Day of Anger

As was so often the case, the only thing that lets this spaghetti western down is the atrocious dubbing. Otherwise Tonino Valerii's "Day of Anger" is a remarkably fine and suitably violent addition to the genre with Giuliano Gemma's garbage-boy being taught the art of gun-figting by gunslinger Lee Van Cleef. The setting is one of those corrupt western towns where almost everyone's a villain so when they get their come-uppence you can't help but feel a degree of satisfaction.

Van Cleef may not be much of an actor but he had real star presence and he's at his best here. It's harder to judge Gemma's performance since it's not his voice we are hearing but he was certainly photogenic and handles the role with aplomb. Enzo Serafin was responsible for the superb widescreen cinematography, (it was shot in Spain), and, perhaps not surprisingly, the film has built up something of a cult reputation.

Lee Van Cleef rides into town and befriends the local stableboy.

The plot nominally revolves around Lee Van Cleef collecting on an old debt, with the help of the stableboy, Scott, as his protege.

There's plenty of excellent killing over the course of 90 minutes.

Excellent chemistry between Van Cleef and Scott. Lots of crooked townspeople. A rousing musical score. And an excellent final showdown.

But the coolest part of the movie has gotta be the duel between Van Cleef and some hired killer. It's like a throwback to medieval times and I'm almost certain there's nothing like it in western movies.

Really good, from the languorous, elegiac opening to the full throttle finish, I enjoyed it all. I note that IMDb shows a running time of 95 minutes whilst my new Arrow DVD runs nearer 115. Can that be so, 20 minutes cut from the previous print? It is just possible for there is a surprisingly large amount of time given to introduction of the characters and the town so that we might become totally involved. Goodness knows what anyone would make of much of this film without the precious opening ten minutes where Giuliano Gemma is introduced to us, literally as a sh*t shoveler before coming under the wing of the majestic Lee van Cleef. The famous Almeria set and surrounds plays its part well too and whilst the tale is fairly simple (revenge!) it is so well told and whilst the opening scenes seem to show a ghost town by the end we have seen it teeming with folks from all around. A fine film with much violence.

Day of Anger (1967) is considered a top 20 by most fans and critics. I definitely agree this is a great SW movie with good music and acting by Lee Van Cleef, and Gemma. The story is great about a simple man with dreams to have respect and to own his own colt, but unfortunately Scott Mary (Gemma) is treated like dirt by the townspeople of Clifton and verbally and physically abused and it is a revenge style theme about a man name Talby (Van Cleef), who gets out of jail and goes to collect 50,000 from Wild Jack, who in return was lied and double crossed by some of the good old folks of Clifton so Talby goes to collect and helps mentor Scott, who becomes a side kick. It all changes when Talby kills someone close to Scott and then he gets a reality check and faces off with his mentor. Movie is overall fast paced with good action and story.

Lee Van Cleef has always been an unsung hero. Although an instantly recognisable face with those cat-like eyes and chiselled cheekbones, there will be few casual film-goers who will be able to name many films of his outside of For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (1966). In Day of Anger, he may not take the lead role, but his Frank Talby, the dangerous yet charismatic gunfighter who wanders into town one day, steals the screen and your attention thanks to Van Cleef's formidable presence, proving that he was one of cinema's greatest character actors.

In the small town of Clifton, bastard-born street sweeper Scott Mary (Euro-western legend Giuliano Gemma) is ridiculed and bullied due to his social status. When Frank Talby strolls into Clifton on the back of his horse, he sides with Scott, and ends up shooting a man in his defence. When Frank leaves, Scott follows in the hope of being taught how to be a great gunfighter. Frank agrees, but has some brutal lessons to teach him. But they find themselves returning to Clifton in the search of money owed to Frank by Wild Jack (Once Upon a Time in the West's (1968) Al Mulock), where Frank hopes to deal some swift justice and make a mark of his own.

A protégé of Sergio Leone, this was director Tonino Valerri's second movie in the chair, and he certainly knows how to shoot a western. It doesn't share the extreme close-up's of Leone's work, but builds it's fair share of tension, climaxing in an inevitable yet thrilling climax between teacher and student. The film is superbly filmed, backed by a ridiculously catchy score by Riz Ortolani from which the title song was used in Django Unchained (2012). But the film's biggest boast is in the performances of Van Cleef and Gemma, the former proving he can play as good an anti-hero as any of his peers, and the latter convincing throughout his massive character shift. Highly recommended.

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