The Deserter

The Deserter is a 1971 Italian-American Western film by Dino De Laurentis. It was directed by Burt Kennedy, known for his penchant in directing westerns, including The War Wagon , Support Your Local Sheriff! and The Train Robbers . Scripted in the style of The Dirty Dozen , and designed as a vehicle for Yugoslavian theater and film matinee idol Bekim Fehmiu, the film featured an ensemble cast of American heavyweight actors. Noted for Shane actor Brandon deWilde's death scene, his last Western film appearance before his own death the following year. The film was shot largely on location in... Italy, Spain and Yugoslavia. Many exterior scenes were filmed at the Fort Bowie set built in the Province of Almería, Spain, where the desert landscape and climate that characterizes part of the province have made it a much utilized setting for Western films, among those A Fistful of Dollars , The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and later 800 Bullets . This same set was also used in the films Blindman with Ringo Starr and A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die .
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