{ "id": "ep1hj3qww2", "slug": "old-shatterhand-1964-film", "title": "Old Shatterhand (1964 film)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure", "label": "Action and adventure films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.westerns-before-1980", "label": "Westerns before 1980", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.westerns-before-1980" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.westerns-before-1980.yr-1961-1979", "label": "Released 1961 to 1979", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.westerns-before-1980.yr-1961-1979" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure", "label": "Western Europe · 1946 to 2000: Action and adventure films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure", "path": [ { "id": "geo.weu", "label": "Western Europe", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946", "label": "Western Europe · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure", "label": "Action and adventure films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Old Shatterhand (1964) is a West German-French-Italian-Yugoslav Karl May western directed by Hugo Fregonese for Artur Brauner's CCC, starring Lex Barker, Pierre Brice, and Daliah Lavi, with an original screenplay and a Goldene Leinwand award.", "snippet": "Old Shatterhand (1964) is a West German-French-Italian-Yugoslav Karl May western directed by Hugo Fregonese for Artur Brauner's CCC, starring Lex Barker, Pierre Brice, and Daliah Lavi, with an original screenplay and a Goldene Leinwand award.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.westerns-before-1980.yr-1961-1979", "markdown": "# Old Shatterhand (1964 film)\n\n**Old Shatterhand** is a 1964 Western film directed by Hugo Fregonese and produced by Artur Brauner for the Berlin company CCC Filmproduktion, based on the characters of the German writer [Karl May](https://www.edgepedia.org/karl-may). [Lex Barker](https://www.edgepedia.org/lex-barker) plays the frontiersman [Old Shatterhand](https://www.edgepedia.org/old-shatterhand) and Pierre Brice plays his blood brother, the Apache chief Winnetou, roles they had made famous in the rival Rialto Film productions *Der Schatz im Silbersee* (1962) and *Winnetou I* (1963).[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/old-shatterhand_ea43d4a779bf5006e03053d50b37753d) • [2](https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Old_Shatterhand_Review) The film premiered on 30 April 1964 at the Mathäser Filmpalast in Munich and became the second most successful film of the 1963/64 season in German cinemas, behind *Winnetou 1*.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/old-shatterhand_ea43d4a779bf5006e03053d50b37753d) • [3](https://www.aufwinnetousspuren.at/filmekarten/html/body_old_shatterhand.html)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Production | CCC Filmproduktion GmbH (Berlin) with Critérion Film (Paris), Serena Film (Rome), and Avala Film (Belgrade); producer Artur Brauner[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/old-shatterhand_ea43d4a779bf5006e03053d50b37753d) |\n| Director and writers | Hugo Fregonese; screenplay by Ladislas Fodor and Robert A. Stemmle, based on motifs by Karl May[4](https://cccfilm.de/filme/filme-ccc_268-269.pdf) |\n| Main cast | Lex Barker (Old Shatterhand), Pierre Brice (Winnetou), Daliah Lavi (Paloma), Guy Madison (Capt. Bradley)[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057380/fullcredits/) |\n| Format and length | 4,158 m, 122 minutes, 70 mm Superpanorama MCS 70 (1:2.20), Eastmancolor with six-channel magnetic sound[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/old-shatterhand_ea43d4a779bf5006e03053d50b37753d) |\n| German premiere | 30 April 1964, Mathäser Filmpalast, Munich; FSK rating from 12 years[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/old-shatterhand_ea43d4a779bf5006e03053d50b37753d) |\n| Box office | Second most successful film of the 1963/64 season in German cinemas, after *Winnetou 1*; Goldene Leinwand award in 1965[3](https://www.aufwinnetousspuren.at/filmekarten/html/body_old_shatterhand.html) • [4](https://cccfilm.de/filme/filme-ccc_268-269.pdf) |\n| Music | Riz Ortolani[4](https://cccfilm.de/filme/filme-ccc_268-269.pdf) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nUnscrupulous bandits want to prevent a peace treaty between Native Americans and whites. Together with their allies, whisky-dependent Comanches, they carry out brutal raids on settlers and direct suspicion onto the peaceable Apaches. The only surviving witness of the attack on the Northern Ranch is the farmer's son Tom, who is taken in by the half-Native woman Paloma.[8](https://www.filmportal.de/video/old-shatterhand-19631964)\n\nOld Shatterhand, blood brother of the Apache chief Winnetou, returns to the West after a long absence. He frees Winnetou's adopted son Tujunga from the bandits and discovers that the mastermind of the crimes is an officer of the American Army. Winnetou faces the Comanche chief in single combat, and when Old Shatterhand and Tujunga are imprisoned in Fort Grant, Winnetou attacks the fort with his Apaches.