The Grand Duel Review
A good western with a mixture of both credible and disappointing qualities. Another Lee Van Cleef one, but this time, the acting is surprisingly grand from most of the cast. A decent opening draws you in with great humour and style, while the rest of the film, however strange, and musically flawed, is always watch able.
After the death of a rather mighty figure known as The Patriarch, his three sons seek revenge and set about trying to kill their father’s murderer. Phillip Wermeer is accused of killing him, and manages to dodge both bounty hunters and the hangman’s noose, with the help of Sherrif Clayton, who claims he knows who the real murderer is. After a clever, but slightly predictable twist, the real killer is revealed and a final duel commences between him and the three sons.
Gunplay is alright, sometimes being exceptional and at other times nothing special. I would recommend watching the final duel, as it is by far the best part of the film. That said, gunplay isn’t necessarily everything, and the film still remained strangely enjoyable to me.
I was expecting a larger role from Klaus Grunberg, as Adam Saxon, a psychotic gunslinger with smallpox dressed all in white, as his character looked rather cool in the trailer. Unfortunately, he had a smaller role, and wasn’t as great as I imagined. The scene where he shoots an old man is memorable mainly because it is so weird and unusual. The old man takes about a minute to die, and when he finally does, the townsfolk come out of their houses and each bang two pairs of shoes together repeatedly. Strange.
In conclusion, a good, but by no means classic film with a fair share of both good and unmemorable scenes, although it does contain surprisingly decent performances. Musically, the main theme is great, but the rest are too happy and spoil the atmosphere sometimes. I think you’d have to be a fan of the genre to fully appreciate this one, as it is rather forgettable.
