Anthony Steffen

Town Hall
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I’ve seen Stranger’s Gundown, Apocalypse Joe, No Room to Die, Gentleman Killer, Shango, and Man Called Django.

It is true that he has a lack of versatility, but versatility is not really needed in his kind of roles. He is only required to play the “lone stranger” type, and in that role, he is more than adequate. In fact, I would regard him as one of the best. The main thing I look at is whether the guy is convincing and believable as a gunfighter and in this regard he is. He may be one dimensional, but boy, what a dimension!

[font=Verdana]Romaine Felding[/font], while I disagree with your “mostly crappy affairs” line, I acknowledge that Steffen was behind Nero and Garko and some of the other leading men when it came to charisma and acting ability. Nevertheless, out of those 25 SW’s he made, quite a large portion of them can be considered minor classics. Also, his movies generally performed very well in the box office.

I also think the “poor man’s eastwood” opinion of the critics is BS because than everybody from Hill, Nero, Garko, they are all poor man’s eastwoods no? I might as well call Jackie Chan a poor man’s bruce lee haha. Plus why can’t people just watch the movie and appreciate it for what it is instead of constantly comparing it to the Leone classics? Yes, none of Steffen’s movies approach that pedestal, but neither does anyone else.

[font=Verdana]Sartana Django[/font], yes we all love Anthony Steffen (RIP) and his classic SW’s, but even his most loyal fans can acknowledge his shortcomings and that he isn’t “everybody’s actor”.

I hope that there is a proper DVD release of Mille dollari sul nero aka Blood at Sundown/Seven Thousand dollars on the Black sometime in the near future. You can’t go wrong with Garko and Steffen in the same movie.

I can’t wait to see Garringo where Steffen stars alongside SD’s favorite Peter Lee Lawrence!

Oh and [font=Verdana]Scherp[/font], Nevermind Django the bastard. The REAL bastard was the dude who wouldn’t put out his cigarette!

[font=Verdana]Stanton[/font], Steffen was also ironic in Apocalypse Joe, because he played a shakespearean actor, whereas I don’t think he had any experience with Shakespeare in real life!

I color coded this post since I addressed many forum members.

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[quote=“Col. Douglas Mortimer, post:21, topic:841”]It is true that he has a lack of versatility, but versatility is not really needed in his kind of roles. He is only required to play the “lone stranger” type,

Romaine Felding, while I disagree with your “mostly crappy affairs” line, I acknowledge that Steffen was behind Nero and Garko and some of the other leading men when it came to charisma and acting ability.

I also think the “poor man’s eastwood” opinion of the critics is BS because than everybody from Hill, Nero, Garko, they are all poor man’s eastwoods no? I might as well call Jackie Chan a poor man’s bruce lee haha. Plus why can’t people just watch the movie and appreciate it for what it is instead of constantly comparing it to the Leone classics? Yes, none of Steffen’s movies approach that pedestal, but neither does anyone else.

Sartana Django, yes we all love Anthony Steffen (RIP) and his classic SW’s, but even his most loyal fans can acknowledge his shortcomings and that he isn’t “everybody’s actor”.[/quote]

Colonel, I agree easily with all of your above cited arguments.

And we shouldn’t forget that also Clint Eastwood is not the greatest actor on earth.

He also was labeled as stiff or wooden by all the critics who hated his SWs at first.

But he has made his way, and he has widened his acting abilities, and even if he surely will never become a Laurence Olivier, he has made several films where nobody else would have done better than him.

Eastwood was/is often pure charisma.

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[quote=“Lindberg, post:20, topic:841”]Yes I think Steffen was sort of the Italian equivalent to Clint Eastwood.

Cool, handsome, bearded. A leading man, not a “great actor” :smiley:

Maybe not as charismatic as Eastwood, but still not bad.

I have not seen all his SWs, but many of them are really good, certainly not crappy :o

A Coffin for the Sheriff, No Room To Die, Seven Dollars on the Red are a few I like very much!

Looking forward to seeing Shango

[/quote]

Tack for the excellent Shango 1970 photo Lindberg. :slight_smile:
As you said looking at Anthony Steffen’s list of SWs one is in awe because they are
all from 1965 to 1973 high class serious/revengeful/exciting/memorable and have
been issued on DVD readily including expensive Japanese DVDS.
Anthony Steffen was NOT involved with any abysmal “comedies” that ruined SWs.