[8](https://www.filmportal.de/video/old-shatterhand-19631964) The CCC company synopsis describes the hero as putting his life on the line to mediate between Indians and whites who have been deceived by criminals trying to take their land.[4](https://cccfilm.de/filme/filme-ccc_268-269.pdf)\n\n## Background: a rival studio enters the Karl May business\n\nThe film exists because of a business rivalry. After the phenomenal success of *Der Schatz im Silbersee* and *Winnetou I*, produced by Horst Wendlandt for Rialto Film, other companies wanted a share of the market. One was Artur Brauner's CCC. Wendlandt and Brauner were old rivals; Wendlandt had worked for Brauner and CCC before moving to Rialto in 1961. Because Wendlandt had bought the rights to all existing Winnetou novels, Brauner was allowed to make a Winnetou film only on condition that he use an original screenplay. Brauner commissioned his regular screenwriter, the Hungarian émigré Ladislas Fodor, who produced a story with unusual elements: Winnetou suddenly had an adopted son, an eleven-year-old boy was killed by one of the heroes, and a half-Native woman appeared naked.[2](https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Old_Shatterhand_Review)\n\nBrauner succeeded in securing the services of the main actors from Wendlandt's productions, Lex Barker as Old Shatterhand and Pierre Brice as Winnetou, which made commercial success nearly certain. Because of Brice's exclusive contract with Wendlandt, Brauner afterward focused his Karl May ambitions elsewhere, and *Old Shatterhand* remained the opening film of CCC's own series.[6](https://artur-brauner.deutsches-filmmuseum.de/die-meilensteine/) • [7](https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=222535)\n\n## Production\n\nShooting ran from 23 September to 11 December 1963, in [Yugoslavia](https://www.edgepedia.org/yugoslavia) and at the CCC Studios in Berlin-Spandau.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/old-shatterhand_ea43d4a779bf5006e03053d50b37753d) Location work took place largely in the [Plitvice Lakes National Park](https://www.edgepedia.org/plitvice-lakes-national-park), where key scenes of several Winnetou films were shot; filming locations also included [Montenegro](https://www.edgepedia.org/montenegro), Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Croatia.[2](https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Old_Shatterhand_Review) • [9](https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Old_Shatterhand) The production built towns and a cavalry fort for the film.[10](https://letterboxd.com/gamegeek/film/old-shatterhand/)\n\nThe director, the Argentine Hugo Fregonese, had made one Argentine western, *Pampa salvaje*, co-directed one spaghetti western, *Find a Place to Die*, and directed several Hollywood B-westerns in the 1950s. Unlike Harald Reinl, director of the other Karl May films, he had not been familiar with the German writer before accepting the assignment.[2](https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Old_Shatterhand_Review) • [11](https://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/70011/1/161.pdf.pdf) [Guy Madison](https://www.edgepedia.org/guy-madison), a good archer, was asked to impersonate an Indian during a shooting contest and effectively has a double role in the film.[2](https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Old_Shatterhand_Review)\n\n## Style and reception\n\n*Old Shatterhand* proved to be the most American of all the Karl May films. American influences are most visible in the Indian-Army battle scenes, a result of Fregonese's Hollywood background and the casting of American actors such as Guy Madison.[11](https://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/70011/1/161.pdf.pdf) Riz Ortolani's score is likewise described as more Hollywood than [Cinecittà](https://www.edgepedia.org/cinecitta), a robust, heroic score comparable to [Elmer Bernstein](https://www.edgepedia.org/elmer-bernstein)'s music for *The Magnificent Seven*.[2](https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Old_Shatterhand_Review)\n\nThe film aimed at a more adult audience than its predecessors. [Daliah Lavi](https://www.edgepedia.org/daliah-lavi)'s much-discussed nudity scene, filmed from a deceptively great distance, has been described as the first nude scene in a German film, and loyal fans of the Winnetou movies were shocked by the killing of the child and by a scene in which numerous Apaches die assaulting the army fort.[2](https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Old_Shatterhand_Review) • [12](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2026/03/adventure-calls-karl-may-at-ccc-eureka/) The Spaghetti Western Database's reviewer calls the film a middling effort with impressive location work but a predictable and messy script, while noting that its hero is closer to Karl May's original creation than in the other films: May conceived Shatterhand as a missionary with an iron fist and a rifle, and here he is presented as a true peacemaker pursuing a dream of a brotherhood of men.[2](https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Old_Shatterhand_Review)\n\nCommercially the film succeeded: it drew several million spectators and received the Goldene Leinwand in 1965.