The Deserter (1971 film)
Encyclopedia
The Deserter is a 1971 Italian
-American
Western film by Dino De Laurentis. It was directed by Burt Kennedy
, known for his penchant in directing westerns, including The War Wagon
(1967), Support Your Local Sheriff!
(1969) and The Train Robbers
(1973).
Scripted in the style of The Dirty Dozen
(1967), and designed as a vehicle for Yugoslavian
theater and film matinee idol
Bekim Fehmiu
, the film featured an ensemble cast
of American heavyweight actors. Noted for Shane (1953) actor Brandon De Wilde
's death scene, his last Western film appearance before his own death the following year.
The film was shot largely on location
in Italy
, Spain
and Yugoslavia
. Many exterior scenes were filmed at the Fort Bowie set built in the Province of Almería, Spain
, where the desert landscape and climate that characterizes part of the province have made it a much utilized setting for Western films, among those A Fistful of Dollars
(1964), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
(1966) and later 800 Bullets (2002). This same set was also used in the films Blindman (1971) with Ringo Starr
and A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die
(1972).
Having bitter hostility for his wife's brutal murder by Apaches due to what he believes was army negligence, Capt. Victor Kaleb shoots and wounds the fort commander, Colonel Wade Brown, and deserts the cavalry where he disappears into the southwestern wasteland to kill Apaches.
Two years later when marauding Apaches led by Chief Mangus Durango hold up just out of the cavalry's reach in Mexico, Kaleb is promised amnesty by General Miles in exchange for leading a small band of hand-picked soldiers across the border to wipe out the Indian stronghold known as "La Spina Dorsale Del Diavolo", the Devil's Backbone.
There a battle to the death ensues with Kaleb's desert-trained forces proving successful. After the conflict, the remainder of Kaleb's band presents themselves to General Miles back at Fort Bowie. General Miles explains that he has been ordered to arrest Kaleb upon his return, but all parties present agree to Colonel Brown's resolution to the situation.
in the United States by Paramount Home Entertainment
, on September 9, 1992. Paramount has not released the film as a DVD
in North American Region 1. It is presently available in DVD Region 0 by East West Entertainment LLC in standard non-widescreen
VHS conversion and Region 4 by Reel Corporation
, Australia.
. Originally a practicing lawyer securing movie rights for Italian film distributors, he was eventually credited with scoring over 300 films. Piccioni was influenced in his use of jazz by 20th century classical composers and American cinematography and this is apparent in The Deserter soundtrack.
Piccioni's score was released on CD in Italy in 1997 on the Legend label, as CD 28, 14-tracks under the title Piero Piccioni: La Spina Dorsale Del Diavolo. Recent discovery of the stereo master tapes of the original session, with an extra 25 minutes of music, is featured on the limited 1500 unit special edition Legend CD 32 DLX, released July, 2010, as a 26-track 74:34 CD.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Western film by Dino De Laurentis. It was directed by Burt Kennedy
Burt Kennedy
Burt Kennedy was an American screenwriter and director known for mainly directing film Westerns.After World War II service in the 1st Cavalry Division, Muskegon, Michigan-born Kennedy found work writing for radio, then used his training as a cavalry officer to secure a job as a fencing trainer and...
, known for his penchant in directing westerns, including The War Wagon
The War Wagon
The War Wagon is a 1967 western Technicolor film starring John Wayne, released by Universal Pictures, directed by Burt Kennedy, and adapted by Clair Huffaker from his own novel. The film, which featured Wayne in one of his few roles as technically a "bad guy" , received generally positive reviews....
(1967), Support Your Local Sheriff!
Support Your Local Sheriff!
Support Your Local Sheriff! is a 1969 American comic western film which parodies the often-filmed scenario of an iconoclastic new arrival who tames a lawless frontier town...
(1969) and The Train Robbers
The Train Robbers
The Train Robbers is a 1973 Western film starring John Wayne, Ann-Margret, Rod Taylor, and Ben Johnson. The movie was written and directed by Burt Kennedy....
(1973).
Scripted in the style of The Dirty Dozen
The Dirty Dozen
The Dirty Dozen is a 1967 film directed by Robert Aldrich and released by MGM. It was filmed in England and features an ensemble cast, including Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Telly Savalas, and Robert Webber. The film is based on E. M...
