Le rescapé de la vallée de la mort

Finished Civil War and after fighting in the North side , officer Jeff Donovan (Alan Steel or Sergio Ciani) returns home . A gang of former confederates led by Machedo (William Berger) and his hoodlums ( Frank Braña, Fernando Bilbao) lay siege to a Cavalry fort, killing everyone except for Jeff whom they torture mercilessly . Blinded by revenge, ex-Union captain Donovan and now dressed in black loses all confidence in the law and gradually becomes a deranged outlaw . Jeff doesn't hesitate to prosecute to hell Machedo , being only helped by an Union veteran (Francisco Sanz) and an Indian girl . He takes the path to a little town where resides Machedo and his band harassing them until a final fight .

It's an exciting western with breathtaking showdown between the protagonists Alan Steel or Sergio Ciani and his enemy , William Berger and underlings , Frank Braña and Fernando Bilbao . There is plenty of action and crossfire in the movie , guaranteeing a shootout or stunt every few minutes along with a lot of violence , including killings in cold blood . This is a mediocre Spaghetti Western with some moment entertaining if you can avoid thinking too much . Director Mario Bianchi achieved in "Mi Chiamavano 'Requiescat'" or ¨Fast hand is still my name¨ possibly his best work of a modest career , with some memorable scenes and regular camera movement , such as the ending duel with surprise included and that makes only can say that this movie seems to be a passable story .

Sergio Ciani is the tough revenger and although he doesn't reaches the level of William Berger , as he is also quite restrained and a little wooden . He played assorted mythological demigods in cheaply-made but highly popular spectacles of the early 1960s, the actor also occasionally went by his birth name . Steel started off his beefcake run off as a body double for Reeves in both the "Hercules" and sequel ¨Hercules Unchained¨ and in The battle of Marathón (1959) or Giant of Marathon , in which he also had bit roles . Within a couple of years Steel was posing front-and-center in Sansone (1961) opposite another physique-minded American import, Brad Harris in the title role. On numerous occasions Steel was asked to play the legendary Greek hero, as well as the equally well-built demigods Samson and Ursus, even though the film titles often fused or confused them in their titles . Steel starred as Hercules in Hercules Against Rome, Hercules Against the Moon Men , Hercules and the Black Pirate, and Hercules and the Treasure of the Incas , the second movie mentioned being one of the only spectacles to actually incorporate science fiction into the genre . In contrast, his Hercules serves as a mere sidekick in the Zorro-like Hercules and the Masked Rider . He subsequently made Ursus, the Rebel Gladiator opposite Dan Vadis , The Fury of Hercules and Samson and the Mighty Challenge. In the late 1960s he and fellow movie Musclemen Kirk Morris and Gordon Mitchell served up "spaghetti western" genre . In 1976 Steel starred in and co-wrote a Robin Hood movie, and in 1979 ended his on-camera appearances with the Italian comedy Baby Love .

William Berger as a cruelly baddie role is terrific, former and subsequently he would play similar characters in various oaters . His performance is astonishing , above average to level of these films . Furthermore, appears usual secondary actors from Spaghetti/Chorizo Western as Spanish actors : Francisco Sanz , Fernando Bilbao , Frank Braña and Lorenzo Robledo as a hearse driver ; as Italian secondary players as Karin Well. Atmospheric scenario with barren outdoors, dirty landscapes under a glimmer sun and a fine sets with lousy cinematography by Emilio Foriscot , in Eastmancolor with negative badly processed , being necessary a right remastering . Being filmed on location in Colmenar Viejo, Hoyo De Manzanares, Madrid, and Seseña, Toledo, Spain . Anti-climatic musical score by Gianni Ferrio , adding modern jazzy music along with inappropriate songs . Quentin Tarantino would take Spaghetti scores composed by Gianni Ferrio for his Inglorious bastards .

