This film recently was aired on the Encore Western channel. I was surprised to see that the film was in really lousy condition--with a faded print and some choppy sections. Clearly this film has seen better days--though at least they DID close caption the movie--a plus for folks like me who are a tad hard of hearing.
This is an odd Western for Lee Van Cleef. Though he plays a scary guy once again, so much of the guy is atypical of Van Cleef. First, the film begins with Van Cleef himself singing (actually, it's more like talking) the title song! Then, as the credits roll, you see that he's sporting a wig--hiding his very thinning hair. Then, you soon learn that he's an American-Indian officer serving with the US military! I guess he could somewhat pull this off, but this is clearly an odd performance for this actor.
Van Cleef has been ordered to go to Mexico to extradite some men who killed an American official. In the process, you learn about an evil boss-man (Stuart Whitman) who runs things and may be behind the murder--heck he's done a few killings himself. However, oddly, he offers to help Van Cleef in his mission.
In addition to the plot, there are a few scenes thrown in here and there that are pretty cool. First, if you really want to see a lot of Van Cleef, there's a very gratuitous scene of him in a loincloth--not bad for a middle-aged man. Second, the coffin scene is pretty cool--see it and you'll know what I mean. However, even with a few good scenes here and there, this certainly WON'T elevate this scene to the quality level off Van Cleef's classic westerns, such as "Fistful of Dollars" and "For a Few Dollars More". "Deathwork" is often enjoyable, but nothing all that special--and occasionally very goofy and strange (such as the ill-fitting drug scene). And what's with all these "April Morning" comments throughout the film?! Talk about bizarre! It certainly is a lesser Van Cleef film--not even up to the standards of his Sabata films.
This is an odd Western for Lee Van Cleef. Though he plays a scary guy once again, so much of the guy is atypical of Van Cleef. First, the film begins with Van Cleef himself singing (actually, it's more like talking) the title song! Then, as the credits roll, you see that he's sporting a wig--hiding his very thinning hair. Then, you soon learn that he's an American-Indian officer serving with the US military! I guess he could somewhat pull this off, but this is clearly an odd performance for this actor.
Van Cleef has been ordered to go to Mexico to extradite some men who killed an American official. In the process, you learn about an evil boss-man (Stuart Whitman) who runs things and may be behind the murder--heck he's done a few killings himself. However, oddly, he offers to help Van Cleef in his mission.
In addition to the plot, there are a few scenes thrown in here and there that are pretty cool. First, if you really want to see a lot of Van Cleef, there's a very gratuitous scene of him in a loincloth--not bad for a middle-aged man. Second, the coffin scene is pretty cool--see it and you'll know what I mean. However, even with a few good scenes here and there, this certainly WON'T elevate this scene to the quality level off Van Cleef's classic westerns, such as "Fistful of Dollars" and "For a Few Dollars More". "Deathwork" is often enjoyable, but nothing all that special--and occasionally very goofy and strange (such as the ill-fitting drug scene). And what's with all these "April Morning" comments throughout the film?! Talk about bizarre! It certainly is a lesser Van Cleef film--not even up to the standards of his Sabata films.