Il grande duello
Tags: western, violence, murder

Plot synopsis:
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.
Bounty Hunters led by Hole surround the house. They give Wermeer thirty seconds. He and Clayton are inside with Elisabeth, a female passenger who has earlier shown interest in Wermeer. Clayton tells her that Wermeer is innocent and that he saw who did it, but if Wermeer walks out the door he will never know. Wermeer gives himself up. Hole and two of the bounty hunters now kill the others in their pack, then ride off with Wermeer.
Clayton finds them beating and questioning Wermeer in a waterfall, asking where the silver of his father is and offering to let him go if he tells. Clayton shoots off the rope and liberates him. Wermeer asks if he is still a prisoner. When Clayton says no, he holds a gun against Clayton and rides off to Saxon city on the latter’s horse.
Wermeer confronts the Saxon sons, Adam and Eli. He accuses Eli (who is sheriff) and asks who killed his father. We also learn that Hole was sent by Eli to find out who really killed the old man Saxon.
Clayton arrives and demands that the Saxons reopen Wermeer's case. Wermeer sends word to his own friends to gather at the silver mine A duel between Hole and Wermeer is supervised by Clayton after he reveals that it was Hole who killed Wermeer’s father. An ambusher is there helping Hole, but Wermeer shoots him without Clayton interfering. (In a German-language version, the dying Hole says he killed Wermeer because the latter refused to share the silver.)
Adam Saxon massacres Wermeer's followers with hidden explosives and a machine gun. He also kills his own men, not to leave any witnesses. David Saxon, the oldest of the brothers, meets with Clayton, who says that they both know who killed the old man Saxon. David offers $25.000 if he and Wermeer leave town.
Clayton relays the offer that the charge will be dropped. Wermeer replies that the Saxons made the offer because "dead people don't need a leader.” Adam shoots him from a window, though Elisabeth, who arrived in town to marry Adam, cries out a warning. Clayton escapes during the gunfight.
In the morning, Wermeer is to be hanged. Clayton says he knows who is the real killer. David wants the hanging to continue but Eli says that he must know. Clayton confesses that he himself did it, saying that the judge was bought by Saxon, so justice could only be done this way. The Saxons agree to meet him at the cattle pens.
At the confrontation, when Clayton approaches, David says that the three must draw first to overcome Clayton’s expert gunplay. Wermeer, from a distance, shoots off Clayton’s hat so that he draws first and kills the three men. Wermeer picks up his hat and gun and says that Clayton now can go back to being a sheriff. Wermeer leaves for Mexico with Elisabeth, not caring about the silver. The old man from the stagecoach drives them.

Review: It could be said that The Grand Dual is merely a vehicle for its lead star, and whoever said it wouldn't necessarily be wrong; but while this film doesn't feature a lot of originality, it's also true that Italian cinema was based on repeating itself, and the film definitely succeeds in providing an enjoyable slice of western action.
The plot focuses on Sheriff Clayton as he becomes involved in the murder of a man so-called 'The Patriarch' through his association with the sly Philipp Wermeer.
The film follows the pair as they make their way through bandits and bounty hunters and eventually end up in Saxon town, where the sons of the Patriarch live.
They've fingered Wermeer as the murderer of their father, and naturally want him hanged; but there's a twist to the identity of the murderer.Lee Van Cleef made his name with Sergio Leone and the masterpiece westerns 'For a Few Dollars More' and, of course, 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly'.
This film is nowhere near the quality of those two, but Van Cleef does well in his 'man in black role', which is a variation on the common western 'loner' theme, which was made famous by the likes of Clint Eastwood and Django.
The film features a lot of shootouts and chases on horseback, which are always good to see; but at times, The Grand Dual puts too much focus on entertainment value and this can mean that the plot suffers.
Overall, this film isn't one of the great Spaghetti westerns - but it's a good one and comes recommended..
Then we have Lee Van Cleef playing Clayton in a black, black Western outfit in stark contrast to the white outfits of the Saxons.
This is a western vengeance with a young named Philip Wermeer (Peter O'Brian) wrongly accused of killing a patriarch and going after those whom murdered his father .
He lives for one purpose to avenge his death but is also pursued by cutthroat bounty hunters and the sheriff of Jefferson named Clayton (Lee Van Cleef) .
At the end is revealed the amazing truth about who killed The Patriarch .It's one of the numerous European Western (this time co-produced by Italy, France , Monaco, Germany) posterior to Sergio Leone ¨boom¨ and follows the Spaghetti Western models .
