Director: Antonio Margheriti
Year: 1970
Country: Italy
Alternate Titles: E Dio disse a Caino...
Genre: Spaghetti Western
Plot:
After ten years of service in a hard-labor camp, a prisoner is set free on good behavior despite holding a grudge over his former partner who framed him for the crime that sent him away. Immediately looking him up to try to get what was rightfully his, he finds that his former friend has now married his former girlfriend and turned the money from the robbery into a lucrative plantation armed with dozens of henchmen to protect his interests. When his friend learns of the release and suspects the plot to exact revenge, he prepares his men for battle leading to a deadly showdown with everyone involved.
Review:
This was a surprisingly fun atypical genre effort. Among the more noticeable factors here is the switchover from the genre's normal conventions of keeping the action in the bright Sunlight in favor of moody, atmospheric night-time settings. The use of the sprawling estate for the setting here makes for a great time, much like the howling wind and uncertainty plaguing the henchmen lined up to prepare for battle who are tricked by the elements and lead to a situation they can be taken out comes off quite different from most other entries. That it's all at night offers a darker, more sinister touch that's quite appealing.
That ambiance doesn't stop this one from being filled to the brim with the more typical genre factors. The first half-hour here sets up a generally workable and acceptable storyline about the need for revenge on the couple. Seeing the backstory about how he got screwed over in the train robbery with the innocent trinket left behind while also concocting the plan to screw him over at the subsequent trial serves as adequate and necessary motivation to seek revenge. Even without the knowledge of what went on at the labor camp and how he acted there, this part all serves the film well enough and brings about quite a bit to like.
As well, because the film is structured to the revenge on the stranglehold being established early on and then put into practice from the beginning there's a fantastic amount of action present here. The usual gunfights that are prominent in the genre come off quite well especially with the final encounters in the house where he's gotten rid of most of the henchmen which are all quite fun. On top of the fun gunfights, the other means through which he carries out the vengeance on the henchmen through other forms of weaponry and the effective utilization of the scenery around him which all make for a fun time here.
There isn't much to dislike here but it does have one slight factor going against it. Since the main focus of the film is on the revenge he takes against the friend and is introduced into the story so early on, the opportunity to really do much beyond the film constantly repeating the same tactics over and over again is really lost. The idea of running the vengeance plot over one continuous night is a bit of a missed opportunity to really give the scenes a bit more variety than constantly dispatching nameless henchmen as it turns into a single-minded march to his nemesis. However, this isn't too bad and doesn't detract too much.
Overview: ****/5
Filled with quite a bit to really like about it and not too many flaws which aren't even that bad for the most part anyway, this one emerges as one of the better, underrated genre entries which are quite enjoyable to see. Give this a strong look if you're a fan of the genre or style presented here or of the creative crew, while only those viewers that don't appreciate the genre should heed caution here until they've delved into the more recognizable efforts first.
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