Lee Van Cleef is probably in the top five of most charismatic actors who ever lived, and particularly after the tremendous hit that was Sergio Leone's "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", being able to cast him in other westerns was pretty much a guaranteed formula for success. "Day of Anger" came shortly after Leone's milestone, and it clearly thrives forward on its themes, as Van Cleef depicts a character that can be described as the good, the bad and the ugly all in one person. The other star in "Day of Anger" is Giuliana Gemma, and he's more of a local product of the Italian spaghetti western film-industry.
Gemma plays Scott, who leads an unbelievably miserable life in his hometown Clifton. As the illegitimate son of a local prostitute and an unknown father, he's looked down upon by everybody in town. He's not allowed to have contact with any of the townsmen's daughters, he must sleep in a stable and makes a lousy living by collecting people's excrements from door-to-door. He's twenty years old and earned a total of 8 dollars in his entire life! His big dream is to become the fastest gunslinger in the West, but he only has a wooden gun to practice with. When the mysterious but powerful and menacing Talby (Van Cleef) rides through town, he makes Scott his pupil and protegee. Under Talby's wings, Scott becomes a feared and highly respected gunman. But Talby is a hardened and stone-cold criminal, and eventually Scott must make the choice between remaining loyal to the gangster who taught him or rescuing the village that always humiliated him.
Even when under the custody of Talby, there is nothing in Scott's life to be envious of. He gets beaten, kicked, humiliated, used and lied to. "Day of Anger" - the title is quite irrelevant - is often also an unpleasant film, with exclusively loathsome characters, illogical situations and far too many convoluted links between characters. It's definitely not the most action-packed western of its kind, but there are a few noteworthy highlights, like when Van Cleef is dragged through rocks and dust by three horses, or his duel with a hired killer. If you like the combo of Van Cleef and spaghetti westerns, though, I would rather recommend "The Big Gundown" and "The Grand Duel".
Gemma plays Scott, who leads an unbelievably miserable life in his hometown Clifton. As the illegitimate son of a local prostitute and an unknown father, he's looked down upon by everybody in town. He's not allowed to have contact with any of the townsmen's daughters, he must sleep in a stable and makes a lousy living by collecting people's excrements from door-to-door. He's twenty years old and earned a total of 8 dollars in his entire life! His big dream is to become the fastest gunslinger in the West, but he only has a wooden gun to practice with. When the mysterious but powerful and menacing Talby (Van Cleef) rides through town, he makes Scott his pupil and protegee. Under Talby's wings, Scott becomes a feared and highly respected gunman. But Talby is a hardened and stone-cold criminal, and eventually Scott must make the choice between remaining loyal to the gangster who taught him or rescuing the village that always humiliated him.
Even when under the custody of Talby, there is nothing in Scott's life to be envious of. He gets beaten, kicked, humiliated, used and lied to. "Day of Anger" - the title is quite irrelevant - is often also an unpleasant film, with exclusively loathsome characters, illogical situations and far too many convoluted links between characters. It's definitely not the most action-packed western of its kind, but there are a few noteworthy highlights, like when Van Cleef is dragged through rocks and dust by three horses, or his duel with a hired killer. If you like the combo of Van Cleef and spaghetti westerns, though, I would rather recommend "The Big Gundown" and "The Grand Duel".