Features appearance by stalwart Spaghetti , Lee Van Cleef , he plays his usual role , even wearing similar black clothes of former characters as Colonel Mortimer , Sentenza and Sabata .
The flick will appeal to Lee Van Cleef fans and Spaghetti western buffs ..
This is a brilliant Italian/German/Monocco western that is vastly underrated with touches of Italian Giallo, a little Neo Realism and Nourish properties as well.....also being trendy via having one of the characters, the youngest of the brothers to be homosexual and deadly with a gun...also and interesting mix of flashback desaturated blue filtered monochrome/black and white photography....the film is finally on DVD thru Treeline films, part of a vast 50 films DVD collection.....the only drawback is the film is only formatted via Pan and Scan, which is very apparent, almost like watching a tennis match....well anyway a widescreen print is available this will have to do, but even in Pan and Scan , this is a Grand film and highly recommended for Van Cleef and non Van Cleef fans..also a brilliant score by future Academy Award winner Luis Enrique Bacalov which is making a comeback via the soundtrack to Kill Bill Vol 1.....please get this film along with the collection I mentioned earlier....not bad for $25.00....thanks.
The Grand Duel is one of the most under-rated Spaghetti Westerns ever made.
Good action scenes and a great sound track by Luis Enriquez Bacalov under the name Sergio Bardotti.
Sheriff Lee Van Cleef aids a fugitive convicted of murder in his escape from a group of vicious bounty hunters and involves himself in a murder mystery involving the fugitive and a powerful family of three ruthless brothers.The Grand Duel is watchable but not particularly exciting or memorable, with the plot taking way too much time to develop with Van Cleef's motivations remaining murky a bit longer than they should.Horst Frank is good as the eldest brother with delusions of grandeur.
His effeminate psycho brother is a lot of fun to watch too.The title event where Van Cleef takes on multiple gunmen is the best thing about the movie..
While Lee Van Cleef and Jess Hahn dubbed themselves, the rest of the cast have the usual 'spaghetti' dubbing, with some English accents thrown in.
Lee Van Cleef knows, but he isn't answering any questionsat all!Horst is the crooked mayor of Saxon City since his father (also Horst Frank) was probably, but possibly not, gunned down by George Harrison.
Lee Van Cleef is the has-been sheriff who is out to clear George Harrison's name, indulge in a bit of banter, be as vague as humanly possible about every question he's asked, and plug him a few bad guys into the bargain.
Average Italo Western with Lee Van Cleef and Barry Gibb (just kidding).
Released in 1972 (1974 in the USA) and directed by Giancarlo Santi, "The Grand Duel" is a Spaghetti Western starring Lee Van Cleef as a grizzled ex-sheriff who helps a framed man (that looks like Barry Gibb from the Bee Gees) confront the politically powerful trio of brothers who want him slain.
Awesome spaghetti western, with a Lee Van Cleef who never ever looked coolers in his life and arguably the greatest theme song ever composed for a film (and that's something Quentin Tarantino probably agrees with as he also selected the song for the soundtrack of "Kill Bill").
Van Cleef plays former Sheriff Clayton, and obviously he's the type of gunslinger whose eyes are never really closed when he lies asleep with his hat over his face and who spots the hideout of every potential enemy without even lifting his head.
Saxon City is kept under the thumbs of the three rich and utterly corrupted Saxon brothers David, Eli and Adam (too bad none of them is named John) and they falsely accused Philippe of killing their father at Jefferson train station.
"The Grand Duel" has everything you could possible seek in a western: outrageous shootouts, invincible heroes and psychopathic villains (especially Adam, the youngest Saxon, is oddly menacing), compelling sub plots, jaw-dropping moments of intensity, magnificent decors and breath-taking exterior locations and – as said already – an impeccable soundtrack.
Director Giancarlo Santi might not be the most prominent name in the field of classic Italian westerns, but he obviously paid close attention to the films of the masters (like Sergio Leone, Sergio Corbucci and Sergio Sollima).
With a script by Ernesto Gastaldi, Italy's hardest-working scriptwriter of the period, and direction from Giancarlo Santi, who worked as assistant director on THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY, it has brilliant credentials behind it as well as a cast of some of the genre's heaviest hitters.
It could have quite easily been a classic and parts of it are – the haunting music and theme that plays repeatedly throughout the movie manages to out-do Morricone and is possibly my favourite spaghetti western score; Tarantino must have liked it too, because he used it in KILL BILL.
The action scenes are well handled and the final duel even manages to approach the ending of THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY in terms of quality, with superb accompanying music and decent camera-work.
