The Grand Duel
| The Grand Duel | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Giancarlo Santi |
| Produced by | Henryk Choroscicki Ettore Rosboch |
| Screenplay by | Ernesto Gastaldi |
| Starring |
Lee Van Cleef Alberto Dentice Marc Mazza Horst Frank Klaus Grünberg Antony Vernon Dominique Darel |
| Music by |
Sergio Bardotti Luis Enrique |
| Cinematography | Mario Vulpiani |
| Edited by | Roberto Perpignani |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Titanus Distribuzione |
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Release date
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29 December 1972 (West Germany) 9 February 1973 (Italy) |
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Running time
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98 minutes |
| Country | Italy West Germany France |
| Language | Italian |
The Grand Duel (Italian: Il Grande duello), also known as Storm Rider and The Big Showdown, is a 1972 Spaghetti Western film directed by Giancarlo Santi, who had previously worked as Sergio Leone's assistant director on The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West. The film stars Lee Van Cleef as a sheriff who seeks justice for a man accused of murder.
Philip Wermeer has escaped from prison where he serves a sentence for the murder of Ebenezer Saxon, the patriarch of Saxon city, who in his turn is believed to be behind the murder of Wermeer’s father. Wermeer is holed up in Gila Bend by a swarm of bounty killers, who want his $3,000 reward, posted by Saxon's three sons David, Eli and Adam.
A sheriff named Clayton arrives on a stagecoach and bosses his way through the cordon set up by the local lawmen. While walking to the saloon, he performs actions that tip off Wermeer as to where some of the besiegers are hidden (like throwing a lit match so a man hidden in hay has to put it out). Wermeer makes it to the saloon, where Clayton, who has counted Wermeer's shots and knows that he is out of bullets, arrests him.
Hole, a spokesman for the bounty killers, calls on Wermeer to surrender. A shot rings out and Clayton emerges dragging the "dead" convict. They argue that Clayton -– who if he is a sheriff cannot collect bounty -– should give up the body. The disagreement develops into a gunfight. Wermeer jumps up on a horse and escapes, pursued by the pack (though not Clayton). Wermeer makes the bounty hunters follow his horse, then hitches a ride with the stagecoach, where he finds Clayton among the passengers.
When they stay the night at Silver Bells, Wermeer goes for a shotgun hanging on the wall, but Clayton stops him. A drunken stationmaster assures the gun is empty, but Clayton retorts: "Never consider a gun empty.” Then he and Wermeer play cards, Wermeer betting his $3,000 bounty. Wermeer wins and Clayton promises to take him to Saxon city as he wants. Wermeer steals a revolver from Clayton’s bag, but is told that it is empty. Wermeer repeats Clayton’s earlier saying and pulls the trigger, but Clayton shows him the bullet, taking it out of his mouth. Wermeer tries to leave, but Clayton shoots the door, this time with bullets.
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