(1967), and designed as a vehicle for Yugoslavian
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
theater and film matinee idol
Matinee idol
Matinée idol is a term used mainly to describe film or theatre stars who are adored to the point of adulation by their fans.The term almost exclusively refers to male actors. Invariably the adulation was fixated on the actor's looks rather than performance...
Bekim Fehmiu
Bekim Fehmiu
Bekim Fehmiu was a Yugoslavian theater and film actor of Albanian ethnicity. He was the first Eastern European actor to star in Hollywood during the Cold War.-Background:...
, the film featured an ensemble cast
Ensemble cast
An ensemble cast is made up of cast members in which the principal actors and performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance and screen time in a dramatic production. This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows flexibility for writers to focus on...
of American heavyweight actors. Noted for Shane (1953) actor Brandon De Wilde
Brandon De Wilde
Andre Brandon deWilde was an American theatre and film actor. He was born into a theatrical family in Brooklyn. Debuting on Broadway at the age of 7, De Wilde became a national phenomenon by the time he completed his 492 performances for The Member of the Wedding and was considered a child...
's death scene, his last Western film appearance before his own death the following year.
The film was shot largely on location
Filming location
A filming location is a place where some or all of a film or television series is produced, in addition to or instead of using sets constructed on a movie studio backlot or soundstage...
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria 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...
and Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. Many exterior scenes were filmed at the Fort Bowie set built in the Province of Almería, 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...
, where the desert landscape and climate that characterizes part of the province have made it a much utilized setting for Western films, among those A Fistful of Dollars
A Fistful of Dollars
A Fistful of Dollars is a 1964 Italian Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood alongside Gian Maria Volonté, Marianne Koch, Wolfgang Lukschy, Sieghardt Rupp, José Calvo, Antonio Prieto, and Joseph Egger. Released in Italy in 1964 then in the United States in...
(1964), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Leone, starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach in the title roles. The screenplay was written by Age & Scarpelli, Luciano Vincenzoni and Leone, based on a story by Vincenzoni and Leone...
(1966) and later 800 Bullets (2002). This same set was also used in the films Blindman (1971) with Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
and A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die
A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die
A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die is a 1972 spaghetti western movie starring James Coburn.Many exterior scenes were filmed at the Fort Bowie set built in the Province of Almería, Spain, where the desert landscape and climate that characterizes part of the province have made it a much utilized...
(1972).
Plot
US Army cavalry returning from a 2-week patrol head to a mission finding its inhabitants have been savagely killed by Indians just a short distance from Fort Bowie. Among the dead that sought sanctuary in a desecrated church is the dying wife of the patrol's leader.Having bitter hostility for his wife's brutal murder by Apaches due to what he believes was army negligence, Capt. Victor Kaleb shoots and wounds the fort commander, Colonel Wade Brown, and deserts the cavalry where he disappears into the southwestern wasteland to kill Apaches.
Two years later when marauding Apaches led by Chief Mangus Durango hold up just out of the cavalry's reach in Mexico, Kaleb is promised amnesty by General Miles in exchange for leading a small band of hand-picked soldiers across the border to wipe out the Indian stronghold known as "La Spina Dorsale Del Diavolo", the Devil's Backbone.