Essentially, though, what makes this more than watchable is the leading presence of Lee Van Cleef, appearing exactly the same as he did in FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE and giving another stern performance with his acting for the most part in his eyes – hands down Van Cleef is my favourite spagwest actor and he hasn't disappointed me yet.Van Cleef is given some good support, especially from the likes of regular German bad guy Horst Frank and newcomer Peter O'Brien, who only acted in this one film before disappearing off the face of the earth (he looks uncannily like Ray Lovelock in THE LIVING DEAD AT THE MANCHESTER MORGUE).
A grizzled ex-sheriff (Lee vanCleef) helps a man framed for murder to confront the powerful trio of brothers who want him dead.There is a bit of history for the people involved.
The film was 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".
Also, the film's music was composed by future Academy Award winner Luis Enríquez Bacalov; the title score was later used in Quentin Tarantino's film "Kill Bill: Volume 1".As far as spaghetti westerns go, it is decent.
Personally, I really like Lee VanCleef, and I think his presence is the film's saving grace.
"The Grand Duel" directed by Giancarlo Santi is a movie that failed to properly use it's star power and great score.
But the biggest and most crucial reason goes to the highly unsatisfying final showdown that fails to keep to the movie's name.The film stars Lee Van Cleef as a lawman named Clayton who is on the trails of Philipp Wermeer played by Alberto Dentice.
Framed for the murder of a high profile person, Wermeer is constantly chased by bounty hunters and only Clayton's timely intervention saves him from death and further, sets him on a course to prove his innocence.
From then on the usual bloodbaths begin as both Clayton and Wermeer make their way through hordes of bounty hunters, hired guns and finally the vengeance minded sons of the man Wermeer allegedly killed.
The opening scenes are especially memorable as Dentice's character shows moves that would later become standard part in action movies.
Scene to scene transition is shabby a good example of that happens shortly after the shootout at the inn in the beginning, with the scene directly cutting into the chase between Wermeer and the bounty hunters, spontaneously changing the music.
Luis Bacalov made a great score for this film and it wasn't edited well enough in, again as an example take the opening scene when Van Cleef's character is walking to the inn.On the good side, we have Lee Van Cleef who is his usual "Man In Black" self, delivering a great performance as Sheriff Clayton.
Spaghetti westerns often lack decent female leads and "The Grand Duel" is a typical example of that.I felt disappointed with "The Grand Duel", because it could have been a good movie had it only been given more time for post-production and a few minor changes to the script.
Ernesto Gastaldi ("My Name is Nobody", "Torso") wrote this very fine film that neatly combines the Spaghetti Western and murder mystery genres.
Alberto Dentice plays Philipp Wermeer, a man desperate to know the identity of the man who shot his father.
Assisting Philipp is leathery former sheriff Clayton (Lee Van Cleef), who believes Philipp to be innocent.
On the other side are the Patriarchs' angry sons, one of whom, David (Horst Frank) is a power hungry madman.Director Giancarlo Santi was Sergio Leones' assistant director on "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" and "Once Upon a Time in the West", and it's obvious that he learned all the right lessons.
One very nice touch is the way that Santi shoots the flashback sequences (in which Frank also plays the Patriarch), in atmospheric black & white.
"The Grand Duel" (1972), directed by Giancarlo Santi, is a fun Spaghetti Western that is also one of Quentin Tarantino's favourite film's (he uses the music by Luis Bacalov in "Kill Bill").
The screenplay is not overly complex that has at least one quite surprising twist: Lee Van Cleef plays an ex-lawman called Clayton who protects Newman (Peter O'Brien) from a false murder rap.
The score is tuneful, the acting is passable, although Van Cleef and Klaus Grünberg are honourable exceptions and the direction is very confidant, surprising when you lean that this was Santi's only Western (but he was Leone's assistant director on "Duck, You Sucker!" [1971])..
Above Average Italian Oater Enhanced by Lee Van Cleef and A Terrific Orchestral Score.
Prolific Spaghetti western scenarist Ernesto Gastaldi penned the script for this Lee Van Cleef continental oater "The Grand Duel," directed with considerable competence by Giancarlo Santi.
Although he didn't helm any Spaghetti westerns aside from "Grand Duel" on his own, Santi served as Sergio Leone's assistant director on "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" (1966) and his masterpiece "Once Upon A Time in the West" (1968) as well as Giulio Petroni's assistant director on "Death Rides A Horse"(1967).
"The Grand Duel" ranks high up in the lower 25 Spaghetti westerns out of the best 100.
