Stranger in Sacramento (1965) - Once Upon a Time in a Western

Mickey Hargitay is Mike Jordan, a cowboy off scouting for water for a thirsty herd of cattle when he’s forced to gun down two men determined to run him off the land.

He then returns to find the herd gone; his father and two brothers dead, killed by the rustlers.

Vowing vengeance, Jordan sets out to report the attack to the local sheriff and find out who was responsible.

But getting justice might prove difficult. Because his herd is now in the hands of a rich rancher named Barnett, who calls the shots — and controls the law — in these here parts.

For help, Jordan turns to a horse thief named Chris (Aldo Berti), whom he’s rescued from a whipping; and a pretty woman named Liza (Gabriella Giorgelli0), who blames Barnett for her sister’s death and for turning her husband into a cowardly, drunken outlaw.

After more than one brush with death, Jordan decides to best way to reach Barnett might be his daughter Rona (Barbara Frey), a feisty young woman who won’t believe anything bad about her father.

Mickey Hargitay as Mike Jordan, playing a dangerous game with a horse thief named Chris in Stranger in Sacramento (1965)

Gabriella Giorgelli as Liza Morgan in Stranger in Sacramento (1965)

Review:

One of those early Italian Westerns that are chock full of action, with a heavy dose of melodrama rather than the Spaghetti style that would soon become so popular.

As a result, we have Hargitay — who no one will ever mistake for Clint Eastwood — not only seeking revenge for his family, but wooing Liza Morgan with offers of a better life than her husband can provide.

Which seems like a pretty dicey proposition at the time, since she’s just nursed him back from a nearly fatal stab wound. And since he was nearly lynched before being knifed. And since all of Barnett’s men want him dead.

Mario Lanfranchi plays the villain of the piece. His cruelty is at least partly fueled by the fact that he’s been crippled, losing the use of his right hand at some point.

Aldo Berti plays Chris, the rascal who helps Mike Jordan. Yep, you heard that right, he’s a horse-stealing, rifle-stealing rascal and seems like an odd choice of friends for a hero looking to uphold the law.

Mario Lanfranchi (Johnny Jordan) as Barnett, the rich rancher behind the trouble in Stranger in Sacramento (1965)

Barbara Frey as Rona Barnett, the rich rancher’s daughter in Stranger in Sacramento (1965)

Directed by:
Sergio Bergonzelli
as Serge Bergnon

Cast:
Mickey Hargitay … Mike Jordan
Gabriella Giorgelli … Liza Morgan
Aldo Berti … Chris
as Steve Saint-Claire
Luciano Benetti … Mel Morgan
as Lucky Bennett
Mario Lanfranchi … Barnett
as Johnny Jordan
Barbara Frey … Rona Barnett
Giulio Marchetti … Sheriff Joe
as James Hill
Franco Gula … Sourdough
Attilio Severini … Barrett henchman
as Big Matthews
Giuseppe Mattei … Aaron
as Joseph Matthews
Ariel Brown … Emily
as Ann Brown
Renato Chiantoni … Deputy
Salvatore Campochairo … Doctor

Runtime: 105 min.

aka:
Uno straniero a Sacramento

Music: Felice Di Stefano

Aldo Berti (Steve Saint-Claire) as the horse thief Chris consider helping Mike Jordan in Stranger in Sacramento (1965)

Luciano Benetti (Lucky Bennett) as Mel Morgan, back home from another drunk in Stranger in Sacramento (1965)

Memorable lines:

Mike Jordan, to the sheriff, sharing the news of the ambush and his killing of two attackers: “I’m not a murderer. I didn’t ride all these miles and wake you up in the middle of the night just to tell you stories.”

Mike Jordan to Rona Barnett: “It’s risky trusting you, but I will.”

Steve, after shooting the end off the cigar Mike Jordan is smoking: “Little game my grandma taught me. I think she wanted me to quit smoking.”

Barnett to Rona: “You’re a flirt, just like your mother. The same character, the same blood. I took you away from her when you were a baby to get your out of all that. But I guess blood will always tell.”

Barnett to Mel Morgan, about his wife Liza: “You must kill her. A cheating woman is waiting to die.”

Giulio Marchetti (James Hill) as Sheriff Joe, gathering a posse in Stranger in Sacramento (1965)

Renato Chiantoni as the deputy, caught by surprise again in Stranger in Sacramento (1965)

Trivia:

Mickey Hargitay is best known as Mr. Universe 1955 and the husband of Jayne Mansfield, though they were divorced by the time this film was released. It marked the first of several Spaghetti Westerns in which Hargitay would appear. He previously made a pair of sword and sandal films in Europe.

Oh, and the plot finds a couple of excuses to strip Hargitay to the waist, allowing him to show off his muscled body. At one point, he rips his shirt to shreds and wraps the pieces around his horse’s hooves so he can’t be tracked.

Ever wonder about those huge sums of money bandits steal from banks, or gamblers lose at poker in the 19th Century West? No such worries is this film. Hargitay’s Mike Jordan convinces Aldo Berti’s horse thief to help him with an offer of a dozen of so easily recognizable one dollar bills.

This also marked the Spaghetti Western debut of Gabriella Giorgelli, who would wind up appearing in eight such films. She started her film career after advancing to the finals of the 1961 Miss Italy pageant.