Adiós Sabata, Hello Maximilian The First!

Adiós, Sabata is directed by Gianfranco Parolini (AKA: Frank Kramer) and Parolini co-writes the screenplay with Renato Izzo. It stars Yul Brynner, Dean Reed, Ignazio Spalla, Gerard Herter, Pedro Sanchez, Joseph Persaud, Salvatore Borgese and Susan Scott. Music is by Bruno Nicolai and the Technicolor/Techniscope cinematography is by Sandro Mancori.

The second of what would eventually be known as The Sabata Trilogy, we here have Brynner stepping into the shoes previously worn by Van Cleef. We are in Mexico under the self imposed rule of Emperor Maximilian I, and Sabata is hired by guerrilla leader Señor Ocaño to steal a wagonload of gold from the Austrian army. Unfortunately the gold has already been appropriated by Colonel Skimmel and so Sabata and his dubious cohorts set about stealing the gold back.

This has all the good and bad hallmarks of Spaghetti Western film making, the action is outrageously entertaining, the weaponry and methods of death and destruction are enterprising, and the lead man is cool and quippy. Conversely it’s all very absurd and the plot is wafer thin – but Spaghetti Western fans kind of embrace these as virtues and have a good time if the film isn’t insulting one’s expectation levels. There’s a less comedic tone running through this one than that of the first picture, helped by Brynner’s machismo fronted bad boy act. The comedy that is here sits safe within the fruity period set-up, and even as acrobat stunts in battle seem oddly at war with the greed and power hungry thematics pulsing away, it’s easy to just sit in tight and go with the flow.

In the mix we have a toy model ship that actually fires killer ammunition, Sabata’s awesome sawed off side loading lever action rifle (with a chamber for Sabata’s cigar as well), and a man who flings ball bearings with his feet!! Sabata can also play a killer tune on the piano, as can his dubious ally, Ballantine (Reed). There’s the usual Spaghetti trait of vibrant camera workings on offer, likewise the musical accompaniments, and it all builds to a ferocious battle (stunt men earning their keep for sure) and chase finale that has a tongue in cheek charm about it. It’s probably not one that even the hardcore sub-genre fans would revisit often, but while it’s playing it holds the attention and entertains accordingly. 6.5/10