That brings us to 1968's One Step to Hell, also known and released as King of Africa. Listed as a western through Netflix's website, this flick stars Ty Hardin and sounded like a pretty typical if hopefully enjoyable western oater. Well, part of that description was right, but it's hard to explain this one. It is a western -- sort of -- but it is set in Africa as opposed to the American west, it looks to have Italian backing and has the feel of spaghetti western, and worst of all, the version I saw was 90 minutes long even though a 100-minute version is supposedly available somewhere out there. Odd, off the wall, eccentric, all three apply in this genuinely different western.
A British colonial policeman in South Africa around the turn of the 20th Century, Lt. King Ray (Hardin) faces a difficult decision. Three prisoners he helped bring in, including bandit ringleader Anders (George Rigaud), have escaped while being transported to a nearby town and a likely death sentence. He can't convince his superiors (George Sanders in an odd cameo) to allow him to pursue the bandits though, forcing him to make a tough decision. He goes on "furlough," using his coming break to hit the trail and hopefully bring these bandits to justice. Anders and Co. up the ante quickly though when their goals become known. They've kidnapped the wife (Pier Angeli) of a gold mine owner and are using her to guide them to the hidden, lucrative mine. Can King catch up in time across the desolate plains of Africa?
Years of watching spaghetti westerns -- some really good, others really bad, but for the most part entertaining -- has trained me to appreciate these movies made on a smaller budget. There is a charm to the lower quality, no frills, action-packed stories where there were never really "good guys," just some guys who weren't as bad as the others. This is a movie that certainly qualifies in the vein of a spaghetti western. The African setting is a great change of pace (and a real beauty to look at with some stunning shots), and the story feels like so many westerns set in America, a bounty hunter/sheriff on the trail of a gang of outlaws. Nothing particularly remarkable about any of it, but going in it certainly sounded interesting.
This is a movie that has basically been completely forgotten over the last 40-plus years. Where to start for the reasons that might account for its complete lack of notoriety. The credits provide some clues, starting with director Nino Scolaro directing his one and only feature. For a movie and screenplay where the story never seems on a direct path to anywhere, there are five different names listed as helping in some way with the script. The biggest issue though -- because all the above problems can be dealt with -- is that I watched the 90-minute version, not the supposedly longer 100-minute cut that was released in Spain. Scenes end in a ragged fashion, leaving things unsettled and moving on before anything can be resolved. Is that because of the cuts or the jagged story to begin with? None of this is helped by composer Gianni Marchetti's score which ranges from spaghetti-themed and appropriate to jazzy and out of place at other times.
From an American perspective, some of these European productions from the 1960s and 1970s throw me for a loop. With a long cast listing, only 10 actual names have a character listed to them. That makes describing characters a tad bit difficult once you get past the main stars. On the backside of his career, Ty Hardin is a solid enough lead as Lt. King, a police officer trying to right a wrong. He's in beefcake mode here for the female members of the audience, always seeming to run around with little in the way of clothes on. Angeli is all right as Mrs. Benton, but I swear the script gets her character and Helga Line's Deborah confused late in the movie, Hardin's King even calling Mrs. Benton 'Deborah.' One relative bright spot is Rigaud as Anders, a somewhat charismatic aging outlaw looking for one last strike. His gang (some of the few people actually listed in the credits) include Luciano Pigozzi, Miguel Del Castillo, and Antonio Mayans among several other nameless actors. Rossano Brazzi has a small but solid part as Dr. Hamilton, a physician also trying to convert his African patients to Christianity.
'Step' certainly has all the makings of a solid if not so unique western, but something never clicks into place. Even at just 90 minutes, it ends up being surprisingly dull. Long stretches of a slow-moving story are interrupted by quick bursts of graphic action, but the ending is never really in doubt, or at least it shouldn't be if you've got two or three brain cells working. It ultimately gets some points for being unique in terms of setting and characters, but that's not enough to carry it overall. A deeply flawed and even at times bad western that still manages to be entertaining.
One Step to Hell (1968): **/****
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