El kárate, el Colt y el impostor
Encyclopedia
The Stranger and the Gunfighter is a 1974 kung fu
Spaghetti Western
produced by the Shaw Brothers in collaboration with an Italian company, and filmed on location in Hong Kong
and Spain
. It was directed by Antonio Margheriti
.
The film stars Lo Lieh
(at the time one of Hong Kong's most famous action stars) as Ho Chiang, a martial artist who journeys to America's Wild West in order to recover his late uncle Wang's missing fortune. Ho must free his uncle's murderer, Dakota (frequent Spaghetti Western star Lee Van Cleef
), the only man who knows Wang's final resting place. Upon recovering the body, the pair discovers clues pointing to buried treasure
. Notes on the dead man's body promise that the location of the treasure will be illuminated by a map
, divided for security into four segments, each one tattooed
on the buttocks of one of the uncle's four mistresses. Armed with photographs of the women, Ho and Dakota form an uneasy alliance and set out in search of the map tattoos and the promised riches.
El kárate, el Colt y el impostor was produced at a time when the Shaw Brothers were attempting to branch into more international co-productions, often genre
-bending. The same year also saw the Shaw Brothers Studio teaming with the UK
's Hammer Studios
to produce The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires
, a kung fu gothic horror film
.
For English-language release, the film was retitled The Stranger and the Gunfighter and Blood Money.
Martial arts film
Martial arts film is a film genre. A sub-genre of the action film, martial arts films contain numerous fights between characters, usually as the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often as a method of storytelling and character expression and development. Martial arts are frequently...
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
produced by the Shaw Brothers in collaboration with an Italian company, and filmed on location in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. It was directed by Antonio Margheriti
Antonio Margheriti
Antonio Margheriti , also known under the pseudonym Anthony M. Dawson, was a prolific Italian filmmaker. He was born in Rome and died in 2002 from a heart attack in Monterosi, Viterbo, near Rome at the age of 72....
.
The film stars Lo Lieh
Lo Lieh
Lo Lieh was a Hong Kong actor in martial arts films. His real name is Wang Lap Tat. After his parents sent him back to China he attended acting school in Hong Kong. He began his martial arts training in 1962 and joined the Shaw Brothers Studio in the same year and went on to become one of the...
(at the time one of Hong Kong's most famous action stars) as Ho Chiang, a martial artist who journeys to America's Wild West in order to recover his late uncle Wang's missing fortune. Ho must free his uncle's murderer, Dakota (frequent Spaghetti Western star Lee Van Cleef
Lee Van Cleef
Lee Van Cleef was an American film actor who appeared mostly in Western and action pictures. His sharp features and piercing eyes led to his being cast as a villain in scores of films such as High Noon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and The Good The Bad and the Ugly.-Early life:Van Cleef was...
), the only man who knows Wang's final resting place. Upon recovering the body, the pair discovers clues pointing to buried treasure
Buried treasure
A buried treasure is an important part of the popular beliefs surrounding pirates and Old West outlaws. According to popular conception, criminals and others often buried their stolen fortunes in remote places, intending to return for them later, often with the use of treasure maps.-Pirate...
. Notes on the dead man's body promise that the location of the treasure will be illuminated by a map
Treasure map
A treasure map is a map that marks the location of buried treasure, a lost mine, a valuable secret or a hidden locale. More common in fiction than in reality, "pirate treasure maps" are often depicted in works of fiction as hand drawn and containing arcane clues for the characters to follow...
, divided for security into four segments, each one tattooed
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
on the buttocks of one of the uncle's four mistresses. Armed with photographs of the women, Ho and Dakota form an uneasy alliance and set out in search of the map tattoos and the promised riches.
El kárate, el Colt y el impostor was produced at a time when the Shaw Brothers were attempting to branch into more international co-productions, often genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
-bending. The same year also saw the Shaw Brothers Studio teaming with the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's Hammer Studios
Hammer Film Productions
Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies and in later...
to produce The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires
The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires
The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires is a 1974 horror film produced by Hammer Studios and Shaw Brothers Studio. It was released in North America in an edited version as The Seven Brothers Meet Dracula, and alternatively known as The Seven Brothers And Their One Sister Meet Dracula.-Plot:Professor...
, a kung fu gothic horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
.
For English-language release, the film was retitled The Stranger and the Gunfighter and Blood Money.