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[quote=“Col. Douglas Mortimer, post:21, topic:841”]I’ve seen Stranger’s Gundown, Apocalypse Joe, No Room to Die, Gentleman Killer, Shango, and Man Called Django.

It is true that he has a lack of versatility, but versatility is not really needed in his kind of roles. He is only required to play the “lone stranger” type, and in that role, he is more than adequate. In fact, I would regard him as one of the best. The main thing I look at is whether the guy is convincing and believable as a gunfighter and in this regard he is. He may be one dimensional, but boy, what a dimension!

[font=Verdana]Romaine Felding[/font], while I disagree with your “mostly crappy affairs” line, I acknowledge that Steffen was behind Nero and Garko and some of the other leading men when it came to charisma and acting ability. Nevertheless, out of those 25 SW’s he made, quite a large portion of them can be considered minor classics. Also, his movies generally performed very well in the box office.

I also think the “poor man’s eastwood” opinion of the critics is BS because than everybody from Hill, Nero, Garko, they are all poor man’s eastwoods no? I might as well call Jackie Chan a poor man’s bruce lee haha. Plus why can’t people just watch the movie and appreciate it for what it is instead of constantly comparing it to the Leone classics? Yes, none of Steffen’s movies approach that pedestal, but neither does anyone else.

[font=Verdana]Sartana Django[/font], yes we all love Anthony Steffen (RIP) and his classic SW’s, but even his most loyal fans can acknowledge his shortcomings and that he isn’t “everybody’s actor”.

I hope that there is a proper DVD release of Mille dollari sul nero aka Blood at Sundown/Seven Thousand dollars on the Black sometime in the near future. You can’t go wrong with Garko and Steffen in the same movie.

I can’t wait to see Garringo where Steffen stars alongside SD’s favorite Peter Lee Lawrence!

Oh and [font=Verdana]Scherp[/font], Nevermind Django the bastard. The REAL bastard was the dude who wouldn’t put out his cigarette!

[font=Verdana]Stanton[/font], Steffen was also ironic in Apocalypse Joe, because he played a shakespearean actor, whereas I don’t think he had any experience with Shakespeare in real life!

I color coded this post since I addressed many forum members.[/quote]

Col. D.Mortimer may I congratulate you on a stimulating/detailed/colourful (red) post :slight_smile:
You have summed up very well the SWs made By Anthony Steffen and how his style
was perfectly suited to make them outstanding/excellent, even without “versatility”.
Anthony Steffen/Richard Harrison/Gianni Garko/Peter Lee Lawrence they gave 100%
to a role that needed coolness, heroism, iconism, integrity, screen presence. :o
NO ROOM TO DIE 1969 ,TRAIN TO DURANGO 1967, GARRINGO 1969 all CLASSICS
Some of these so called “method” actors or “shakesperean” are so dull/pretentious
that many 1000s/millions of cinema goers long for exciting escapism in SWs/Giallos etc.

[quote=“stanton, post:19, topic:841”]No problem.

Steffen was surely not a great actor. He was labeled by critics as stiff or as a poor man’s Clint Eastwood (which always upsets my close friend SD, forgive him) because he hadn’t a great variety in his acting style and wasn’t that successful.

For me he was at his best (as actor) in Train for Durango and the 1st half of Ringo: Face of Revenge where he acted in a self ironic style, which allowed him to do something else than looking grim.

But his best SW is of course Django the Bastard where his minimal acting and his asketic looks are fitting very well with story and style of the film.

I have seen half of his SW output (a few more are intended for the next months) , and there are some more interesting films amongst them (Train to Durango, A Long File of Croces, Coffin for the Sheriff, 1000 $ on the Black, Garringo, W Django, Killer Kid), but nothing outstanding imo.
And he had made besides the usual amount of average turkeys, of course.

Well, I like him meanwhile, he had the necessary SW appearance, but lacked the charisma to create something exceptional. Or maybe he only hadn’t the luck to work with a real good director, one who was able expand his talents, or even to push him beyond his limits.

