THE STRANGER AND THE GUNFIGHTER (LÀ DOVE NON BATTE IL SOLE)

Directed by Antonio Margheriti

1974 / 100min

Martial artist Ho Chiang (Lo Lieh) travels to the Wild West on a life-or-death mission to recover his family’s hidden fortune, after his uncle is mistakenly killed by the outlaw Dakota (Lee Van Cleef) during a botched robbery attempt. Since Dakota is the only man alive with clues to the fortune’s location, Ho breaks him free from the hangman’s clutches, and the unlikely allies set off on a mission to track down the uncle’s four widows, each of whom holds another piece of the puzzle. THE STRANGER AND THE GUNFIGHTER is notable for being one in a series of international co-productions by Shaw Brothers Studios, as part of an attempt to branch out into other territories and genres. But unlike their first two Italian co-productions, SUPERMEN AGAINST THE ORIENT (1974) and THIS TIME I’LL MAKE YOU RICH (1974), this one is actually good for a change. An offbeat action buddy comedy that can clearly be seen as the template for a similar Jackie Chan vehicle decades later.