50th Anniversary of the premier of “Long Live Your Death”.

 

Today marks the 50^th anniversary of the premier of “Viva la muerte... tua!!” (Long Live Your Death”) directed by Duccio Tessari and starring Franco Nero, Eli Wallach and Lynn Regrave. It tells the story of Mary O’Donnell (Redgrave), an unscrupulous journalist, in order to secure a sensational story, bribes sheriff Randall (Horst Janson) to allow "El Salvador", a hero of the Mexican Revolution of 1910, to escape so he can lead her to revolutionary Tomas where others are awaiting him to unleash a new uprising. Since El Salvador is dead, the sheriff, taking advantage of the fact that Mary has never seen the revolutionary, frees in his place the bandit Lozoya (Wallach). Along with this Lozoya another bandit escapes, the self-styled Russian Prince Dimitri Orlowsky (Nero). The two outlaws - each of which is in possession of a part of the necessary data to discover a fabulous hidden treasure, they are obviously not interested in the revolutionary cause, and immediately move towards the goal that will give them wealth. As soon as they find the gold, however, they fall into the hands of the regular army of General Huerta (Eduardo Fajardo), who, seizes the treasure, and condemns the two bandits to death. Fortunately, they are freed by Mary, and the two outlaws agree to join the revolutionaries with the sole purpose of leading them against regular troops, and then retrieve the treasure. Gradually, however, they take conscience of the libertarian cause and lead a victorious attack on the troops of Huerta, while the whole treasure is distributed among the poor peons. Mary, meanwhile, announces to the two outlaws she has already prepared a plan to engage them in a new revolution in Guatemala. A comedy western that actually works.

 

Viva la muerte... tua! - Italian title

¡Viva la muerte... tuya! – Spanish title

Zwei wilde Companeros – German title

Das Todeslied der Companeros – German title

Zwei Galgenvögel geben Zunder – German title

Zwei tolle Companeros German title

Zwei wilde Companeros – German title

En viva de revoltuie – Belgium title

El Salvador – Finnish title

Eläköön kuolemasi – Finnish title

Hirttotuomio – Finnish title

Et viva la révolution! – French title

Pour quelques pepitas de plus – French title

Gigantes stin paranomia – Greek title

O thanatos sou i zoi mou – Greek title

Kötél és arany – Hungarian title

Tres bons inimigos – Portuguese title

Leve döden – Swedish title

Zivjela smrt... tvoja! Yugoslavian title

La guerilla - ? title

Companeros - ? title

Long Live Death… Yours – English title

Don’t Turn the Other Cheek – U.K. title

Long Live Your Death – U.S.A.

 

A 1971 Italian, Spanish, German co-production [Tritone Filmindustria (Rome), Producciones

     Cinematograficas Orduña PC  (Madrid), Terra Filmkunst GMBH (Berlin)]

Producers: Mickey Knox, Juan de Orduña a (Juan Fernandez-Shaw)

Director: Duccio Tessari (Amadeo Tessari)

Story: The Killer from Yuma by Lewis B. Patten (Lewis Byford Patten)

Screenplay: Marcello Coscia, Massimo De Rita, Dino Maiuri (Arduino Maiuri), Duccio

     Tessari (Amadeo Tessari)

Dialogue: Günter Ebert [German], Juan de Orduña (Juan Fernandez-Shaw) [Spanish]

Cinematography: José F. Aguayo [Technicolor, Techniscope]

Music: Gianni Ferrio, Ennio Morricone

     Song: “Don’t Turn the Other Cheek” sung by Lynn Redgrave

Running time: 117 minutes

 

Cast:

Prince Dimitri Vassilovich Orlowsky – Franco Nero (Francesco Sparanero)

Max Lozoya – Eli Wallach

Mary O’Donnell – Lynn Redgrave

Sheriff Randall – Horst Janson

General Huerta – Eduardo Fajardo

Yuma prison warden – Mirko Ellis (Mirko Korcinsky)

Prison guard - Angelo Boscariol

Federal Captain - José Moreno

Manuel Mendoza – Victor Israel (José Vilanova)

Dying shepherd – José Jaspe (José Rivas)

Migoleto – Enrique Espinosa

Bride – Gisela Hahn (Gisela Drenkhan)

Bridegroom – Fabian Conde (Domingo García)

Manuel Mendoza – Victor Israel (José Vilanova)

Joe Kelly – Dan van Husen (Daniel van Husen)

Deputies – Rudy Gaebell (Rudy Gaebel), José Bastida

Telegraphers – Carla Mancini, Jose Luis Lizalde

Mine prison warden – Adolfo Thous

Cantina owner – Furio Meniconi

Bandtis – Tito Garcia (Pablo Gonzalez), Luigi Antonio Guerra, Luis Marin (José Luis

     Gutiérrez)

Lupita – Marilù Tolo (Maria Tolo)

Mexican peons – Juan Elices, Antonio Orengo (Antonio Alonso), Agustin Bescos

Mr. Callofen - Lorenzo Robledo

Horse dealer – Vicente Roca

Senora Villegas – Juana Jimenez

Revolutionary – Carlos Romero Marchent (Carlos Canales), Ernesto Vañes, Rafael

     Albaicin (Ignacio Escudero)

Orlowsky’s wife – Gunda Hiller

With: Marcelo González