That’s the way I see him.[/quote]

Stanton you analyse with much discernment and make some good points on Anthony
Steffen’s acting style/SWs most suited to him. Steffen did not have the widest range.
I will NOT agree with you that Anthony Steffen made “any turkeys” because he did not
play any stupid “comedy” or “slapstick” SWs, he was serious and showed the west off
as it was supposed to be (tough,crude, desperate, deadly). I love about 23 out 25 Sws
Remember also that his SWs were very succesful and the money men called him back
for 25 Sws more than Eastwood/Nero/Garko or anyone else !!
Anthony Steffen was also extremely popular/liked in many Giallos/thrillers/Cult Films.

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Anthony Steffen in TRAIN TO DURANGO 1967

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[quote=“Romaine Fielding, post:10, topic:841”]I am interested in what it is about Anthony Steffen that appeals to so many. Of the lead Spaghetti stars (Steffen, Gemma, Hilton, Milian, Nero, Hill- to name a few) I like him the least.
I have to admit I am making that determination after having seen too few of his films. I have only seen Django The Bastard, Gentleman Killer & Arizona Colt Returns
He has none of the athleticism of Gemma, the charm of Nero or the humor of Hilton. And I just don’t buy him as a tough guy. I want to say that he is too skinny but Eastwood was relatively skinny too but I buy him as the tough guy. When Steffen does that bit (as do so many Spaghetti stars) of raising his head slowly and peering out from underneath the hat brim, I just want to laugh. Eastwood gives me chills when he does that. Steffen just leaves me cold. He has the least charisma of any prolific Spaghetti lead I can think of.
Also, aren’t most of his movies pretty crappy affairs? The closest film of his that I can think of that might be considered a “Classic” is Django The Bastard. You’d think he’d have a few better roles in better movies since he’s done so many.
I don’t mean to be critical of anybody who likes Steffen. My preferences are just my own. But I am interested in finding out what about him appeals to so many.[/quote]
@ Romaine Fielding

Your question is a fair one RF. Steffen made a lot of Spaghettis and this wouldn’t be so if he didn’t enjoy a certain level of popularity. But, despite the occasionally boisterous devotee, few would count many of his films among their all time favourites. This would imply that he fits among the second strata of spaghetti leading men. I would offer our own Top Twenty page as evidence of this. Among the 46 films listed on that page there is only one film featuring Anthony Steffen and that comes in at number 38. (I suspect this is what you were alluding to with your ‘crappy affairs’ comment.)

Having said that, Steffen does have his appeal and some of the criticism of him, in my opinion, misses the point. His lack of range, for example, isn’t a problem for me. The history of cinema is full of actors who are very effective in a host of films in which they play essentially the same character. Eastwood himself carved out a very good career in some excellent films doing just that although it should be added that as he got older he extended himself somewhat. As for the ‘Stiffen’ tag, well, I think it is fair to say he was not the most emotive actor on the whole but then the parts he played rarely called for more from him. On the contrary, Steffen most commonly played strong, silent heroes where too much animation would have been unwelcome.

At the end of the day, as you say, it comes down to personal taste and opinion. But for me, I like Steffen as much for his limitations as anything else. When I sit down to watch one of his films I am not expecting a grandstand or memorable performance a la Tomas Milian. I am satisfied enough with the expectation that I will be seeing a run of the mill, bog standard spaghetti. His films will rarely, if ever, be the ones I recommend to people new to the genre but they act as a kind of comfort food for me.

Seeing as though you obviously are a fan of the genre though I would recommend Seven Dollars on the Red and No Room to Die as worth seeing. They probably won’t change your opinion of Steffen but are quite good fun none the less.

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Antonio de Teffé never really did it for me either. He has played in some good spaghetti westerns like No Room To Die and Stranger’s Gundown but he didn’t really carry either movie. He had a very stiff approach to acting.

That said that could probably be stated about a lot of the spaghetti western actors/stunt men but it weren’t many of them which got to star in as many of them as De Teffé. Gemma, Nero, Garko, Damon, Milian, Berger, Lawrence, van Cleef are far better leads in my opion.

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CULT STAR Anthony Steffen

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Love those biblical German movie titles.

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I understand the negative comments re Steffen, but as Spaghetti westerns are my favourite genre I do not mind the guy.

For me there are more actors around today who I dislike for what ever reason

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Unfortunately Apocalypse Joe (great name by the way) is one of those “average turkeys” in my eyes. The first scene is a great really great one, but the rest is far too conventional.
And the half an hour long shootout at the end is so unimaginativeley directed and so boring, that only god knows why I didn’t used the fast forward button.

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[quote=“Lindberg, post:28, topic:841”]CULT STAR Anthony Steffen

[/quote]

Tack for another lovely photo Lindberg. Good Anthony Steffen German pose :slight_smile:

I read all the comments with much interest regarding Anthony Steffen’s acting style/range and as has been said before I find Steffen to be EXCELLENT in SWs/Giallos.
Steffen might not have been “superb” in Shakespeare or similar pretentious fodder but
WHO wants to watch or read Shakespeare ?? I DO NOT ever want to for one :o
Long live SWs/Giallos. Long Live ANTHONY STEFFEN and his wonderful SWs/Giallos

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[quote=“Phil H, post:26, topic:841”]@ Romaine Fielding

Your question is a fair one RF. Steffen made a lot of Spaghettis and this wouldn’t be so if he didn’t enjoy a certain level of popularity. But, despite the occasionally boisterous devotee, few would count many of his films among their all time favourites. This would imply that he fits among the second strata of spaghetti leading men. I would offer our own Top Twenty page as evidence of this. Among the 46 films listed on that page there is only one film featuring Anthony Steffen and that comes in at number 38. (I suspect this is what you were alluding to with your ‘crappy affairs’ comment.)

Having said that, Steffen does have his appeal and some of the criticism of him, in my opinion, misses the point. His lack of range, for example, isn’t a problem for me. The history of cinema is full of actors who are very effective in a host of films in which they play essentially the same character. Eastwood himself carved out a very good career in some excellent films doing just that although it should be added that as he got older he extended himself somewhat. As for the ‘Stiffen’ tag, well, I think it is fair to say he was not the most emotive actor on the whole but then the parts he played rarely called for more from him. On the contrary, Steffen most commonly played strong, silent heroes where too much animation would have been unwelcome.

At the end of the day, as you say, it comes down to personal taste and opinion. But for me, I like Steffen as much for his limitations as anything else. When I sit down to watch one of his films I am not expecting a grandstand or memorable performance a la Tomas Milian. I am satisfied enough with the expectation that I will be seeing a run of the mill, bog standard spaghetti. His films will rarely, if ever, be the ones I recommend to people new to the genre but they act as a kind of comfort food for me.

Seeing as though you obviously are a fan of the genre though I would recommend Seven Dollars on the Red and No Room to Die as worth seeing. They probably won’t change your opinion of Steffen but are quite good fun none the less.[/quote]

Thanks Phil H., I left a really incorrect impression that I dislike Anthony Steffen. He’s not a favorite of mine but I would gladly watch any of his films and, no doubt, enjoy them. But if given the choice, I’d prefer a film by any of a number of other Spaghetti stars.
My unfortunate use of the word “crappy” to describe his movies furthur led people to believe I had no respect for the guy or his work. What I meant by crappy was, more or less, a recognition of the relatively lower production values in his films as opposed to most of the films of Milian, Gemma, Nero (for instance).
He was never in a larger budget Spaghetti. He did not have the drawing power perhaps. So while he was certainly a Spaghetti star he was not a really big draw at the box office (in terms of individual films).
This, I believe, is the way that describing him as “a poor man’s Clint Eastwood” is really accurate.
His films were made for the Terza Visione theaters, not the first run theaters where the larger budget films opened and made a lot of money.
He made films with a lot of competent directors, real genre regulars (Sergio Garrone, Georgio Stegani, Georgio Ferroni etc). But he never cracked the big time.
Thanks for your recommendation of Seven Dollars On The Red. I know that it is coming out later this year through Koch Media. I’ll watch No Room To Die again soon. When I first watched Django The Bastard I was unimpressed (that was some time ago) but I want to watch it again now. And, I remember liking Gentleman Killer. It has been a long time since I’ve seen it but, if I remember correctly, he had a more talky role than ususal. Maybe I remember incorrectly. I remember liking the score to Gentleman Killer it seemed like a cross between Carmina Burana and Rawhide.
I appreciate your comments, they help me to see Steffen though new eyes.
Thank you

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[quote=“Romaine Fielding, post:33, topic:841”]Thanks Phil H., I left a really incorrect impression that I dislike Anthony Steffen. He’s not a favorite of mine but I would gladly watch any of his films and, no doubt, enjoy them. But if given the choice, I’d prefer a film by any of a number of other Spaghetti stars.
My unfortunate use of the word “crappy” to describe his movies furthur led people to believe I had no respect for the guy or his work. What I meant by crappy was, more or less, a recognition of the relatively lower production values in his films as opposed to most of the films of Milian, Gemma, Nero (for instance).
He was never in a larger budget Spaghetti. He did not have the drawing power perhaps. So while he was certainly a Spaghetti star he was not a really big draw at the box office (in terms of individual films).
This, I believe, is the way that describing him as “a poor man’s Clint Eastwood” is really accurate.
His films were made for the Terza Visione theaters, not the first run theaters where the larger budget films opened and made a lot of money.
He made films with a lot of competent directors, real genre regulars (Sergio Garrone, Georgio Stegani, Georgio Ferroni etc). But he never cracked the big time.
Thanks for your recommendation of Seven Dollars On The Red. I know that it is coming out later this year through Koch Media. I’ll watch No Room To Die again soon. When I first watched Django The Bastard I was unimpressed (that was some time ago) but I want to watch it again now. And, I remember liking Gentleman Killer. It has been a long time since I’ve seen it but, if I remember correctly, he had a more talky role than ususal. Maybe I remember incorrectly. I remember liking the score to Gentleman Killer it seemed like a cross between Carmina Burana and Rawhide.
I appreciate your comments, they help me to see Steffen though new eyes.
Thank you[/quote]

My pleasure. And for what it’s worth I don’t believe you need to apologise for using the term ‘Crappy’ when giving your opinion about a film or its actors. It seems to me that once something or someone is in the public domain (I don’t mean in a copyright sense) they are fair game and any criticism is valid. It’s personal insults to private individuals where I draw the line and you weren’t guilty of that at all.

Besides, difference of opinion is what this place is all about. We’d soon get bored agreeing with each other all the time.

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I can’t argue with this point ;D.

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I’ll admit I am at some sort of a disadvantage when I’ve only seen two of Steffen’s films, Django the Bastard (THe Stranger’s Gundown) and Shango, but in my opinion I think he is at his best in Shango between the two. For me Django the Bastard was pretty boring, with the music, all of the meandering through the town, and the low shots of him gunning down some hapless yahoos. But when I finally saw Shango, I was amazed at how improved his performance seemed to be compared to Django, he wasn’t wooden and he showed a remarkable acting range in the movie, also the gunfights were great to see since they did not spill into overkill. Essentially his role in Shango is as a beleaguered Texas Ranger who is outgunned by the last remnants of the Confederacy and a group of necessary Mexican outlaws. I wrote a review about the movie in its thread a few months ago so I won’t go off on its plot, but for those who see Steffen as a man as wooden as a willow must see Shango. He plays a deeper character rather than a kill-them-all avenger, but while some may accuse him of being a wussy it just goes to show how a good an actor Steffen can be. Whether I’m a sensitive dude or not, when the end credits rolled by I was literally moved up almost to the point where I had take a deep breath to take in the freshness of this SW. Trust me, Shango will open your eyes, but then again it may not, either way I find it to be a fine movie.

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Wow. That’s great to know. I got Shango a couple of weeks ago but have not watched it yet. My region free player broke but I got a new one yesterday.
Because of your post it is going to the top of my “to watch” list.
Thanks a lot Tegh 48

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ANTHONY STEFFEN FOREVER

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Tack :o for that dark night shot of Anthony Steffen , Lindberg :o

ANTHONY STEFFEN

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Interesting article about the man:

http://www.europeanfilmreview.co.uk/articles/anthony_steffen.htm