Tex and the Lord of the Deep (1985)

Giuliano Gemma plays Tex Willer, a Texan Ranger and Navajo Indian given a mission to track down 300 rifles stolen from the U.S. Army.

So he rides off to the spot where the supply train was last seen, accompanied by Indian sidekick Tiger Jack (Carlo Mucari) and old-timer Kit Caron (William Berger).

There, they find burned wagons, no guns and the mumified corpse of the leader of the patrol.

Their search for answers leads to a crooked rich businessman named Bedford and a Mexican bandit named El Dorado.

But soon, they discover the more dastardly plot behind the stolen weapons.

A mysterious band of Indians, led by Tulac and inspired by the Lord of the Abyss, has built a mountain fortress and started collecting guns and ammunition.

Once they’ve get enough guns, they plan to summon all the other tribes to join them and launch a war to annihilate the white man.

Their secret weapons: Death stones from a volcano. Swallow one, and you’ll turn into a mummy.

Review:

Mix elements from the Spaghetti West with elements of Indiana Jones, then try to turn a popular comic book into a film and the result is: This mess.

Remember, the team of Duccio Tessari and Giuliano Gemma brought us “Pistol for Ringo” and “Return of Ringo,” two of the early gems from the Spaghetti West.

Those films were fun and action packed. This film fails to capture even a sliver of that excitement.

Instead, you’ll find yourself rolling your eyes at the number of times Tex arrives in the nick of time. And probably groaning at some of the lines poor William Berger is asked to pull off.

Pretty Isabel Russinova might have made an interesting villain. But she doesn’t show up until late in the film, then looks on stoically as her world crumbles around.

The scene of her standing, emotionless, as boulders rain down all around her will likely sum up your reaction by that point in the film: Who cares?

Directed by:
Duccio Tessari

Cast:
Giuliano Gemma … Tex Willer
William Berger … Kit Carson
Carlo Mucari … Tiger Jack
Isabel Russinova … Tulac
Peter Berling …. El Morisco
Flavio Bucci … Kanas
Aldo Sambrell … El Dorado
Jose Luis de Vilallonga … Dr. Warton
Riccardo Petrazzi … Lord of the Deep
Pietro Torrisi … Quetzal
Ricardo Palacious … Whiskey salesman
Frank Brana … Jim Bedford
Giovanni L. Bonelli … Indian shaman
Hugo Blanco … Eusebio

Runtime: 109 min.

aka:
Tex e il signore degli abissi

Music: Gianni Ferrio

Memorable lines:

Tex Willer, coming across a tortured Indian: “We’ve got to find out who’s responsible for this. And when we do, he’ll pay for it before his black spirit burns in hell.”

Whiskey salesman: “A big man like you wouldn’t shoot a man who’s unarmed.”
Tex Willer: “A snake’s never unarmed.”

Kit Carson: “Vulture’s Well? A dandy place for a rendezvous.”

Quetzal, when Tex arrives at the Indian village, preaching peace: “How much longer must we listen to the hiss of this white serpent, father?”

Trivia:

This film was an attempt to bring one of Italy’s most popular and longest running comic books, “Tex,” to the big screen. The Tex Willer character was creating in 1948 and initially bore considerable resemblance to Gary Cooper.

This film was supposed to be the pilot for a TV series based on the Tex Willer character. The TV series was never made.

For those wondering, Giuliano Gemma was 47 when the film was made; William Berger was 53.