Winnetou and Shatterhand in the Valley of Death (1968)

Karin Dor is Mabel Kingsley, a young woman determined to clear the name of her father, a major in the cavalry.

He had been assigned the task of escorting a gold shipment from Fort Dawson. Only he never returned and the gold has disappeared.

During a court hearing, the prosecuting attorney argues that Maj. Kingsley has hidden the gold somewhere in Mexico and might be alive and enjoying his newfound riches.

After hearing her pleas and seeing a letter she says will help clear her father, the judge gives Mabel two months to prove that’s not the case.

She’ll get some help, from Old Shatterhand (Lex Barker), who knows the danger she’s put herself in by revealing the existance of that letter.

And she’ll get help from the Indian chief Winnetou, who was with Maj. Kingsley when he died and knews precisely what happened to the gold.

They set out to find it, along with a three-man cavalry escort, plant expert Lord Castlepool and scout Sam Hawkens.

But they won’t be along.

The same outlaws who hounded Maj. Kingsley are now on Mabel’s trail, led by the vicious Murdock (Rik Battaglia).

And the Sioux Chief Red Buffalo would like to get his hands on the gold because of all the guns and ammunition it could buy for his tribe.

Pierre Brice as Winnetou, willing to help clear the name of an old friend in Winnetou and Shatterhand in the Valley of Death (1968)

Lex Barker as Old Shatterhand, trying to keep Mabel Kingsley out of harm’s way in Winnetou and Shatterhand in the Valley of Death (1968)

Review:

The final Winnetou film gets off to an fine, action-packed start, with Lex Barker back in the saddle as Old Shatterhand and a lovely leading lady in Karin Dor.

And though Old Shatterhand avoids killing his outlaw pursuers by stirring up a bunch of bees at one point, it’s more violent than your standard Winnetou film.

A cavalry officer is viciously whipped at one point and nearly drawn and quartered. Another scene features members of the bandit gang being strangled by snakes.

Unfortunately, the film loses it way and much of its credibility the closer our heroes get to their destination.

For instance, Winnetou knows of a special plant he and his friends can rub on their horses to keep the reptiles away as they ride through the Valley of Snakes. He assures his friends their pursuers are ignorant of that ploy.

Then comes the trip into the Valley of Death, which is filled with natural gas. Natural gas that can ignited, Winnetou says, by an evil thought.

Oh, my.

Karin Dor as Mabel Kingsley, spotting Old Shatterhand coming to her rescue in Winnetou and Shatterhand in the Valley of Death (1968)

Clark Reynolds as Capt. Cummings, about to be tortured by Murdock’s men in Winnetou and Shatterhand in the Valley of Death (1968)

Directed by:
Harold Reinl

Cast:
Lex Barker … Old Shatterhand
Pierre Brice … Winnetou
Ralf Wolter … Sam Hawkens
Karin Dor … Mabel Kingsley
Eddi Arent … Lord Castlepool
Rik Battaglia … Murdock
Vojislave Govedarcia … Red Buffalo
Voyo Goric … Wojo Govedarizu
Clark Reynolds … Capt. Cummings
Vladimir Medar … Sheriff
Milan Sosa … Meadows
Brank Spoljar … Maj. Cranfield
Kurt Waitzmann … Col. Bergson
Heinz Welzel … Judge
Sima Janicijevic … Maj. Kingsley

Also with: Vladimir Leib, Ilija Ivezic, Ivo Kristof, Nikola Gec, Vladimir Bacic, Sime Jagarinac, Miroslav Buhin, Valent Borovic, Mirko Kraljev, Dusko Ercegovic, Rajko Zakarija, Drago Sosa, Vladimir Simac, Stjepan Spoljaric, Slavica Orlovic, Vida Jerman

Runtime: 89 min.

aka:
Winnetou und Shatterhand im Tal der Toten
Man with the Long Gun
The Valley of Death

Music: Martin Bottcher

Rik Battaglia as Murdock, listening intently during court proceedings about the missing gold in Winnetou and Shatterhand in the Valley of Death (1968)

Vojislave Govedarcia as Red Buffalo, the Sioux chief after the gold in Winnetou and Shatterhand in the Valley of Death (1968)

Memorable lines:

Sorry, I watched a foreign language version of this film.

Trivia:

* This marked the 11th and last Winnetou film released during the 1960s. It marked Lex Barker’s seventh film as Old Shatterhand and the fifth Winnetou movie directed by Harold Reinl. The series started with 1962’s “Treasure at Silver Lake.”

* Around age 70, Pierre Brice reprised the Winnetou role for a two-part German television miniseries called Winnetous Rückkehr (Return of Winnetou). Brice died in 2015 at age 86.

* Karin Dor was married to director Harold Reinl and had key roles in two other Winnetou films — “The Treasure of Silver Lake” (1962) and “Last of the Renegades” (1964) — and in the “The Last Tomahawk” (1965), a remake of “Last of the Mohicans.”

Ralf Wolter as Sam Hawkens, having lost his shirt, his vest and even his hair at poker in Winnetou and Shatterhand in the Valley of Death (1968)

Eddi Arent as Lord Castlepool, with his mind on a woman rather than plants for a change in Winnetou and Shatterhand in the Valley of Death (1968)

Heinz Welzel as judge, giving Mabel two months to clear her father’s name in Winnetou and Shatterhand in the Valley of Death (1968)

Sime Jagarinac as Chief White Feather, leader of the peaceful Ozark Indians in Winnetou and Shatterhand in the Valley of Death (1968)

Sima Janicijevic as Maj. Kingsley, mortally wounded and sharing a secret with Winnetou in Winnetou and Shatterhand in the Valley of Death (1968)

Rik Battaglia as Murdock, threatening to draw and quarter a young officer in Winnetou and Shatterhand in the Valley of Death (1968)

Clark Reynolds as Capt. Cummings, a cavalry officer asked to escort Mabel Kingsley in Winnetou and Shatterhand in the Valley of Death (1968)

Karin Dor as Mabel Kingsley, willing to trade a key piece of evidence for an officer’s life in Winnetou and Shatterhand in the Valley of Death (1968)

Lex Barker as Old Shatterhand and Pierre Brice as Winnetou, preparing to enter the Valley of Death in Winnetou and Shatterhand in the Valley of Death (1968)

Rik Battaglia as Murdock, threatening Mabel Kingsley for a key piece of information in Winnetou and Shatterhand in the Valley of Death (1968)