"Shango's last fight is a Western by Edoardo Mulargia." "Made in the end of the genre, The early 70s." "This was the time of transition from serious westerns to the comedy-western." "It was therefore a very tired time for the genre." "The serious Western was no longer the focus." "Mulargia however still believed very much in this genre." "So he made more such films and one of them was Shango's last fight." "Anthony Steffen plays the main character in Shango's last fight." "He had already starred in Mulargia's first film Perché uccidi ancora." "He and Mulargia were good friends and this esteemed him." "Mulargia once told me that in the filming of Perché uccidi ancora" "Antonio de Teffe, aka Anthony Steffen, could not even ride." "But he learned it for the occasion and was a such a good rider... that he could even shoot while riding readily with a gun." "Something that others from the profession often could not." "He was a performer, he was greatly appreciated because of his dedication to the genre." "But also because he is very good in his roles." "Therefore, he is chosen as the protagonist." "It must be said, Shango differs from others... by features, which can be regarded as positive as well as negative." "Compared to other Westerns of Mulargia, it is, objectively speaking, a lot flimsier." "It was shot entirely in a Mexican Pueblo in Cinecitta." "And with few resources, few extras, etc." "But the most curious is, you can see the main character at the beginning in captivity." "In other words, he is a prisoner of his enemies and is housed in a cage." "Shango is a Northern States Ranger, and a group of Southerners... has captured him immediately after the Civil War." "He is being held in a kind of cage, hanging on a tree." "It is not the classic beginning, where the hero is presented riding into the village" "Here the hero is presented at the beginning as a prisoner." "When he is released, the figure is extremely weakened and demoralized." "Consequently, he does not have the properties of a typical spaghetti western hero" "Those things that pleased the audience very well, about a hero who could handle all situations." "Even being sometimes captured and beaten." "But to the point where he shows himself strong." "But in this case not because the hero is presented in a weakened state" "This is due to the captivity and he needs time to recover." "It is therefore not the classic hero, as we know it from other Italowesterns." "On one hand, one can consider it as bizarre, what makes the film seem original... on the other hand, it can for the fans of the genre be a disappointment." "Perhaps this is why the movie had no great success." "Another peculiarity, we have here among the performers... the small Giusva Fioravanti, who also starred in Cjamango." "Who in his later life pursued unfortunately a terrorist career." "Within the "NAR" (Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari)." "He committed a series of murders, for which he ended up in jail... from which he was released only recently" "In this film he plays the child, and is friends with the hero." "One feature that is common in many Italo Westerns." "This goes back to the time of Shane" "There is a curious detail in the film." "A scene with Giusva Fioravanti, the child, trying to hide weapons." "The peons they have stolen the weapons, so they can rebel." "In this scene the boy takes the weapons and tries to hide." "As he is going to hide from the evil men, one of them sees this and shoots at him." "This scene sadly anticipates Fioravanti's real fate." "For Fioravanti's terrorist career within the "Terrorismo nero" ended... because of a similar event." "He had hidden weapons under a bridge and when he wanted to bring this to his wife... he was surprised by the Carabinieri, they shot at him and wounded in the leg." "He was then arrested and imprisoned." "In a way this scene, anticipated this fate... what would happen later in Fioravanti's real life." "Anthony Steffen was a kind of Italowestern- icon, even if second tier." "He never had the success of a Franco Nero or Giuliano Gemma." "Still he has found a place in the hearts of genre fans" "Though he had not so expressive, but a very sorry face." "This was an appropriate place for the presentation of suffering characters." "A kind of quasi anti-hero, which then transform themselves into heroes." "He had originally started with roles, like those played by Nero or even Eastwood." "For his overall package appropriated for it." "But his suffering face gave him a variety of roles in a Western... in which the main character was a sort of anti-hero, then finally mutates into a hero." "Like in Ringo;" "Face of Revenge Or Gunman Sent by God" "Since he is a kind of coward, but redeemed in the end." "He embodied very well these losers, who rehabilitate themselves and become heroes." "These roles were far better than many other for him." "Another performer and perennial in spaghetti westerns was Eduardo Fajardo." "Here he holds a very similar role, as in Django." "He plays a Confederate Major, does not accept the end of the war." "Instead, he intends to continue military actions." "He places in the village where he dwells, a very arrogant behavior on the day." "Because he tries to make a profit, as if the South had won the war." "Eduardo Fajardo was among the "bad guys" one of those who stood out the most." "He embodied his characters extremely well, in particular those such as in this case." "His most memorable role is the one he has played in Django." "Then he, benefiting from this role, often embodies similar character types." "But he did it really well, with a quite individual touch." "He was, for the fans of the genre, thus a great gain." "He was able, for the viewer, to come off as a total dickwad." "The audience always hoped the good guy would be able to kill him." "Consequently he was very effective, with what he did."