In "The Grand Duel," he rides in a stagecoach, while he rides in a train with his head bowed beneath a black hat in "For A Few Dollars More." In the latter film, Van Cleef concealed his face behind a huge Bible when he asked the conductor about the train making an unscheduled stop.
The conductor warns him they aren't going to stop where Van Cleef's frock-coated, black hat clad character wants.
Nevertheless, Van Cleef tugs the emergency cord, halting the train, and disembarks to fetch his horse from the freight car.As "The Grand Duel" opens, lawmen fire warning shots at the stagecoach that Sheriff Clayton (Lee Van Cleef) is riding in and refuse to let Big Horse (Jess Han of "Escape from Death Row") enter Gila Bend.
Anyway, one of the Patriarch's sons Eli Saxon (bald headed Marc Mazza of "Moonraker") accused Philipp Vermeer of killing the Patriarch, (Horst Frank in a dual role wearing whiskers), a wealthy, unscrupulous power-broker hated by half of the state.
David's words: "In a violent country, he who seizes today, controls tomorrow," epitomizes his treachery."The Grand Duel" plays out in three settings: first in Gila Bend; second at the isolated Silver Bells stagecoach station, and third in Saxon City where a showdown occurs in the stock pens in traditional western style.
Meantime, hardcore Lee Van Cleef fans won't want to miss "The Grand Duel" for its several shootouts as well as the twists and turns in Gastaldi's screenplay.
There's a great DVD set put out by St. Clair Vision that offers nine films, appropriately titled "Spaghetti Westerns", and fairly oozing garlic oil and marinara.
If you're only familiar with the Clint Eastwood 'Man With No Name' films, you'll be intrigued and entertained by the offerings here, among them "The Grand Duel".
The fact that he's a ruthless gunman is almost beside the fact, his pock marked face is worthy of a seamy horror flick.The three Saxon Brothers are out to avenge the death of their father, and numerous flashback sequences that offer the darkened outline of the killer point to only one person, and yet when Sheriff Clayton (Van Cleef) reveals it was himself, it almost comes as a surprise.
Early in the story, it appears that Clayton's quarry is Wermeer, until they team up following the apparent killing of Wermeer by bounty hunters - neat twist!
If you're used to the Eastwood style of the genre, you might find the circus type acrobatics of "The Grand Duel" to be somewhat off base, but it seems to be standard fare in some of the other films on the collection I mentioned earlier.
Played with glasses of whiskey, it seemed to me that the winner would be the guy who got drunk first; after all, you had to down your shot after jumping the opposition.I would swear I'd heard portions of the musical score in another film, it's so provocative you find yourself actually anticipating some it.
The Grand Duel might not live up to Sergio Leone's films, but at least it's not the worst.
The film starts out with an ex-sheriff name Clayton (Lee Van Cleef) arrived by stage coach, to find out that an escape convict, Phillip Vermeer (Alberto Dentice AKA Peter O'Brien) is hiding out in his town.
Lee Van Cleef has more a reason to be there and more to do.
There is David Saxon (Horst Frank) who plays both the patriarch and his oldest son, a cunning, knowing man with political ambitions, who bides his time; then the middle child, Sheriff Eli Saxon (Marc Mazza) who is a simple and impatient man of action, and then the youngest brother, Adam Saxon (Klaus Grünberg) who steals the movie with his portrayal of a homosexual maniac who kills an entire community of Dutch immigrants just for fun, in a scene so over the top it will leave you cringing.
In the United States, the film is known as Grand Duel, Storm Rider, the Loner, and the Big Showdown.
Good Spaghetti Western.
I though this was a very good film.Shot in the hippie and Deep Throat era of 1972.It's hippie in some of the styles.Which are not accurate.some of the scenes look very staged.The towns look like a quick set up.This was a low budget western for a Lee van Cleef vehicle.Clint Eastwood westerns had a bigger budget.The bad guy is played by a very Hippie Alberto Dentice as Philipp.He's been accused of murdering the crooked leader of a western town Saxon City, Patriarch Samuel Saxon ,played by Horst Frank,who does not say any word in this picture.He's only in a flash back,in black n white.
Lee Van Cleef plays Sheriff Clayton, Who tries to help Phil,but he's stubborn.One of the crooked Saxon Brothers who was sheriff Eli,played by Marx Mazza had witness that Phil did not kill their daddy.It was the other Saxon Brother ,Adam, who saw it,but he's framing Phil cause his father owned a silver mind and the brothers are power hungry,the way the corporate acting film making and distribution business are.I am wondering if the Adam character, who looks like he has syphilis marks in his face, played by Klaus Grunberg,is he suppose to be a fop?