Content: Half-blooded Mervin “Vee” Duncan (Aldo Sambrell) had to suffer under discrimination since his childhood. Now he’s grown up to a bad, bad boy, filled with hate, who leads a bunch of scalp hunters and murderers together with his half-brother Jeffrey (Lucio Rosato). But times are a changing and scarcely anybody likes to pay for scalps any longer. Furthermore the Duncan brothers are sought after by the law, because they have no problems to slaughter and scalp even peaceable Indians too.
Well, there are hard times coming for the Duncan company. So Vee is quite glad as former gang member Chester Lynne (Pierre Cressoy) submits him a new business idea: Lynne, who leads a honourable life as a doctor and banker in the meantime, knows about 500.000 dollars, transported in a guarded safe by train. Duncan is hooked by the plan, but since their last massacre the gang is followed by a phantom: “Joe” (Burt Reynolds), last survivor of a massacred tribe of Navajos, is hot on Duncan’s trail, decimating his men slowly perro mucho effectivo. The attack on the train, massacre inclusive, succeeds, but Joe can snatch back the train and at least deliver the dough in Esperanza, the original destination. But now the citizens are in a blue funk, because they fear Duncan’s revenge. Joe offers his help: He claims one dollar from every citizen for every bandit, he’ll kill, plus the bounties for the brothers Duncan.
After hesitating a long time, the moneybags have to accept the offer. Furthermore the “dirty Indian” turns himself into sheriff, before the fun with the Duncans gets finally started.
| The Gunslinger says: Directly after „Django“ Sergio Corbucci started his work on “Navajo Joe”, of which he wasn’t really convinced in the beginning. But producer Dino de Laurentiis could finally pitch the unusual story about a vengeful Indian as protagonist to him. The result is a film, which doesn’t reach Corbucci’s masterpieces, but nearly close in to them.
Corbucci doesn’t saves on slight comments to the treatment of the Indians by the white men as second class citizens. In this context the dialogue between the sheriff of Esperanza and Joe is one key scene: As Joe claims the star for him, the sheriff replies, that only a born-and-bred American is allowed to fill his position. But shortly after, he has to agnize, that his own father was from Scotland, whereas Joe’s family lives in the land since many generations.
The fetish “money” receives its just deserts too: As Joe brings back the empty train to Esperanza, the citizens are only interested in the completeness of the money in the safe. But nobody asks for the fate of passengers and escort, who are completely killed by the Duncan gang. Finally Joe’s horse returns alone to the city: The mayor only controls the saddlebag for the money, but doesn’t want to know about Joe’s whereabouts.
Naturalemente the citizens, who mostly look down on Indians as inferior, don’t lift a finger to help Joe defending their city against Duncan and even sell their cowardice as calmness. They embody the attitude, which creates types as Vee Duncan, who pays back the suffered humiliations as multiple increased hate. The effect of courage is shown by banjo player Chuck (Nino Imparato) and his saloon ladies, who overcome their fears and liberate Joe out of the hands of the bandidos. To me one of the best actors is Aldo Sambrell, who is great as driven rogue, who can't forgive. Burt Reynolds on the other side hasn't got much to do, despite showing his qualities as a stuntman and to give a mild “Marlon-Brando-lookalike”, who producer's Dino de Laurentiis preferred choice for the role. Although the flick has diminished brutalities a bit in comparison to other films by Corbucci, like “Django”, there is left enough for us connoisseurs. Gunplay is opulent and dignified by the solid camera work.
The score by Morricone is great: very measured, with a catchy title theme, which is based on choirs, guitars and some hardly hypnotic percussion parts. Contrary to my experiences with Morricone so far, there a whole passages completely drawed on vocals, at most underlayed with percussion.
| Rating: $$$$+
| Bodycount: ca. 80 Gringos, Mexicanos, Indians
| Explicit Brutalities: - Vee Duncan smiles to a squaw before killing her with a bullet in the back. After this he takes her scalp
- The Duncan gang bashs Joe to get some information of the hidden dough, but big boys don't cry, folx
- As the money doesn't turn up in time, we have the compulsive shootings of hostages. Beside other the bandits use the classical „mirror act“ ;-)
- Joe scribes a wounded bandit his totem in the dome before slaying him with a stone
- Joe lams Vee with his rifle butt
| Luv': Hm, nothing registered, folx: 0/10
| Gore:2/10
| Specials: - Joe is native Indian and handles several tricks and weapons skillfully
- Chuck uses a banjo and a slingshot as a bow
| Trailer: by ItaloWestern
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| OT:
Navajo Joe
AT:
Joe, el Implacable (SP)
Savage Run (USA)
Year: I/SP 1966
D: Sergio Corbucci
S: Piero Regnoli (“Dean Craig”), Fernando di Leo
C: Silvano Ippoliti
M: Ennio Morricone (“Leo Nichols”)
with: Burt Reynolds, Aldo Sambrell, Nicoletta Machiavelli, Pierre Cressoy (“Peter Cross”)
 | Here comes the barber, ...
|  | ... making a good job: Aldo Sambrell
|  | Burt Reynolds eats flowers, what his poor horse has to watch
|  | Some toilet paper is welcome
|  | The Duncan gang holds the usual barbecue
|  | Best wishes from your nice Indian neighbour
|  | Burt Reynolds has detected a nice slate, which creaks as well
|  | A pause for reflection
|  | Lorenzo Robledo's "mirror act"
|  | Nino Imparato takes his measurement
|  | | Gents, you have unwrap it for yourself: Tanya Lobert and Franca Polesello |
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