"Payment in Blood" qualifies as a violent, above-average, Spaghetti western shoot'em up with a high body count. Like director Sergio Leone's bigger budgeted "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly," the leaner budgeted "Payment in Blood" concerns the quest for buried treasure. The outlaw villains embark on a search for a fabled fortune, approximately $200-thousand, stashed at an undisclosed location by Confederate General Beauregard. Of course, anybody who knows anything about Civil War history knows Beauregard hid no such loot. Typically, most westerns that appropriate this plot attribute the lost Confederate gold to President Jefferson Davis. Ironically, during the opening credits sequence, which contains a montage of Civil War photographs, you won't see a picture of Beauregard, while you will see pictures of Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, and Ulysses S. Grant. The protagonist, Stuart Edd Byrnes of "Any Gun Can Play"), has a grudge to settle with the head villain (Guy Madison of "Massacre River") and his gang of bloodthirsty gunmen. Primarily known overseas as "Seven Winchesters for a Massacre," "Payment in Blood" constituted writer & director Enzo G. Castellari's third western. Castellari's first western at the helm was "Few Dollars for Django" for which he received no credit, and "Any Gun Can Play" was his second oater, with a bigger, better cast. "Payment in Blood" doesn't top either "Any Gun Can Play" or a later Castellari Civil War western "Kill Them All and Come Back Alone" with Chuck Connors. Long-time screen writing collaborator Tito Carpi of "Few Dollars for Django" and "Bullets and the Flesh" scribe Marino Girolami penned the formulaic plot with Castellari for "Payment in Blood." The difference between "Payment in Blood" and "Any Gun Can Play" is the latter is more elaborate than the former.
"Payment in Blood" amounts to a rather contrived western that uses the venerable plot about an individual who goes undercover to infiltrate a gang of homicidal criminals and thwart them. The dialogue is neither as amusing as "Any Gun Can Play," but "Payment in Blood" boasts a surprise ending. Although it seems like scores of men wind up with bullet holes during the numerous shoot-outs, "Payment in Blood" lacks the titular element that became such a fixture in later westerns like "The Wild Bunch." The frontier action takes place in 1867 after the conclusion of the American Civil War. A renegade Confederate officer, Colonel Thomas Blake (Guy Madison of "Five against the House"), refuses to stop fighting Union authorities and leads his troops on raids against the army and civilians alike. During the opening moments of "Payment in Blood," writer & director Enzo G. Castellari introduces us to not only the pugnacious Blake but also the hell-spawn that ride with him. Included in this notorious gang are Chamaco Gonzales (Ennio Girolami of "The Hellbenders"), Rios (Aysanoa Runachagua of "El Cisco"), Fred Calhoun (Federico Boido of "Planet of the Vampires"), Zeb Russel, and Mesa Alvarez (Attilio Severini of "Massacre at Grand Canyon"). Blake and his marauders carry out indiscriminate raids, steal horses, loot houses, and kill men, women and children without a qualm. Most of this information is imparted to us by nameless supporting players standing around wanted posters of Blake men and complaining about his depredations. The reward on Blake's head has risen to $5-thousand. Chamaco rides into a town one day and eavesdrops on a conversation between a crippled, former Confederate soldier and a cowboy. "What can you expect from a rotten war like ours? Brother against brother. When you teach a man it's right to kill, how can you unteach him?" The other man observes about Blake's killers: "They have learned to like being heroes. They've learned to like killing." Chamaco confronts the crippled Southerner, Jeremy, because the latter had ridden with General Beauregard and may know the location of the lost treasure. Before he can learn anything from Jeremy, Chamaco has to kill him. A military tribunal sentences Chamaco to die in front of an army firing squad. Stuart surprises the military and rescues Chamaco just as the soldiers are about to execute him. You see, Stuart is driving a wagon past the firing squad when he delivers his ultimatum to the army. He shoots the officer's sword and several Winchester rifles spring from the wagon, suggesting that several men are aiming those long guns. As it turns out, nobody is aiming those rifles, and Stuart has packed a bag of dynamite in the wagon bed so when one of the soldiers opens fire on the vehicle, the wagon vanishes in an explosion.
