Light the Fuse... Sartana Is Coming

Light the Fuse... Sartana Is Coming
Directed by Giuliano Carnimeo
Screenplay by
Story by Eduardo Maria Brochero[1]
Starring
Music by Bruno Nicolai[1]
Cinematography Julio Ortas[1]
Edited by Orenlla Micheli[1]
Production
company
  • Devon Film
  • Copercines[1]
Distributed by Titanus[1]
Release date
  • December 24, 1970 (1970-12-24)

Light the Fuse... Sartana Is Coming (Italian: Una nuvola di polvere... un grido di morte... arriva Sartana, lit. "Cloud of dust... cry of death... Sartana is coming", Spanish: Llega Sartana, also known as Gunman in Town and Run, Man, Run... Sartana's in Town) is a 1970 Italian-Spanish Spaghetti Western film directed by Giuliano Carnimeo and starring Gianni Garko as Sartana.[2][3]

Plot

After killing a corrupt sheriff and his deputies in Sandy Creek, Sartana voluntarily surrenders himself to Everglades Penitentiary under the guise of a convict with the purpose of meeting a man called Granville who is imprisoned there. Creating diversions well enough after breaking free, Sartana helps Granville escape from the prison and learns of the deal that got him in custody of the law in the first place. Granville claims to have been double-crossed by his casino business partner, Horace Johnson, in a deal with an outlaw named Monk and the kid brother of corrupt sheriff Manassas Jim, called Joe. The deal was for Monk to obtain two million dollars in counterfeit money from Joe in exchange for half a million dollars in gold, and Johnson, as a banker was to legalize the transaction, only for him to kill both Monk's representative and Joe, and frame Granville for it. However, before he would carry out the scheme, Johnson was found dead in the casino, while the counterfeit money and the bag of gold have disappeared, thus leaving Granville as the prime suspect who was captured and imprisoned by Manassas Jim.

Granville claims he doesn't know where the loot is hidden, but ensures it is somewhere in the town of Mansfield. He tells Sartana to help him locate the gold with the intention of splitting it with him, to which the latter seemingly agrees. Sartana goes to Mansfield alone, only to learn that there are more people after the gold with several versions of stories told as to how the murders in the casino have taken place. Manassas Jim's story was identical to that of Granville's, while Monk insists he witnessed only two lying corpses in the gambling house and insinuates that the sheriff found and killed Johnson, and placed his body nearby the other two. Along the lines, Sartana also meets a nefarious woman named Belle, the apparent widow of Johnson, who tells him her late husband used her money in dirty deals, claiming ownership of the legitimate currency in return. Sartana informs them individually that he plans to split the gold with them without the others knowing about it and sends them to Sonora (a fictional town) where Granville is hiding, with the purpose of manipulating them against one another. His plan succeeds and Granville makes it out alive during the shootout.

An elderly man named Plonplon, whom Sartana befriended in Mansfield for his own gains, is found murdered by a mysterious figure in a stable after he deducted where the gold was hidden. As Sartana arrives to find the body, the same person makes an unsuccessful attempt on his life but flees the scene before getting discovered. Sartana pays Belle a visit in search for clues, only to find out that her late husband, Johnson's boots are covered in crystalline dirt. He travels to the graveyard to dig Joe's grave and examine his boots, which confirms his suspicion regarding the whereabouts of the counterfeit money. Sartana comes across an undercover federal agent by the name of Sam Puttnam who also is looking for the gold, believing it is a property of the US government. Puttnam examines the crystalline dirt found on the boots and tells Sartana to rendezvous with him at the town's Turkish bath, who apparently had figured out the location of where the counterfeit money is hidden. But, before Sartana could make it to the meeting place, he found Puttnam murdered while his last uttering word was "Apache". Manassas Jim's men ambush Sartana at the Turkish bath, but he manages to kill them all and flees to the nearest Apache cave.

Sartana confronts Manassas Jim at the Apache cave, kills him and burns the counterfeit money. He travels back to Mansfield to strike a deal with Belle whom he tells he found out where the gold is. Belle, however, secretly informs Monk of the matter in the hopes of splitting the gold with him if he kills Sartana. However, Sartana, heavily prepared, awaits the arrival of Monk along with his gang in Mansfield, knowing that Belle would easily betray him to what she thought would be the stronger side. A gunfight ensues and Sartana comes out on top. It is later revealed that Granville and Belle, who were having an affair behind Johnson's back, were the orchestrators of the entire scheme. Although, Belle secretly attempts to shoot Granville with her suppressed derringer pistol, the same weapon that murdered Plonplon (thus unveiling her as the mysterious figure), but Granville shoots her first, having seen through her before she would plan to double-cross him. Upon his arrival at the casino, Sartana deduces Granville's scheme and that Johnson never betrayed him but was played for a fool by Granville himself who had later killed him after hiding the loot in separate locations, with the gold being at the gambling house. Left with no cards to play, Sartana shoots Granville in a standoff, takes half a million dollars in gold and departs Mansfield.

Cast

Release

Light the Fuse... Sartana Is Coming was released on 24 December 1970.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Una nuvola di polvere... Un grido di morte... Arriva Sartana (1970)". Archiviodelcinemaitaliano.it (in Italian). Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  2. ↑ Marco Giusti. Dizionario del western all'italiana. Mondadori, 2007. ISBN 88-04-57277-9.
  3. ↑ Roberto Chiti; Roberto Poppi; Enrico Lancia. Dizionario del cinema italiano: I film. Gremese, 1991. ISBN 8876059695.
  4. ↑ Curti, Roberto (2018). "If You Meet Sartana...". The Complete Sartana (Booklet). Arrow Video. p. 30. FCD1762 / AV151.


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