As another commenter said, this is pure fantasy in a Western setting. If you're looking for the gritty realism of a Spaghetti Western or an American Western from the Peckinpah era, this is definitely not your cup of tea.
For one thing, everyone is so clean -- even the Vulture Gang, whom you'd naturally expect to have less exacting standards of personal hygiene.
In many ways, these "Bratwurst Westerns" seem like throwbacks to an earlier style, namely, the 1930s brand of American horse opera. Except that in the Old Surehand series, the Native Americans are portrayed to an almost ridiculous degree as misunderstood Noble Savages. (Which is somewhat of an improvement over depicting them as mindless, bloodthirsty savages, but neither approach corresponds very closely to the reality.)
What's really disconcerting about the English language dub of the film is that someone else does Stewart Granger's voice. Which is a pity, because much of Granger's charm and presence as an actor resided in that inimitable bass growl. I wonder why they couldn't get him to do his own dubbing -- I'd have given this one an extra star just for that.
But it doesn't look as though the production values were skimped when it came to the costuming and props, and the cinematography is occasionally breathtaking. (If possible, you should try to catch this in letterbox format, just for the gorgeous scenery.) The action sequences come off fairly well, too, and the bad guys are appropriately villainous.
Overall, I can think of many worse ways to spend an hour-and-a-half.
For one thing, everyone is so clean -- even the Vulture Gang, whom you'd naturally expect to have less exacting standards of personal hygiene.
In many ways, these "Bratwurst Westerns" seem like throwbacks to an earlier style, namely, the 1930s brand of American horse opera. Except that in the Old Surehand series, the Native Americans are portrayed to an almost ridiculous degree as misunderstood Noble Savages. (Which is somewhat of an improvement over depicting them as mindless, bloodthirsty savages, but neither approach corresponds very closely to the reality.)
What's really disconcerting about the English language dub of the film is that someone else does Stewart Granger's voice. Which is a pity, because much of Granger's charm and presence as an actor resided in that inimitable bass growl. I wonder why they couldn't get him to do his own dubbing -- I'd have given this one an extra star just for that.
But it doesn't look as though the production values were skimped when it came to the costuming and props, and the cinematography is occasionally breathtaking. (If possible, you should try to catch this in letterbox format, just for the gorgeous scenery.) The action sequences come off fairly well, too, and the bad guys are appropriately villainous.
Overall, I can think of many worse ways to spend an hour-and-a-half.