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After the immense success of Der
Schatz im Silbersee/The
Treasure of Silver Lake, it did not take Rialto
Film long to produce a second Winnetou film, this one chronicling
the first meeting of its heroes Winnetou and Old Shatterhand (and this
years before prequel was even a proper word), with as little as possible
changed regarding cast and crew ...
But before anything else, a quick synopsis:
... having just arrived from Germany to help build the Great Western
Railroad, engineer Old Shatterhand (Lex Barker) has to find out that
someone has altered the initial plans and now the train is going straight
through Apache territory - something the Apaches (understandably) do not
like one bit. The culprits are soon iodentified - evil businessman
Santer (Mario Adorf) and push-over train inspector Bancroft (Branko
Spoljar), and to keep the situation from culminating, Shatterhand promises
Winnetou (Pierre Brice), the son of the Apache chieftain (Mavid Popovic)
and the Apaches' German counsellor Klekih-Petra (Hrvoje Spod) that the
company will retreat from Apache territory for good within eight days ...
which is when Santer and his gang of desperadoes intervene, shooting
Klekih-Petra and making Winnetou their prisoner, later giving him away to
his arch-enemies, the Kiowas, whose chieftain Tangua (Tomislav Erac) is in
league with Santer.
Eventually, Old Shatterhand can free 'Winnetou from the Kiowas' camp,
but for some reason he doesn't make himself known, he only steals one of
Winnetou's trinkets as proof ...
Later, Old Shatterhand and company - eccentric scout Sam Hawkens (Ralf
Wolter) amongst them - plan an attack on Roswell, where Santer and
his men hide out, but at first their attack seems futile, since all the
baddies hide out in the saloon which they can defend like a fortress. It
is only when Shatterhand has the good idea to redirect the traintracks so
they go right through the saloon that the attack proves to be successful
... but Santer and his closest associates manage to escape - and then the
Apaches attack Rosell, and - misjudging the situation, they take OId
Shatterhand and company captive and plan to execute them. Old Shatterhand
tries to prove he is Winnetou's friend and has freed him from the Kiowas,
but his only proof, the trinket, was left behind in his jacket in Roswell,
and Winnetou takes him for a cheat. Only Winnetou's sister Nscho-tschi
(Marie Versini, looking not a bit Native American) believes him, since she
has fallen in love with him, and rides to Roswell to fetch Shatterhand's
jacket.
Meanwhile, the Apache chieftain, without actual proof that Old
Shatterhand is one of the villains, offers him a deal: Should Shatterhand
defeat him in a one-on-one battle on the Rio Pecos, he and his friends are
free ... and of course, Shatterhand wins, and without killing the
chieftain, too. And at the hour of his triumph, Nscho-tschi returns with
the proof that Old Shatterhand has indeed saved Winnwtou's life - of
course, now Old Shatterhand and Winnetou immediately become blood
brothers, and Nscho-tschi is promised to Old Shatterhand, not only that,
Winnetou is willing to send her to a white man's school ... now all they
need is some of that Apache gold they keep hidden somewhere to be able to
afford Nscho-tschi's life among the white men ...
Unfortunately though, Santer and his men not been idle and have made up
a plan to follow the Apaches to their hidden treasure cave ... and iot all
ends in a battle in which both Nscho-tschi and Winnetou's father the
chieftain lose their lives, but also all of Santer's men. Santer himself
is met with an especially cruel fate: He has somehow survived the massive
shoot-out, but now he hangs from a cliff, with his strength to hold on
rapidly decreasing ... and right below, the Apaches have planted their
spears with the blades looking upwards ... ouch !
In the end, our heroes Winnetou and Old Shatterhand move on
disillusioned to find further adventures.
Chris Howland is the comic relief in this one, but he practically does
not intervene with the film's story as such ...
As a film, Winnetou I was essentially shot in the same mold
asits predecessor Der Schatz im
Silbersee, a romantic Western adventure with larger-than-life
heroes and villains (with Mario Adorf turning in a fine, evil
performance), in front of extremely scenic landscapes (shot in Yugoslavia)
and to cheesy yet catchy music by Martin Böttcher. As with Der
Schatz im Silbersee, the outcome is great. Yes, it's cheesy, it's
unreflected, but at the same time it is a film that, while watching it,
makes you feel like the little boy who wants to reenact every scene of it
(which I, as well as all my friends, did when we were little boys). And,
in contrast to many Hollywood Westerns of its time, it clearly takes the
side of the Indian race - even if there is not a single native American in
the cast.
Which actually leads to my only point of critique: Marie Versini as
Winnetou's sister - she doesn't look a bit Indian, and most of her acting
is unintentionally funny rather than anything else, especially in the
scenes when she has to speak in Apache language. But then again, she was
immensely popular with the audience of the day, and was even asked back to
play Nscho-tschi in another Winnetou film, Winnetou und
sein Freund Old Firehand, even though her character has died in this
one ...
In all though, Winnetou I is recommended viewing for all
(B-)Western fans.
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