I just bought the old swedish vhs-tape of this german “comic” western starring David Hess, the terrorman. When i heard the original-title was Potato Fritz i knew i had to see it (or most probably suffer through it)… Yes, i do have silly taste.
Everyone seems to hate it, including my friend who i bought it off, but has anyone here seen it and want to leave some comments?
I´ll add something myself once i´ve seen it, but it will probably take a couple of weeks at least.
That was so long ago.
It’s a German western by One of the Schamoni brothers, starring Hardy Krüger and Stephen Boyd. And German soccer star Paul Breitner was in it, playing an soldier with his full afro hair look. Bizarre.
I don’t remember much, but I think it was one of these rather amateurish looking films.
I have at the very bottom of my to watch pile and had forgotten about it really.
Unfortunately (!?) I wasn’t able to track it down yet. Hardy Krüger and Paul(e) Breitner in one movie ??? That must be fun… 
I suppose this might very well be a western best forgotten… i´ll say more once i´ve seen it!
I am now 35 minutes into this. Took a little break, because I had to do something.
Anyway, the film is not amateurish, at least not to me. And it clearly wasn´t shot in Germany either.
Version viewed is the Sunrise Tapes VHS I got today. It is dubbed in English. It is widescreen during the opening titles and, unfortunately, fullscreen for the rest of the film. Before the film it is mentioned onscreen that Krüger received an award in the Best Actor category at the Cannes Western Festival of 1976. I didn’t even konw there had been such a thing.
oThe film is slightly comedic, but it’s not super funny and it probably won’t get very funny. It’s not a bore even though the pace leaves something to be desired. Potato Fritz provides for the most entertainment. He’s a total alcoholic and has a bear cub for a pet. His farm is burnt down by Indians, because it’s on their territory. Fritz keeps his guns up in a pole, so the Indians know he’s unarmed, even though through his drunken haze he has proven himself to be an excellent shot.
The plot has something to do with gold allegedly stolen by Indians, but it was whites who did it. But don’t expect Winnetou type stuff when you read this. Like mentioned David Hess is in here too. Nice to see.
Will report more later, probably.
Keep us updated, BL ! 
Will do. It really ain’t that bad by the way. Expected something excruciating. Not great either of course, but an alright watch with a couple of beers.
Where is Magnus with his findings? After all, it was him who started the thread
Agree with BL above average and plenty of action and well written and acted. Worth seeking out.
You have me interested, will try and view this one soon.
According to the Bruckner book it was shot in Almeria.
And the format is given with “Normal” which means an open matte fullscreen version is allright. But if the credits were in widescreen, it probably ain’t open matte.
BL, which format had the widescreen of the credits?
Errr, I didn’t measure it. But I’d say 1.85:1
I have a lot of tapes where this is done. Apparently cutting off letters in credits was considered worse than cutting off image.
As for this tape, it is clearly not an open matte. But it’s not the worst pan & scan job either.
1,85:1 relates to what Bruckner has in his book. Then it could have been done as open matte.
Have viewed this before way in back in the 80’s on T.V, but have since had in my to watch pile for over three years so thought it was time for a view. Hardy Kruger plays Potato Fritz who have always liked as an actor, has a quality about him. Pretty enjoyable watching him and his drunk antics everytime his shack gets burnt down by the Indians. Always amazes me the amount of euro and spaghetti westerns that do have Indians in. Story has a bit of a lull at one point, but all comes together nicely towards the end. Traditional style weopons were the only thing I remembered from my orginal viewing of the film, and they do stand out. Music is a mixed bag. Modern style themes especially the Potato Fritz theme, to more tradional themes. Worth a look if you do not mind German westerns.
Someone will have to edit the details on the SWDB page. Unfortunately the German DVD does not play in English.
Have the U.K pre cert vhs to this which is not bad quality.
Just viewed this one again via the fandub of the German disc. Is the film comedy, maybe for some people and can understand why. For me its a film that has its own style, which is a bit different and thats why I like the film. Stephen Boyd is a missed actor for me and great the main star Kruger is still alive as I am a fan.
It’s not all bad but I think it should have been shorter. Nothing really happens until the end. Just feels like they wrote the script as they went along.