If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death

If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death is a 1968 Spaghetti Western film directed by Gianfranco Parolini. The film stars Gianni Garko, William Berger, Fernando Sancho and Klaus Kinski, and features a musical score by Piero Piccioni. If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death was the first in a series of Spaghetti Westerns based on the character Sartana. It was followed by four other official Sartana films: I Am Sartana Your Angel of Death (Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino, 1969), Have a Good Funeral, My Friend... Sartana Will Pay (Buon funerale, amigos!... paga Sartana, 1970), Light the Fuse... Sartana Is Coming (Una nuvola di polvere... un grido di morte... arriva Sartana, 1970) and Sartana's Here... Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin (C'è Sartana... vendi la pistola e comprati la bara, 1970), in the last of which Garko was replaced by George Hilton. The four sequels were directed by Giuliano Carnimeo, Parolini was chosen to direct The Sabata Trilogy, after producer Alberto Grimaldi saw his work on the first Sartana film. As with Django a few years earlier, several directors, such as Demofilo Fidani, made unofficial sequels to cash in on the success of Sartana. History The name "Sartana" first appeared in the film Blood at Sundown (Mille dollari sul nero, 1967), in which Garko played an antagonist called El General Sartana. The film was very successful in Germany and known by the short title Sartana. Italian producer Aldo Addobbati noticed the film's success and set up a co-production with a German producer in Italy. Garko was offered a contract and he accepted after inserting a clause stating that the script must be approved by him. In a 2005 interview, Garko said he wanted a subject that would not be based on vengeance, as he had already portrayed characters bent on revenge in Blood at Sundown and Guns of Violence (10.000 dollari per un massacro, 1967). After he turned down several scripts with a revenge theme, Renato Izzo wrote a story about a smart, non-sentimental character that profits by putting himself between two rival groups. Sartana's use of mechanical gadgets was added by director Parolini, who was a fan of the James Bond films. If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death then went into production. Plot An elderly couple on a horse-drawn carriage is attacked by a gang led by Morgan. Sartana arrives on the scene and kills the robbers except for Morgan who gets away.