Montana Trap (1976)
4/10
Below average Schnitzel/Spaghetti Western shot in Almeria , being packed with thrills , intrigue violence and crossfire
28 June 2019
Fun , and entertaining but rare West German Spaghetti Western with Indian/cavalry setting including gunplay , noisy action , bizarre villains , shootouts and adding stampede with American Buffalo going bersek . Potato Fritz (Hardy Kruger) is a drunk farmer who has a bear as a friendly fellow and he cultivates his fruits along a dangerous pass . Meanwhile , German immigrants and settlers move to Wild West and cross the hazardous pass . Outlaws (Arthur Brauss , David Hess) pretending to be Native Americans on the war path besieged them in an attempt to rob some gold . Thing go wrong , when at the risked pass shows up a stranger drifter named Bill Ardisson (Stephen Boyd ) . Along the way there takes place confrontation , gundown , brawls and many other things .

This moving Western packs thrills , noisy action , go riding , Indian attacks spectacular struggles , lots of gutsy adventure , a little bit of humor and plot twists at the end . It follows Italian models more than American ones , displaying an intrigue about assaults to colonist wagons throughout a perilous pass . In the picture there's western action , shootouts, thrills , and a little bit of moderated violence .The film is regularly played by a fine star-cast though really wasted . Starred by the incombustible Hardy Kruger , he was discovered by foreign film distributor J. Arthur Rank, which promptly cast him in three British pictures practically filmed back-to-back: The one that got away (1957), Bachelor of Hearts (1958) and Blind date (1959), in which he appeared simply as a foreigner and not a German, as was usually the case. Following the release of these films Hardy's career took off. Despite anti-German sentiment that still prevailed in postwar Europe, Hardy, described as "ruggedly handsome" and a "blond heartthrob", became an international favorite, paving the way to his first American role as co-star with John Wayne in the Tanganyika-shot wildlife adventure ¡Hatari! (1962). Co-starred by Stephen Boyd , who interpreted some famous films such as Ben Hur , Fantastic voyage , The Oscar , The fall of Roman Empire , but his star tarnished and he finished performing B-films and Spaghetti Westerns as A man called Noon , Dirty dogs , Ana Caulder and this one . Here stands out a motley group of secondaries of several countries as the German : the footballer Paul Breitner , Friedrich von Ledebur who played Moby Dick as Queequeg, Dan van Husen who played a great number of Spaghetti , Diana Körner who acted Barry Lindon , Arthur Brauss who is a prolific German actor working from the sixties and Spanish players : Mariano Vidal Molina , Luis Barboo , Fernando Villena , all of them usual in Paella/Spaghetti sub-genre , and the American David Hess from Last house on the left . The film well filmed in Tabernas and Texas Hollywood-Fort Bravo , Almeria , with a good production design , but with a lousy cinematography by Jost Vacano who subsequently did Hollywood career , as a perfect remasterizing being extremely necessary . as the motion picture has been filmed on La Pedriza , Manzanares of Real , Madrid and Almeria (Spain), where during the 6os and early the 7os were shot several spaghetti western . Inappropriate and anticlimatic musical score by Udo Jurgens , adding classic music : Symphony No. 9 "New World Symphony" by Anton Dvorak when a Buffalo estampede happens .

This film titled : Zwei gegen Tod und Teufel (West Germany) or Montana Trap(United States) or Masacre en Condor Pass (Spain) or A Passagem do Condor (Brazil) was badly directed by Peter Schamoni (1934-2011) , a German craftsman known for his shorts , documentary and a few films , being specially known for : Die widerrechtliche Ausübung der Astronomie (1967), Max Ernst: Mein Vagabundieren - Meine Unruhe (1991) , La veda del zorro (1966) , Your Caresses ((1969) and particularly Spring Symphony (1983) with Natassja Kinski that chronicles the illustrious 19th-century love affair between composer Robert Schumann and pianist Claire Weick . Rating 3.5/10 . Inferior Spaghetti Western .
5 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed