Agreed this one was pretty good even though it shines through that it was made for very little money.
3 out of 5 stars from me.
Have you seen DEAD MEN DON’T MAKE SHADOWS, yet, amigo?
That is, for some reason, my most favorite Fidani film…which isn’t saying all that much, I know! ha ha!
I also enjoy ONE DAMNED DAY AT DAWN…, and STRANGER MAKE THE SIGN OF THE CROSS.
Also, DJANGO AND SARTANA–SHOWDOWN IN THE WEST isn’t too painful to watch, either.
But, those are about the only Fidani films I have been able to sit through to the end! ;D
[quote=“Chris_Casey, post:22, topic:1534”]Have you seen DEAD MEN DON’T MAKE SHADOWS, yet, amigo?
That is, for some reason, my most favorite Fidani film…which isn’t saying all that much, I know! ha ha!
I also enjoy ONE DAMNED DAY AT DAWN…, and STRANGER MAKE THE SIGN OF THE CROSS.
Also, DJANGO AND SARTANA–SHOWDOWN IN THE WEST isn’t too painful to watch, either.
But, those are about the only Fidani films I have been able to sit through to the end! ;D[/quote]
As a matter of fact Chris, I watched Dead Men Don’t Make Shadows last night(the other half of the WE double feature). I liked it about as much as One Damned Day at Dawn. Haven’t decided which one was my favorite. Both films were way above my expectations though.
A couple of notes; first, after viewing these two I think more highly of Fidani, even though the setting(s) of each film were virtually the same. Second, Gordon Mitchell sure had a big part…NOT!
I guess as far as Fidani films go this was acceptable but on its own it’s a stinker!
The best parts were the atmosphere and the soundtrack…no plot to speak of and some pretty lame acting IMHO.
2.5/5 at best!
I’ve seen some more Fidanis since this thread was opened and this one remains his best effort. Wouldn’t mind watching it again.
Just watch this one.
Well to be honest The only films I’ve seen from FIdani before were Calde Labra and La professoressa di lingue one because of Leonora Fani and the other cause of Femi.
I’ve never watched one of is SW until this one. Being low cust does not bad, (django was low cust also), the problem here is the acting, or the non existence of it, when the character sanchez weak ups before the dual and says “puta bring me cofee” i started to laugh. The start seemed like a bad porn flick with names helping to that feeling Mike Colt
But in filming terms Fidani knew it’s job, althought the flashback initial scene was very baddly done (i only notice it was a flasback half way of it).
You somehow got the feeling that this was made by stunts insteed of actors, and the arm-wrestling scene, a total anti climax.
The soundtrack was cool with a trumpet sound, which is alwyas a must for me. What is nice about SW, it’s they are always cool even when they’re bad.
In the end, I did not disliked entirely (after all it’s a SW), in a way it was even funny, the guys died pretty nice jumping around, and one thing it’s maintained trought the film the typical SW feeling (even if it’s a bad fim really), have to see the other Fidani
Review of the movie:
It is ridden.
Nonsensical conversations.
It is ridden.
It is fired.
Nonsensical conversations.
Small Gunplay.
The movie is finished. 
But I confirm: This Western is better than the rest of Fidani. :o :’(
Man, I had great fun with this film. Fabio Testi portrays über coward Sartana and Jack Betts gets to be Django, a character of superhuman coolness. Both are hilarious for different reasons.
When the local scum started laughing in Testi’s face, I started laughing at him too. Haha, wonderful!
Betts is the star here though. He really hams it up and the screenplay is suitable for this.
For the rest we have typical Fidani action, a lot of unintentionally funny stuff and of course the recycled Lallo Gori music.
Fun, fun, fun 8)
Fun indeed. My Fidani’s favorite, but there are still many to watch.
One of Fidani’s (very few) better movies. Still boring most of the way but I really liked Hunt Powers’ performance and even Dino Strano didn’t do too bad. As was said before Testi was pretty much wasted as ‘Sartana’…
I really liked the raw and dirty atmosphere that Fidani managed to capture here. The old shoddy looking town, the muddy and dusty surroundings. It reminded me somewhat of a low budget version of “Django” or “Mannaja” with all that dirt.
Unfortunately i found the story the story to be less than interesting. The paper thin plot moves along at a snails pace and Testi phones in his performance. Why even get an A-list guy like Testi on board if you are going to waste on such an uninteresting role? The few shootouts were okay but again nothing spectacular, a little more action would have improved things IMO.
In the end things just dragged too much to fully keep my attention and i fast forwarded the last half hour. 10 points for the superb dirty look of the film but otherwise bottom of the barrel material IMO. The more i see of Fidani the more i think that “A Barrel Full of Dollars” was just a lucky shot since that’s the only Fidani i really enjoyed so far.
When you go into a Fidani you have certain expectations, or lack of them I should probably say. On those terms this is a pretty decent effort and one of his best that I have seen so far. Still enough flaws to write a novel about but who cares. Its Fidani. And this one is certainly watchable and for the most part reasonable fun.
I agree Phil.
I’ll reprint my thoughts from ‘last western’ thread here. I watched the Wildeast double bill recently - although I prefer the muddiness of the town in this - I enjoyed t’other film more.
“On this subject, I watched One Damned Day at Dawn… Django meets Sartana. I tried to watch it a while ago, but it was too soon after the superior Dead Men Don’t Make Shadows from the Wildeast double bill, but I couldn’t get past the first 15 minutes on that occasion.
This time I enjoyed it more, but it’s still not as good. Hunt is great, but the Testi Sartana is a joke. There’s still some good ideas in this (that are too rushed) but still some sloppiness (Django shoots 6 adversaries but still has a seventh bullet for the coup de grace … of course).
There’s some nice music as well but it’s very subtly played and easily missed.
Enjoyable nonsense - half marks.”
I enjoyed this one as well. Not the best but definitely not the worst (Four of the Apocalypse holds that honor for me) and I like Hunt Powers as Django. I agree with ya Rev. Testi was not that great but thankfully Powers was leaps and bound better and carried the movie for me.
Agreed. If it hadn’t have been for Powers hamming it up I may never have finished it for the second time. Worth it in the end, tho’.
(funny how 4OTA seems to polarise opinion - I’m on the ‘like it’ side of the fence mesel’).
[quote=“Reverend Danite, post:35, topic:1534”]Agreed. If it hadn’t have been for Powers hamming it up I may never have finished it for the second time. Worth it in the end, tho’.
(funny how 4OTA seems to polarise opinion - I’m on the ‘like it’ side of the fence mesel’).[/quote]
yes Powers does well hamming it up - he’s the Vincent Price of Spaghetti westerns
Those who dare to try a Portuguese reading can now check a humorous review of this one here:
This is only the second Fidini/ Deem spaghetti western i’ve seen, the first being " Savage Guns" which i thought was entertaining and " One Damned Day" is not as good as that film.It doesn’t have that much action, and looks cheap which it was. Fabio Testi looks glum and unintrested and film after a while becomes very ho hum.A long way from a classic but also i feel a long way from being the worst of the genre. 4/10
REVIEW: ONE DAMNED DAY AT DAWN … DJANGO MEETS SARTANA (1970/Dir. Miles Deem)
Director Miles Deem (AKA Demofilo Fidani) delivers a tedious, overlong western opus with very little going for it. 82 minutes long, feels like 182. Handsome Fabio Testi is Ronson, the new sheriff of Black City. Ronson learns that the notorious gangster Willer and his cohort Sanchez are the de facto law in Black City; the townsfolk live in fear of their (modestly- staged) rampages. Meanwhile, the mysterious stranger Django (Hunt Powers) also arrives in town to settle an old score against Willer.
The setpiece of the movie is a fairly brilliant (compared to the rest of the pic) showdown at dawn between Django and Willer’s men, which occurs maybe 2/3 of the way into the show. The two sides wordlessly face off in the town square as composer Lallo Gori’s music swells to a passioned, foreboding crescendo. Credulity is strained, however, as Django fells all six men he faces before they get as much as a single shot off! For a moment, we see Fidani at what must be the height of his abilities – a real, exciting Spaghetti Western standoff. Fidani obviously liked the scene, as he re-stages it again at the climax, with Ronson facing Sanchez in the almost-exact same fashion. Second time around, not so great.
Otherwise, the flick pads out its running time with several lengthy, pointless hand-to-hand rumbles, which are neither exciting nor essential to the story. Also filling the time is an extended, narrated “flashback” of how Willer and Sanchez met during a bank heist. This sequence plays out over about 10 minutes, and is so protracted that you will forget you are in a flashback. (I sure did.) And as for Sartana? The very last line of dialogue in the picture has Ronson admitting to Django that he is “known as Sartana in some parts”. What was the point of that?
Dino Strano as Willer is effortlessly menacing in a cool way, mostly playing things grim but occasionally breaking into a cackling, taunting laugh. Powers is a miserable Django, with little charisma and tons of pancake makeup on his creased, craggly face. The likable Testi is frankly not given much to do rather than look exasperated. He has proved himself an able protagonist in several other genre films, but here he is basically a tall guy that looks good in a cowboy outfit.
The production betrays its modest budget by boasting a tiny cast playing the story out in cramped, cheap-looking sets. The town square is forever dark and muddy, which may have been a choice by the filmmakers or may just mean they couldn’t afford to wait for the sun to come out, to begin filming. The overall cheapness makes the score by Coriolano (Lallo) Gori seems that much richer and full-throated in comparison. Gori, as usual, delivers a fine, robust series of cues.
This is one of about a half-dozen flicks that Fidani cranked out with pretty much the same cast and behind-the-camera personnel. Of that bunch, none are great, and ONE DAMNED DAY may well be the least of them. 5/10 stars.
fidani crap…