Third Sauerkraut Western from Rapid Film with Brad Harris and Joachim Hansen
This is the third western produced by Wolf C. Hartwig and his Rapid-Film, but this time not based on a template by Friedrich Gerstäcker. The director was Ernst Hofbauer, who was to establish the world's most successful German-language cinema film series in the 1970s with the infamous series of report films ("Schulmädchenreport / Schoolgirl Report") and also the Bud Spencer and Terence Hill imitating films about the "Teufelskerle / Devil Guys " (for example "Zwei Teufelskerle auf dem Weg ins Kloster / Two devils on the way to the monastery"). This western, also known as "I gringos non perdonano" and "Black Eagle of Santa Fe", was released in West German cinemas on March 12, 1965.
Out of greed for money, a devious landowner (Werner Peters, known from "Der Untertan" (1951) but also seen alongside superstar Sean Connery in "A Fine Madness" (1966)) and his man for the rough (Pinkas Braun) stir up conflicts between the people Commanders around Chief Black Eagle (Tony Kendall, who would co-found the successful "KOMMISSAR X" series with Brad Harris a year later) and the peace-loving citizens of Santa Fe. As the death toll piles up, the citizens seek shelter in the fort of Captain Jackson (Joachim Hansen, in a less radiant role than in "Und ewig singen die Wälder / The Forests Sing Forever" (1959)). But he is a procrastinator and is not up to the whole situation, which especially goes against the grain of the robust Cliff McPherson (Brad Harris). The situation is getting worse...
Other roles include Horst Frank, Helga Sommerfeld, Edith Hancke (as a wonderful Berlin accent barmaid), Josef Egger and the beautiful Olga Schoberova. She and Brad Harris, who would later become her husband in real life, have a funny bathing scene in the washtub in which both of them show off their physical assets perfectly. As a proven stunt choreographer, Brad Harris also ensures that there is good fighting and that the tension is maintained.
In his long career, the actor and stuntman Brad Harris (1933-2017) has done an incredible amount for German cinema through his participation in many adventure films produced in German-speaking countries. These achievements have not been adequately recognized. Unfortunately, Brad Harris failed to be given an overdue Bambi or honorary Lola during his lifetime. A missed opportunity! On September 7th, 2017, a few weeks before his death, Brad Harris was awarded the Cineways Lifetime Achievement Award in Braunschweig.
