Ehi Amigo… Sei Morto!

Ehi Amigo… Sei Morto!

Carlo Savina was an established name within film music circles long before the Italian western came into being. It was Savina who conducted the first BEN-HUR LP re-recording for the great Miklos Rozsa in Rome. But Savina was not just a Musical Director, he was a composer in his own right and composed numerous scores for Italian cinema and came up with interesting and original soundtracks within numerous film genres. Savina also conducted for a number of Italian composers – Nino Rota to name one – and it was Savina who took up the baton to direct the orchestra on Rota’s THE GODFATHER soundtrack. But it is Savina as a composer I am here to review, or at least this particular foray into the world of the Italian produced western by Savina. Originally released in 1971, EHI AMIGO…SEI MORTO! or HEY AMIGO REST IN PEACE was a fairly low key western which starred Wayde Preston.

Sherlock Holmes Nevében

Sherlock Holmes Nevében

Howlin’ Wolf Records may be a relatively new label but in a very short period of time they have filled their catalogue with some impressive film scores. Many of these have been of the Horror or Fantasy variety but there have been other types of soundtracks represented within their catalogue. One of the many things I like about Howlin Wolf is that they release soundtracks which a few years back would not have seen the light of day – never even being considered for a release because of the film’s budget or because the film went straight to DVD or received a limited theatrical release. The label has also been instrumental in introducing many composers to film music enthusiasts who have real talent and who might not have been given a break by other labels – so we have to firstly say thanks to Howlin’ Wolf for being courageous enough to release some of these scores.

Black Killer

Black Killer

The first Italian western score I ever heard by composer Daniele Patucchi was DEAF SMITH AND JOHNNY EARS or LOS AMIGOS as it was called in Italy. I remember thinking that the music was not pure Spaghetti in its style and overall sound but was a fusion of that type of scoring together with a more conventional approach which harkened back to the days of the traditional western a la Hollywood. Patucchi is a composer who worked steadily in film during the late 1960s, through the 1970s and into the 1980s. Although containing a number of original references, his music was not as popular as other composers who were active at around the same time but this does not mean that Patucchi’s style and approach to scoring movies did not find favour with some soundtrack collectors and aficionados of music from Italian cinema.

One Step To Hell

One Step To Hell

This is not, as many collectors thought, a spaghetti western but an action adventure movie set during the early 1900s. Ty Hardin is cast in the role of a British Colonial Policeman, Lieutenant King Edwards (sorry if that should make anyone think of potatoes) an unfortunate name for the leading character but hey, the movie was a pretty solid adventure yarn and also starred respected actors Rossano Brazzi and George Sanders. Directed by Nino Scolaro and Sandy Howard, this Italian, Spanish and American co-production tells the story of a policeman’s pursuit of a band of killers who have escaped from prison and whilst doing so take a hostage, Pier Angeli, who provided the love interest within the story. Edwards pursues the killers over sprawling and desolate plains in Southern Africa and tackles wild and untamed countryside which as the title of the movie suggests is ONE STEP FROM HELL.