Der Ölprinz (1965)

The bandit “Oil Prince” plans to pass off a fake oil deposit on banker Duncan. But a wagon train of settlers stands in his way, since they want to settle in that very area. The Oil Prince has the settlers’ scout replaced by a member of the Finders gang. Old Surehand and Winnetou get on the impostor’s trail and manage to warn the wagon train. Winnetou convinces Navajo chief Nitsas-ini that the settlers are peaceful, and the chief lets them pass unhindered through his territory, with Old Wabble as their guide, on their way to a stopover at the Chinla River. On the way to the Utes, Old Surehand is lured into a trap by the Finder bandits, but Winnetou manages to rescue him. At the Chinla River, the settlers—including the widow Ebersbach, the choirmaster Hampel, the card cheat Richard Forsythe, and the shady businessman Bergmann—are settling in for the night when the Finder bandits attack. But Winnetou and Old Surehand arrive in time to fend off the attack. After the raid fails, the Oil Prince comes up with a new plan. He has the chief Mokaschi’s son murdered by a mute knife-thrower, then blames the settlers for the killing. The Indians surround the settlers by the river, but agree to hold off their attack if Old Surehand delivers the real murderer to them within a day. Winnetou plans to get the women and children to safety on a raft down the raging river. However, they fall into the water and are rescued only when Old Surehand arrives. He sets off in pursuit of the Oil Prince, who has meanwhile swindled banker Duncan out of the money for the fake oil deposit and trapped him inside the supposed oil cave with a landslide of rocks. After a brief chase and a fight, Old Surehand catches and ties up the Oil Prince and the knife-thrower. The knife-thrower is killed while trying to escape. By this time, the Indians have grown impatient and begin their attack on the settlers. The first wagons are already in flames when Old Surehand returns. He convinces Mokaschi that his son was killed by the knife-thrower, who was acting at the Oil Prince’s instigation. As punishment, the Oil Prince is handed over to the Indians, who presumably torture him to death (“You will die fifty times!”).