One Damned Day at Dawn… Django Meets Sartana! is a 1970 Italian Western film about two strangers who team up to fight a local gang.
Directed by Demofilo Fidani [aka Miles Deem] (His Name Was Sam Walbash, But They Call Him Amen; His Name Was Pot… But They Called Him Allegria; Down with Your Hands… You Scum!; Coffin Full of Dollars; Adios Compañeros; Stranger That Kneels Beside the Shadow of a Corpse; Django and Sartana Are Coming… It’s the End) from a screenplay co-written with Mila Vitelli Valenza [as M.R. Vitelli Valenza], based on Fidani’s story.
The Tarquinia Film production stars Hunt Powers (He Was Called the Holy Ghost; Django and Sartana Are Coming… It’s the End; Coffin Full of Dollars), Fabio Testi (Contraband; Rings of Fear; The Big Racket; Revolver), Dean Stratford, Dennis Colt, Dan Reesy and Simone Blondell.
Reviews:
“There’s one good gunfight and not much else happens, to be honest. If you’re watching this and are excited to see inventive weapons and a weird sense of humor — like the other Sartana films — you are bound to find this entry lacking.” B&S About Movies
“Both characters are completely different if not near so to their previous film incarnations and are not given much to do in the lame, cookie-cutter plot. It may not be Fidani’s worst film I’ve seen but Django Meets Sartana gets the dubious honor of being one of the worst spaghetti westerns that I have witnessed…” Blood Brothers
“Django e Sartana will never make a best Spaghetti Western list – despite the decent direction that helps to disguise a shoestring production, the script is just too spartan, never capitalising on the potential of the Ronson character and as a result leaving Fabio Testi looking rather bored throughout proceedings. Still, the film is far from unwatchable and genre completists should find something to enjoy.” Mondo Esoterica
“Django Meets Sartana starts off okay, but it hits a wall during the long dull flashback scene where Testi learns about his predecessor’s demise […] The action comes in occasional spurts, which doesn’t help […] The eventual fight scene between Django and Sartana… err… Ronson is better than the action found elsewhere in the movie, although it’s still not that great..” The Video Vacuum
Choice dialogue:
Paco Sanchez: “I’ll get you if it’s the last thing I … urgh” [dies].
Cast and characters:
Jack Betts/Hunt Powers … Django
Fabio Testi … Sartana / Jack Ronson
Dino Strano … Bud Willer (as Dean Stratford)
Benito Pacifico … Paco Sanchez (as Dennis Colt)
Attilio Dottesio … McLaren (as Dan Reesy)
Simonetta Vitelli … Peter’s Widow (as Simone Blondell)
Michele Branca … Sanchez Henchman (as Michael Brank)
Celso Faria … Frank Cutler
Roberto Danesi … Mordera (as Robert Dannish)
Luciano Conti … Joe ‘The Worm’ Smith (as Lucky McMurray)
Mariella Palmich … Widow Sturges
Franco Pasquetto … Peter Sturges
Pietro Torrisi … Paco, the giant
Antonio Basile … Bart
Nuria Torray
Calogero Caruana … Sheriff Mason
Franco Graziosi
Luciano Pallotta
Joel Moore
Filming locations:
Elios Film, Rome, Lazio, Italy
Technical details:
82 minutes
Audio: Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Eastmancolor
Aspect ratio: 1.85: 1
Original title:
Quel maledetto giorno d’inverno… Django e Sartana all’ultimo sangue [“That cursed winter day … Django and Sartana to the death”]
Trailer:
