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Beat Records is relaunching on the market the classic Western OST by Nora Orlandi and Robby Poitevin for the film La morte non conta i dollari (aka Death at Owell Rock), directed in 1967 by Riccardo Freda (under the pseudonym George Lincoln), with a screenplay by Giuseppe Masini and Riccardo Freda, photography by Gábor Pogány, editing by Anna Amidei, music by Nora Orlandi and Robby Poitevin, produced by Enrico Cogliati Dezza for Cinecidi, distributed by Warner Bros., and starring Mark Damon, Stephen Forsyth, Luciana Gilli, Pamela Tudor, Luciano Pigozzi, Nello Pazzafini, Ignazio Spalla , Hardy Reichelt, Mariella Palmich, Lidia Biondi, Aldo Cecconi, Alessandro Gottlieb, Renato Chiantoni, Spartaco Conversi, Dino Strano, Francesco Tensi, and Maurizio Tocchi.
Plot:
Lawrence White returns to Owell Rock long after the death of his father, who was apparently killed by Doc Lester. In the village, Lawrence finds his sister Jane, who urges him to avenge their father's death, but Lawrence is hesitant, and his apprehension removes any doubt on the part of the Lester family and their associate, Judge Warren. A gunslinger named Harry Boyd also arrives at Owell Rock and is hired by the Lesters. Meanwhile, mysterious events start happening in the town, and one by one, people who were involved in White's murder are found dead. Suspicion then falls on Lawrence, and the Lesters entrust Boyd with the task of capturing him. Boyd succeeds, but the Lesters are forced to realize that the two young people are actually acting in concert. In fact, Boyd is really White's son, while the man pretending to be Lawrence is none other than Jane's boyfriend. Having collected all the evidence against the Lesters, Lawrence goes to Judge Warren and convinces him to reopen the trial against his father's murderers, but they prepare an ambush for the two brave young men during which all of Lester's men are killed. Only Doc survives and is personally confronted by Lawrence, who hands him over to Judge Warren for justice.
The music:
At the time of the film's release, not a single note from the score was released, and it wasn't until 2007 that GDM Music issued the complete original soundtrack on CD for the very first time. The title has been absent from the market for many years, so this reissue with improved sound will make all Spaghetti Western fans around the world happy. Nora Orlandi and Robby Poitevin composed an orchestral score introduced by the "Titoli di testa" (Tr.1), a rhythmic adventurous theme with a nostalgic flavor for trumpet, orchestra and choir. The central musical motif is a recurring love theme with choir accompaniment (Tr.2,4,15), with the addition of the harmonica (Tr.8) as well as a version sung by Raoul (Tr.21). The entire dramatic side of the story is underlined by music of suspense and mystery (Tr.3,5,7,10,18,19,20). Classical pieces with a religious flavor are performed on organ and guitar (Tr.12,14,17), plus there is some Latin American folk music (Tr.13,16) and a square dance (Tr.9). Nora Orlandi performs an evocative ancient ballad (Tr.6) that is reprised with wordless vocals (Tr.11). This CD of ours with a total duration of 56:30 comes from the mono masters of the original sessions, plus six rare stereo bonus tracks that were found on another master, perhaps conceived for a record that never saw the light of day in 1967.
- Beat Records
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