The Phantom Gunslinger

Starring Sabrina!

The Phantom Gunslinger
(1967)

aka El Pistolero Fantasma
aka The Ghost Gunman
aka The Ghost Rider

15 March 2009 - Gunslinger news! We have publicity photos thanks to Money™
Billy Frick seems to be good at being Hitler ('Paris brûle-t-il?' AKA 'Is Paris Burning?')

From the small part of the movie I can lay my hands on, this is not a drama: it's a slapstick farce in Spanish. One of these days we'll have the complete film, but this is a start.

Stills courtesy of a camcorder grab by Steve Page

Watch all we have of Sabrina in The Phantom Gunslinger (DIVX, 17M)

Thanks to Sabrina herself for bringing this lost classic to our attention, and thanks to Steve Page for doing the best he could to grab it from TV with his camcorder.

(Adapted from source: http://www.wam.umd.edu/~dwilt/fantpist.htm)

[Famous Players International-Sagitario Films, 1967]

Director: Albert Zugsmith; Screenplay: Albert Zugsmith, Blair Robertson; Photography: Gabriel Figueroa

CAST: Troy Donahue (Bill), Sabrina (Margie), Elizabeth Campbell (Cookie), Emilio Fernández (sheriff), Carlos Rivas (Sam), Germán Robles (the Devil), Pedro Armendáriz Jr. (Algernon) , Billy Frick, Carlos Riquelme, René Ruiz "Tun Tun," Stillman Segar, Ellen Cole.

This was one of Albert Zugsmith's two Mexican-made films. The Phantom Gunslinger brought in a few Hollywood actors (Donahue, Sabrina, Billy Frick) and was released in English-language and Spanish-language versions.

García Riera says The Phantom Gunslinger was never released in the U.S.

The Phantom Gunslinger is set in the town of Tucca Flats. The peaceful life of the town is disrupted by the arrival of a gang of bandits, including Algernon, Big Sam, Cookie, and some others. The sheriff leaves town, but not before naming Bill as his successor. Bill, unfortunately, doesn't carry or even know how to use a gun, and the outlaws take over Tucca Flats. But with the help of some Indians, a suit of armor, and springs on his shoes, Bill manages to run the gang out of town. The wedding of Bill and Margie is underway when the outlaws return; Margie is kidnaped and Bill is shot and killed. He goes to heaven, and is sent back down to Earth.

Back on Earth, Bill and one of the outlaws kill each other, and Bill goes back to heaven! Once more he is given back his life and sent down to Tucca Flats. This time, he is "arrested" and put in jail by outlaw Cookie, who is revealed to be a woman when she and Bill kiss. Bill escapes from jail and a general melee ensues. The outlaws, Bill, and Margie all fall into an "infernal cave", where it develops that one of the outlaws is the Devil! But an explosion sends Bill, Margie, and Cookie up to heaven.

For now, The Phantom Gunslinger has to be considered a "lost" film, but I am hopeful someone out there will prove me wrong and turn up a copy!

Maybe there IS a copy!

GUNSLINGER NEWS!
26 November 2005

Found at http://www.acuadro.tv/prog_cmc.htm.
Acuadro.tv - Cine Mexicano por Cable

Could this be a copy of our Sabrina in 'The Phantom Gunslinger' on cable??

Sabrina on her way to Mexico, 1967, to film The Phantom Gunslinger

Sabby with Troy Donahue in 1967, heading for Mexico for the filming of The Phantom Gunslinger.

26 Feb 1967 - The Wisconsin State Journal revealed that Troy Donahue was burnt on the face when actress Elizabeth Campbell fired a pistol loaded with blanks near him.

Two weeks later, the story got better...

8 March 1967 – New Castle PA. News. Behind the Scenes by Harrison Carroll.

Couldn't get all the details, but Troy Donahue was the victim of the most horrible accident while shooting a scene in Mexico for “The Phantom Gunslinger."

He got a load of buckshot in the face. Miraculously, the pellets didn't hit his eyes, but a number were embedded in one side of his face. They were removed surgically, and he was out of the picture entirely for a week, and even after that, they had to shoot just one side of his face.

Luckily for Troy his bride, Valerie Allen, was there to comfort him.