There a battle to the death ensues with Kaleb's desert-trained forces proving successful. After the conflict, the remainder of Kaleb's band presents themselves to General Miles back at Fort Bowie. General Miles explains that he has been ordered to arrest Kaleb upon his return, but all parties present agree to Colonel Brown's resolution to the situation.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Bekim Fehmiu Bekim Fehmiu Bekim Fehmiu was a Yugoslavian theater and film actor of Albanian ethnicity. He was the first Eastern European actor to star in Hollywood during the Cold War.-Background:... |
Captain Victor Kaleb |
| John Huston John Huston John Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge... |
General Miles |
| Richard Crenna Richard Crenna Richard Donald Crenna was an American motion picture, television, and radio actor and occasional television director. He starred in such motion pictures as The Sand Pebbles, Wait Until Dark, Body Heat, the first three Rambo movies, Hot Shots! Part Deux, and The Flamingo Kid... |
Colonel Wade Brown |
| Chuck Connors Chuck Connors Chuck Connors was an American actor, writer, and professional basketball and baseball player. His best known role from his forty-year film career was Lucas McCain in the 1960s ABC hit Western series The Rifleman.... |
Chaplain Reynolds |
| Ricardo Montalban Ricardo Montalbán Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG was a Mexican radio, television, theatre and film actor. He had a career spanning six decades and many notable roles... |
Natachai |
| Ian Bannen Ian Bannen Ian Bannen was a Scottish character actor and occasional leading man.-Early life and career:Bannen was born in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, the son of Clare and John James Bannen, a lawyer. Bannen served in the British Army after attending St Aloysius' College, Glasgow and Ratcliffe College,... |
Captain Crawford |
| Brandon De Wilde Brandon De Wilde Andre Brandon deWilde was an American theatre and film actor. He was born into a theatrical family in Brooklyn. Debuting on Broadway at the age of 7, De Wilde became a national phenomenon by the time he completed his 492 performances for The Member of the Wedding and was considered a child... |
Lieutenant Ferguson |
| Slim Pickens Slim Pickens Louis Burton Lindley, Jr. , better known by the stage name Slim Pickens, was an American rodeo performer and film and television actor who epitomized the profane, tough, sardonic cowboy, but who is best remembered for his comic roles, notably in Dr... |
Tattinger |
| Woody Strode Woody Strode Woodrow Wilson Woolwine "Woody" Strode was a decathlete and football star who went on to become a pioneering black American film actor. He was nominated for a Golden Globe award for best supporting actor for his role in Spartacus in 1960... |
Jackson |
| Albert Salmi Albert Salmi Albert Salmi was an American actor.-Biography:Albert Salmi was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Finnish immigrant parents, and following a stint in the Army, took up acting as a career, studying Method acting with Lee Strasberg. In 1955, Salmi starred in Bus Stop on Broadway... |
Schmidt |
| Patrick Wayne Patrick Wayne Patrick John Morrison, better known by his stage name Patrick Wayne , is an American actor, the second son of movie star John Wayne and his first wife, Josephine Alicia Saenz. He made over 40 films in his career, including nine with his father... (as Pat Wayne) |
Captain Bill Robinson |
| Fausto Tozzi Fausto Tozzi Fausto Tozzi was an Italian film actor and screenwriter. He appeared in 70 films between 1951 and 1978... |
Orozco |
| Mimmo Palmara | Chief Mangus Durango |
| John Alderson | O'Toole |
Home media
Video
The Deserter was originally released on VHSVHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
in the United States by Paramount Home Entertainment
Paramount Home Entertainment
Paramount Home Entertainment is the division of Paramount Pictures dealing with home video founded in late 1975.-History:...
, on September 9, 1992. Paramount has not released the film as a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in North American Region 1. It is presently available in DVD Region 0 by East West Entertainment LLC in standard non-widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
VHS conversion and Region 4 by Reel Corporation
Reel Corporation
Reel Corporation is an independent Australian film distributor. Reel Corporation Australia established a joint venture sales company with Roadshow Entertainment called Reel DVD.-History:...
, Australia.
Soundtrack
The score for The Deserter had music composed and conducted by Piero PiccioniPiero Piccioni
Piero Piccioni , was an Italian lawyer turned major film score composer. A pianist, organist, conductor, composer, he was also the prolific author of more than 200 film soundtracks.-Early life:...
. Originally a practicing lawyer securing movie rights for Italian film distributors, he was eventually credited with scoring over 300 films. Piccioni was influenced in his use of jazz by 20th century classical composers and American cinematography and this is apparent in The Deserter soundtrack.
Piccioni's score was released on CD in Italy in 1997 on the Legend label, as CD 28, 14-tracks under the title Piero Piccioni: La Spina Dorsale Del Diavolo. Recent discovery of the stereo master tapes of the original session, with an extra 25 minutes of music, is featured on the limited 1500 unit special edition Legend CD 32 DLX, released July, 2010, as a 26-track 74:34 CD.