A fun Western with breathtaking duels , thrills , horse pursuits , twists and turns . A tough , cynical stranger , Tony Anthony , takes the identity of a postal inspector and along with a preacher become involved into a confrontation with an ominous gang commanded by En Plein: Dan Vadis and his henchmen : Raf Baldassarre , Mario Novelli or Anthony Freeman, all of them want to rob a valuable stagecoach . The stranger rides with a queer name and carries a Pink parasol. He's after a solid stagecoach made in solid gold and a band of cutthroats .Trap him ! Tease him ! Throw him in a coffin..but don't get the stanger mad !. It is the living and dying-end in excitement ! Can he roll a cigarette ? No is he interested in women ? When he has time ! Can he kill ? Only when necessary.. and it's always necessary when the stranger returns !

Nice Spaghetti Western packing shootouts , violence , high body-count , fast moving, ironical touches and entertainment enough . There is plenty of action in the film , guaranteeing crossfire or stunts every few minutes . Made on a fairly middling scale with acceptable set design , colorful cinematograpy by cameraman Marcello Masciocchi and stunning musical score in Spaghetti style by Stelvio Cipriani . Stars Tony Anthony , he's very fine , giving even comical and ironical touches here and there . Tony Anthony starred some Westerns mostly directed by Luigi Vanci and Ferdinando Baldi, playing similar role as a cynical antihero, such as : A dollar between the teeth 1967 by Luigi Vanci, The Stranger in Japan 1968 by Luigi Vanci, The Blindman 1971 by Ferdinando Baldi , Get Mean 1975 by Ferdinando Baldi , Comin' at Ya ! 1981 by Ferdinando Baldi . Here Tony Anthony is well accompanied by various Italian familiar faces such as Daniele Vargas, Ettore Manni, Raf Baldassarre, Mario Novelli or Anthony Freeman , Luciano Catenacci, Fortunato Arena, Giuseppe Addobbati or John Mac Douglas and the American Dan Vadis who starred several Peplums and Jill Banner who played the cult movie Spider Baby but she died early due to a road accident.

The motion picture was competently directed by Luigi Vanzi who directed a few movies in all kinds of genres, such as : 1931 once upon a time in New York, East Connection, America paese di Dio, Sette a Tebe . Rating : 6,5/10 , riotous Western in which there's much action and violence and excitement enough .

"The Stranger Returns", is much better than the first "Stranger" movie, just as "For a Few Dollars More" eclipsed "A Fistful of Dollars". The score here is an absolute "killer" , and very Morricone like. I would say that Warner Brothers has done a great job with the Archive Collection transfer. Colors are sharp and the musical score is clearly a highlight. The story itself, has Tony Anthony playing the low key sly fox, taking a beating, but eventually outsmarting Dan Vadis and his gang. There are several chuckles that actually work, and the action, although predictable, moves along at a good pace. I consider this film to be one of the better non-Leone spaghetti westerns, and is recommended viewing, especially for "spaghetti" fans. - MERK