The Deserter (1970)

The Deserter (La Spina Dorsale Del Diavolo) is a 1971 Italian-American Western film by Dino De Laurentiis. It was directed by Burt Kennedy, known for his penchant in directing westerns, including The War Wagon (1967), Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) and The Train Robbers (1973).

Scripted in the style of The Dirty Dozen (1967), and designed as a vehicle for Yugoslavian theater and film matinee idol Bekim Fehmiu, the film featured an ensemble cast of well-known American actors. Noted for Shane (1953), actor Brandon deWilde appears in his last Western film before his death the following year.

The film was shot largely on location in Italy, Spain and Yugoslavia. Many exterior scenes were filmed at the Fort Bowie set built in the Province of Almería, Spain, where the desert landscape and climate that characterizes part of the province have made it a much utilized setting for Western films, among those A Fistful of Dollars (1964), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) and later 800 Bullets (2002). This same set was also used in the films Blindman (1971) with Ringo Starr and A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die (1972).

Synopsis

US Army cavalry returning from a 2-week patrol head to a mission finding its inhabitants have been savagely killed by Indians just a short distance from Fort Bowie. Among the dead that sought sanctuary in a desecrated church is the dying wife of the patrol's leader.

Actors