[4](https://cccfilm.de/filme/filme-ccc_268-269.pdf) • [6](https://artur-brauner.deutsches-filmmuseum.de/die-meilensteine/)\n\n## Versions and later availability\n\nThe film circulated internationally under many titles, including *La Battaglia di Fort Apache* (Italy), *Les Cavaliers rouges* (France), *Shatterhand* (United States), and *La última batalla de los Apaches* (Spain).[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/old-shatterhand_ea43d4a779bf5006e03053d50b37753d) [The Italian](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-italian) version ran 130 minutes and opened on 28 August 1964; the American release version ran 89 minutes and opened on 5 June 1968; the French version opened in 1965.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/old-shatterhand_ea43d4a779bf5006e03053d50b37753d) A re-edited 97-minute version passed German censorship in 1969 with an FSK rating from 6 years.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/old-shatterhand_ea43d4a779bf5006e03053d50b37753d) An English dub exists in which Lex Barker dubbed himself.[9](https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Old_Shatterhand)\n\nThe film was the first Karl May film shown on German television, with its West German television premiere on ARD on 27 September 1970 and its East German premiere on DDR 1 on 26 December 1983.[13](https://www.fernsehserien.de/filme/old-shatterhand) • [1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/old-shatterhand_ea43d4a779bf5006e03053d50b37753d) It appeared on DVD in Germany from 2002 and 2006, and in a complete Karl May box set in 2014.[1](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/old-shatterhand_ea43d4a779bf5006e03053d50b37753d) • [14](https://www.filmportal.de/node/3249/availability) CCC Filmkunst digitized the film in 2024 under the German Filmerbe (film heritage) funding program, and a new 4K restoration appeared in the Eureka box set *Adventure Calls! Karl May at CCC*.[8](https://www.filmportal.de/video/old-shatterhand-19631964) • [7](https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=222535)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Old Shatterhand, filmportal.de (Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum)](https://www.filmportal.de/en/movie/old-shatterhand_ea43d4a779bf5006e03053d50b37753d)\n2. [Old Shatterhand Review, The Spaghetti Western Database](https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Old_Shatterhand_Review)\n3. [Old Shatterhand, Auf Winnetous Spuren](https://www.aufwinnetousspuren.at/filmekarten/html/body_old_shatterhand.html)\n4. [Old Shatterhand, CCC Film company filmography (PDF)](https://cccfilm.de/filme/filme-ccc_268-269.pdf)\n5. [Old Shatterhand (1964) full cast and crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057380/fullcredits/)\n6. [Meilensteine – Artur Brauner zum 100: Die Filmplakate, Deutsches Filmmuseum](https://artur-brauner.deutsches-filmmuseum.de/die-meilensteine/)\n7. [Old Shatterhand comparison: BBFC 12 vs original version, Movie-Censorship.com](https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=222535)\n8. [Old Shatterhand (1963/1964) – Filmanfang, filmportal.de](https://www.filmportal.de/video/old-shatterhand-19631964)\n9. [Old Shatterhand, The Spaghetti Western Database](https://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Old_Shatterhand)\n10. [Old Shatterhand review by Daniel, Letterboxd](https://letterboxd.com/gamegeek/film/old-shatterhand/)\n11. [German Westerns (academic chapter on Karl May films)](https://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/70011/1/161.pdf.pdf)\n12. [Adventure Calls! Karl May at CCC – Eureka, Blueprint: Review](https://blueprintreview.co.uk/2026/03/adventure-calls-karl-may-at-ccc-eureka/)\n13. [Old Shatterhand, fernsehserien.de](https://www.fernsehserien.de/filme/old-shatterhand)\n14. [Old Shatterhand – Verfügbarkeit, filmportal.de](https://www.filmportal.de/node/3249/availability)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Action and adventure films (individual works) › Westerns before 1980 › Released 1961 to 1979*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/old-shatterhand-1964-film", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/old-shatterhand-1964-film.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Old Shatterhand (1964 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/old-shatterhand-1964-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Old Shatterhand (1964 film)](https://www.edgepedia.org/old-shatterhand-1964-film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/old-shatterhand-1964-film](https://www.edgepedia.org/old-shatterhand-1964-film). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Old Shatterhand (1964 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/old-shatterhand-1964-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Old Shatterhand is a West German-French-Italian-Yugoslav Karl May western directed by Hugo Fregonese for Artur Brauner's CCC, starring Lex Barker, Pierre Brice, and Daliah Lavi, with an original screenplay and a Goldene Leinwand award." }