If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death

"The gunman with the deadliest arsenal in the West"

1968 1h 35m IT

😐

5.9

MID

★5.9TMDB · 77

Western

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After a stagecoach is robbed and the passengers murdered, a long and tangled series of surprise attacks and murderous double-crosses, leaves the coach's strongbox in the hands of the killer Lasky. It is up to the legendary hero Sartana to track down the missing money and determine just who is ultimately behind the grisly robberies and killings.

“The gunman with the deadliest arsenal in the West”

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Cast

Gianni Garko
Sartana
Fernando Sancho
Jose Manuel Mendoza
William Berger
Lasky
Sydney Chaplin
Jeff Stewal
Gianni Rizzo
Alman
Franco Pesce
Dusty
Heidi Fischer
Evelyn
Maria Pia Conte
Jane

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Gianfranco Parolini
Writers: Luigi De Santis, Fabio Piccioni, Adolfo Cagnacci
Languages: Italian
Countries: Italy, France, Germany

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 1% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

58 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Italy, France, Germany.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Sartana Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Gianfranco Parolini, shot by Sandro Mancori. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Piero Piccioni. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Edmondo Lozzi shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Gianfranco Parolini directs. Sandro Mancori behind the camera. Piero Piccioni scores. Edmondo Lozzi cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Italy, France, Germany. Dialogue in Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Earned back only 1% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
358 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4International production across 3 countries: Italy, France, Germany.
5Part of the "Sartana Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Gianfranco Parolini, shot by Sandro Mancori. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Piero Piccioni. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Edmondo Lozzi shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Gianni Garko and Fernando Sancho and William Berger carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "The gunman with the deadliest arsenal in the West".
11IMDB entry: tt0063568 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Only 77 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Sandro Mancori
Original score: Piero Piccioni
Editing: Edmondo Lozzi
Makeup / hair: Gianfranco Mecacci
Stunt coordinator: Sal Borgese
Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $219
Box office: $2
Return: 1% of budget
Original language: IT
Certification (US): 18
IMDB: If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death (1968)

Part of

Sartana Collection

Clint Eastwood's Man with No Name spawned imitations, variations and shameless rip-offs keen to emulate his success at the box office. Within months of A Fistful of Dollars release, Giuliano Gemma was playing Ringo, who was then followed by Franco Nero's Django, Tony Anthony's The Stranger and Gianni Garko's Sartana each providing their own twist on the Eastwood antihero, and each of them then subject to their own spate of unofficial sequels, spoofs and cash-ins. Sartana tapped into more than just his Spaghetti Western predecessors a mysterious figure, he has a spectral quality, aided by his Count Dracula-like cloak which also nods towards comic strip figure Mandrake the Magician, with whom he shares a penchant for card tricks. He takes pride in his appearance unlike the Eastwood s dusty wanderer or Nero's mud-caked drifter. And there's a dose of James Bond too in his fondness for gadgetry and the droll sense of humor.