''Return of Sabata'' () is a 1971

Spaghetti Western The spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's filmmaking style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

film directed by Gianfranco Parolini. The third film in '' The Sabata Trilogy'', it features the return of

Lee Van Cleef Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef Jr. (January 9, 1925 – December 16, 1989) was an American actor. He appeared in over 170 film and television roles in a career spanning nearly 40 years, but is best known as a star of spaghetti Westerns, particularly t ...

as the title character, which he had played in the first film, '' Sabata'', but was replaced by

Yul Brynner Yuliy Borisovich Briner (; July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), known professionally as Yul Brynner (), was a Russian-born actor. He was known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in the Rodgers and Hammerstein stage musical ''The King and I'' (19 ...

in the second film, '' Adiós, Sabata'', due to a scheduling conflict. ''Return of Sabata'' was listed in the 1978 book '' The Fifty Worst Films of All Time''.

Plot

Sabata, a former Confederate army officer and steely-eyed, quick-drawing, impossibly accurate gunman with a trick gun, is working for a travelling circus as a stunt marksman. The circus comes to a small

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

town, where a former subordinate officer, a lieutenant from the army, is running a crooked casino. The man owes Sabata $5,000 from some time ago. Then the circus manager runs off with the circus funds, so Sabata decides to stay in town and try to collect on the debt from his friend. Sabata then runs into conflict with the town's land baron, McIntock, who imposes high taxes on gambling, drinking and prostitution with the supposed idea of building the town up, using the money. Sabata, who is after the money himself, finds out that the townspeople's money in McIntock's safe is counterfeit and that he and the priest have hidden it elsewhere, in the form of gold coins. After a few attempts on his life and many badmen dying under his guns, Sabata and the lieutenant are apparently killed so McIntock goes for the money, only to find them both still alive. Sabata is helped throughout by his friends: the acrobat, his partner and a fat, pompous man who is anything but what he seems.

Cast

as Sabata * Reiner Schöne as Clyde * Giampiero Albertini as Joe McIntock * Ignazio Spalla as Bronco * Annabella Incontrera as Maggie * Jacqueline Alexandre as Jackie McIntock * Vassili Karis as Bionda the acrobat * Aldo Canti (as Nick Jordan) as Angel the acrobat * Gianni Rizzo as Jeremy Sweeney * Steffen Zacharias as Donovan * Pia Giancaro as Diane * John Bartha as Sheriff *

Günther Stoll Günther Stoll (Duisburg, 18 August 1924 – Gelsenkirchen, 10 January 1977) was a German actor. Partial filmography * ''Liebe, wie die Frau sie wünscht'' (1957) .... Toni * ''Epitafios gia ehthrous kai filous'' (1965) .... Captain Ivanov * ' ...

as Circus Showman * Carmelo Reale as Chuck *

Franco Fantasia Franco Fantasia (5 March 1924 – 10 November 2002) was an Italian film actor, stuntman and fencing master. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1951 to 2002. He was the brother of actor Andrea Fantasia. Illness and death Septem ...

as Circus Owner

Release

''Return of Sabata'' was released in Italy on 3 September 1971.

Reception

From a retrospective review, Donald Guarisco of

AllMovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, television series, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was ...

stated that the film "falls prey to the principle of diminishing returns" noting that it followed the plot of the original ''Sabata'' films too closely and that it had "erratic pacing" and was too long.

References

External links

* {{The Sabata Trilogy Sabata films Films directed by Gianfranco Parolini Italian sequel films West German films French Western (genre) films German Western (genre) films Spaghetti Western films United Artists films 1971 Western (genre) films 1971 films Films produced by Alberto Grimaldi Films scored by Marcello Giombini Films set in Texas Films shot in Croatia 1970s Italian films 1970s French films 1970s German films