, offers him any favor in return, Winnetou asks to spare the life of three soldiers — including Lt. Robert Merril (Terence Hill) — staked out in the Indian village. Winnetou is seeking peace for the Indians.

But not everyone thinks that way. As the three soldiers are riding back to their fort, they stumble upon renegades attacking a Ponka village and killing men, women and children.

Merril’s own father commands the nearby fort; he too mistrusts the Indians and would rather attack them than talk peace.

As for those renegades, they were agents of a businessman named Forrester who wants war between the whites and Indians so he can move in on the tribes’ old-rich land. And he’ll do pretty much anything to stir up hostilities.

Winnetou and Old Shatterhand (Lex Barker) try to get to the bottom of his skulduggery. Meanwhile, the peace talks take a heart-breaking turn for Winnetou. Lt. Merril proposes forging peace by wedding Ribanna — the very woman Winnetou hopes to wed — and her father agrees to the union.

Review:

The fourth and one of the better Winnetou outings, with enough plot twists to keep things interesting. Plus there’s the presence of Terence Hill in an early role as a cavalry officer and Klaus Kinski as leader of the renegades who attack the Indian village.

There’s also a nicely filmed climatic battle in a cave. Merril, Ribanna and some other Indians have taken refuge there. Forrester and his men track them down and take them hostage.

Soon, Shatterhand shows up, forcing a confrontation. Forrester demands supplies and an escape route, otherwise he’ll kill his hostages. Shatterhand stalls, knowing the cavalry is on the way, hoping Winnetou is on his way as well. But will they get there in time?

Of course, you’d better suspend any notion that the film is historically correct. Winnetou’s brand of Apaches live in the lush northwest, amid waterfalls, a beach and a lush, green landscape. The opening tussle with a man in a bear costume is pretty hokey, too, but the film does get better.

Directed by:
Harald Reinl

Cast:
Lex Barker … Old Shatterhand
Pierre Brice … Winnetou
Anthony Steel … Bud Forrester
Karin Dor … Ribanna
Klaus Kinski … David “Luke” Lucas
Renato Baldini … Col. Frederick Merril
Terence HIlll … Lt. Robert Merril
as Mario Girotti
Marie-Noelle Barre … Susan Merril
Ilija Ivezic … Red
Velemir Chytil … Carter
Stole Arandejelovic … Caesar
Djordje Nenadovic … Capt. Bruce
as George Heston
Mirki Boman … Uncle Gunstick
Rikard Brezeska … Tah-Sha-Tunga
Eddi Arent … Lord Castlepool
Peter Dobric … Chapatan
Gojko Mtic … White Bird

Other cast members: Antun Nalis, Vlaent Borovic, Rdui Sterpin, Jurica Dijakovic, Kasim Kuckovic, Jura Katanec, Sime Jagarinac, Jozo, Kovacevic, Ivo Kristof, Miroslav Buhin, Aleksandar Gavric, Tomo Cvitanovic, Curt Ackerman, Charles Wakefield

aka:
Winnetou: The Red Gentleman
Winnetou 2

Runtime: 93 min.

Memorable lines:

Lt. Robert Merril: “You madmen. You’ll pay for this; take my word. Are you crazy? Slaughtering Indians for no reason at all?”
Lucas: “The only good ones are dead ones.”
Lt. Merril: “I’ll see you on the gallows.”

Prairie Poet: “If grass don’t grow and the goose don’t cry, why it ain’t July. If I blast a rat and he don’t die, it’s a filthy lie.”

Winnetou: “When Ribanna met Winnetou, why did she not mention she was the only child of the chief?”
Ribanni: “My tribe say, if a woman talk too much, she will always live alone.”

Forrester: “Tell me, where’s your friend (Shatterhand) now?”
Castlepool: “I don’t know, sir.”
Forrester: “You really don’t know?”
Castlepool: “Definitely not.”
Forrester: “Oh, that’s too bad. You’ll have to stay here until you can remember.” Turning to his men. “Tie him to that pole so the sun can warm his brain a little.”

Forrester: “You can’t make a fool of me. If the horses aren’t up in two minutes, the women’s tongues get cut out.”

Trivia:

In a review of this film on The Spaghetti Western database, Simon Gelten reports that three bears from a German circus were flown to Croatia for filming and that he trainer even wore a Winnetou costume en route to familiarize the animals. Still, the trainer had to wear a bear costume for the actual fight sequence.

By the time this film was made, Klaus Kinski had already appeared in more than two dozen films. But this marked just his second Western, following a role in 1964’s “The Last Ride to Santa Cruz.” When we meet him in this film, he’s directing an attack on a nearly defenseless Indian village in an attempt to stir up hostilities.

And this film actually marked Terrence Hill’s Western debut. He was still officially using his real name, Mario Girotti, at the time. He would also appear in 1964’s “Amongst Vultures” and 1965’s “Old Surehand.” He didn’t officially use the Terrence Hill moniker until 1967’s “God Forgives, I Don’t.”

In an interview, Pierre Brice said this was his favorite of the Winnetou films. “The scene in the stalactite cave is my favorite when Karin Dor calls me “What does Winnetou’s heart say?” and I answer “Ribanna”. “Winnetou III” was also very interesting and best made in technical terms.”