Chamaco takes Stuart to Blake's camp after they sneak across the Rio Grande without attracting attention from the border patrols. It seems that Stuart served as one of General Beauregard's chiefs of staff. Stuart's introduction to Blake's gang and his ability to match them at their expertise makes for a good scene. The photography of Zeb snatching the revolver out of Stuart's holster with his bull whip is exciting. After he arrives in Blake's camp, Stuart refuses to divulge the whereabouts of the loot to the cunning colonel. Eventually, Stuart does reveal the location, and they find a strong box buried in an Indian cemetery. Things take a turn for the worst when Blake discovers that the money in the strong box is a pile of worthless Confederate bank notes. Meantime, the survivors of the Durango come after Blake for killing their husbands. Edd Byrnes appears out of place with his clean-shaven features among a cast of characters who sport some form of facial hair. Guy Madison is suitably murderous as the bad guy in a role that he rarely played. The first time that we see Madison as Colonel Blake, Blake rides out of a cloud of gunfire in a town that his men and he are shooting up. Composer Francesco De Masi provides a charismatic orchestral score that perks up this western. Once you've heard De Masi's flavorful score, you won't forget it.
"Payment in Blood" amounts to a rather contrived western that uses the venerable plot about an individual who goes undercover to infiltrate a gang of homicidal criminals and thwart them. The dialogue is neither as amusing as "Any Gun Can Play," but "Payment in Blood" boasts a surprise ending. Although it seems like scores of men wind up with bullet holes during the numerous shoot-outs, "Payment in Blood" lacks the titular element that became such a fixture in later westerns like "The Wild Bunch." The frontier action takes place in 1867 after the conclusion of the American Civil War. A renegade Confederate officer, Colonel Thomas Blake (Guy Madison of "Five against the House"), refuses to stop fighting Union authorities and leads his troops on raids against the army and civilians alike. During the opening moments of "Payment in Blood," writer & director Enzo G. Castellari introduces us to not only the pugnacious Blake but also the hell-spawn that ride with him. Included in this notorious gang are Chamaco Gonzales (Ennio Girolami of "The Hellbenders"), Rios (Aysanoa Runachagua of "El Cisco"), Fred Calhoun (Federico Boido of "Planet of the Vampires"), Zeb Russel, and Mesa Alvarez (Attilio Severini of "Massacre at Grand Canyon"). Blake and his marauders carry out indiscriminate raids, steal horses, loot houses, and kill men, women and children without a qualm. Most of this information is imparted to us by nameless supporting players standing around wanted posters of Blake men and complaining about his depredations. The reward on Blake's head has risen to $5-thousand. Chamaco rides into a town one day and eavesdrops on a conversation between a crippled, former Confederate soldier and a cowboy. "What can you expect from a rotten war like ours? Brother against brother. When you teach a man it's right to kill, how can you unteach him?" The other man observes about Blake's killers: "They have learned to like being heroes. They've learned to like killing." Chamaco confronts the crippled Southerner, Jeremy, because the latter had ridden with General Beauregard and may know the location of the lost treasure. Before he can learn anything from Jeremy, Chamaco has to kill him. A military tribunal sentences Chamaco to die in front of an army firing squad. Stuart surprises the military and rescues Chamaco just as the soldiers are about to execute him. You see, Stuart is driving a wagon past the firing squad when he delivers his ultimatum to the army. He shoots the officer's sword and several Winchester rifles spring from the wagon, suggesting that several men are aiming those long guns. As it turns out, nobody is aiming those rifles, and Stuart has packed a bag of dynamite in the wagon bed so when one of the soldiers opens fire on the vehicle, the wagon vanishes in an explosion.
Chamaco takes Stuart to Blake's camp after they sneak across the Rio Grande without attracting attention from the border patrols. It seems that Stuart served as one of General Beauregard's chiefs of staff. Stuart's introduction to Blake's gang and his ability to match them at their expertise makes for a good scene. The photography of Zeb snatching the revolver out of Stuart's holster with his bull whip is exciting. After he arrives in Blake's camp, Stuart refuses to divulge the whereabouts of the loot to the cunning colonel. Eventually, Stuart does reveal the location, and they find a strong box buried in an Indian cemetery. Things take a turn for the worst when Blake discovers that the money in the strong box is a pile of worthless Confederate bank notes. Meantime, the survivors of the Durango come after Blake for killing their husbands. Edd Byrnes appears out of place with his clean-shaven features among a cast of characters who sport some form of facial hair. Guy Madison is suitably murderous as the bad guy in a role that he rarely played. The first time that we see Madison as Colonel Blake, Blake rides out of a cloud of gunfire in a town that his men and he are shooting up. Composer Francesco De Masi provides a charismatic orchestral score that perks up this western. Once you've heard De Masi's flavorful score, you won't forget it.