The motion picture was written and produced by Eduardo Manzanos Brochero who started producing ¨Il Coyote¨ and ¨The Jiusticia De Coyote¨ by Joaquin Romero Marchent with Abel Salazar and Gloria Marin . After that , he produced with his company Copercines ¨Vengeance of Zorro¨ and ¨L'Ombra Di Zorro¨ (1962) by Joaquin Marchent with Frank Latimore . Eduardo Manzanos built a Western little town in Hoyo De Manzanares (Madrid) with sets by Jaime Perez Cubero and Jose Luis Galicia , today sadly disappeared just like is well shown in ¨Fast hand¨ in which the village appears old and almost scrawny ; the village was called ¨Golden City¨ where filmed several Western as the classic ¨Fistful of dollars¨ and ¨For a fistful of dollars more¨ ; furthermore there was shot : ¨Welcome Padre Murray¨ , ¨Brandy¨ , various Zorros and this one . Manzanos Brochero produced various films for Marchent brothers as Joaquin Romero Marchent : ¨Cabalgando Hacia Muerte¨ , ¨Three good men¨; and Rafael Marchent : ¨Quien Grita vengeance¨, ¨Two crosses in Danger Pass¨ ; and for Italian directors as ¨Sabor Odio¨ by Umberto Lenzi¨ , ¨Winchester 1 between 1000¨ by Primo Zeglio , ¨At the end of the rainbow¨ by Aldo Florio and ¨Taste for vengeance¨ or "Cowards Don't Pray" . ¨Fast Hand¨ was middlingly realized by Mario Bianchi OR Frank Bronston , son of director Roberto B. Montero . Mario Bianchi realized all kind of genres as Terror , Softcore , Hardcore and Spaghetti Western such as ¨Più forte Sorelle¨ , "Kill the Poker Player" , ¨The Masked Thief" and this ¨Fast hand¨ , most of them written and produced by Eduardo Manzanos Brochero.

Towards the end of the Italian western wave, ca. 1972-74, the movies tried either to be comedies or particularly violent. "Mi chiamavano Requiescat, ma avevano sbagliato" is an example for the latter, including bloody killings (for example with a fork through the throat) and torture with a branding iron. Madison (Alan Steel of 'Hercules' fame) has his right hand crippled by the bandit Machedo (William Berger). Madison decides to become an avenger, so he buys a black coat, black boots, a black hat and a black horse for the right look. For two years, he follows Machedo's gang, waiting the perfect time to strike. This opportunity comes when he can hide gold from a bank robbery. Madison knows this will attract Machedo, but the most interesting question of the movie is: how can he shoot him, because he can't use his right hand?

Alan Steel remains expressionless, while Berger is overacting. Not much to be seen of a director's style (Bianchi continued his career directing adult movies!) and the music is somewhat too modern for a western. The buildings of the western town have seen better times and are almost falling to pieces. A very, very cheap production scraping the bottom of the barrel. Worth a look for fans of William Berger, maybe, as he plays a really mean villain.

This movie was made in 1972, but seems more like it came from the mid to late 60's when spaghetti westerns generally had a more serious tone.

It is a typical but very good revenge tale about an ex-union officer whose hand was crippled by an ex-confederate who leads a band of guerrillas who continue to terrorize people after the war is over. It's fun to watch as the now clad-in-black hero seems to come back from the dead, and hunts down and kills his enemies one by one.

Sergio Ciani plays the protagonist in a performance that is horrible even by spaghetti western standards. In all fairness though, there may be another person dubbing his voice who can be blamed in whole or in part for the wooden performance. I don't know, but it's pretty bad. Fortunately, William Berger makes up for it. He is excellent in the role of Machedo, the leader of the confederate gang. This is definitely Berger's movie. It's probably the best performance I've seen from him.

The music score by Ferrio is also very good.

If you are into Euro-westerns, this ones worth checking out.

I found this movie on YouTube of all places. I had never heard of it, and usually when the genre is spaghetti westerns that's a poor start but not this time. The spaghetti westerns of the 70s were a totally different affair than those of the 60s. Usually the films followed one of two paths: silly comedies such as the Trinity movie with Terence Hill and Bud Spencer or ultra violent, like Cutthroats Nine. This is closer to the latter category but honestly feels more like a late 60s effort from Corbucci or Garrone with a little more violence. The cast - especially the always dependable William Berger - is up to snuff and the overall production is above average. This is a lost/forgotten gem of a spaghetti western that deserves to be seen.

Alan Steel, a former Hercules star (HERCULES AGAINST THE MOONMEN), excels in this violent tale of revenge. Robbers rob a bank and then Alan Steel grabs their gold and arranges for them to find him so he can kill them. Previously the gang had tortured Alan, so he now has a "just" cause to go after them. Unfortunately. He gets captured several times which is kinda dumb. There are 2 versions on Y/T but both are missing several key scenes such as Torture and toplessness. I have posted a short clip on Y/T with those missing scenes so you can see the complete movie. Larry Anderson.