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.