Il Grande Duello [The Big Showdown] [The Grand Duel] *** (1972, Lee Van Cleef, Alberto Dentice, Jess Hahn, Marc Mazza, Horst Frank) – Classic Movie Review 7814

Director Giancarlo Santi’s 1972 exciting, typically violent Spaghetti Western Il Grande Duello [The Big Showdown] [The Grand Duel] stars Lee Van Cleef as veteran gunfighter Sheriff Clayton, who takes a young hotshot called Philip Vermeer (Peter O’Brien, real name Alberto Dentice) under his wing as they set about ridding a wayward town of a crooked gang.

The star is great value here, as always, and it is a grand showcase for him, though some of the actors and technicians around him let the show down a little, and the hand-me-down plot is inexpertly borrowed from all over the place. However, Luis Bacalov and Sergio Bardotti’s score and Mario Vulpiani’s cinematography are distinguished elements.

Marc Mazza plays Sheriff Eli Saxon, the son of town patriarch Samuel Saxon (Horst Frank), who, when his father is killed, sets out to avenge his death at the hands of the villains.

The UK version is cut by five seconds to remove the shot of a horse fall. Luis Bacalov and Sergio Bardotti’s score is re-used in Kill Bill Vol 1.

Also in the cast are Jess Hahn, Antonio Casale, Klaus Grünberg, Dominique Darel, Alessandra Cardini, Gastone Pescucci, Elvira Cortese, Anna-Maria Gherardi, Hans Terofal, Mimmo Rizzo and Giovanni Filidoro.

Il Grande Duello [The Big Showdown] [The Grand Duel] is directed by Giancarlo Santi, runs 92 minutes, is made by Mount Street Film, Corona Filmproduktion,Terra-Filmkunst, and Société Nouvelle de Cinématographie (SNC), is released by Cinema Shares International Distribution (US), is written by Ernesto Gastaldi, is shot by Mario Vulpiani, is produced by Alfonso Sansone, Henryk Chroscicki and Ettore Roisboch, is scored by Luis Bacalov and Sergio Bardotti, and designed by Francesco D’Andria.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7814

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