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"Rocks, blood and sand," goes the tune, the fourth ingredient of this elemental inferno is howling wind. The President's pardon for the former lieutenant (Klaus Kinski) arrives after ten years in the chain gang, an overhead shot of the desert floor cuts to a low angle under the blank sky, in both images a body against a blasting void. "A long rest, lots of snakes" sums up the unjust imprisonment, his refusal of a bartender's free drink indicates the vengeful plan ahead: "A man must pay for everything." In town, the prosperous rancher (Peter Carsten) uses figurines for target practice and keeps his ill-gotten gains behind a mirrored door in an ornate parlor. He sees a political future for his son (Antonio Cantafora), whose mention of the incoming stranger he met in the stagecoach hushes the mansion. Cawing noises outside break the silence, "birds of prey... fleeing from the tornado." European Western plus Gothic horror, just the vicious crossroads for Antonio Margheriti's mighty reserves of opulence and starkness. (Forceful camera movement is prevalent throughout, the profusion of keen setups encompasses church towers and subterranean caves.) "A rowdy welcome" for the rendezvous at dusk, a very long night fleetingly illuminated by the avenger's gun blasts. The rich man's mistress (Marcella Michelangeli) played a part in the cover-up, her demise triggers the fire that consumes his luxurious lair while an equine stampede finishes off his remaining henchmen. A hundred pitiless details, the endlessly toiling bell that turns out to be tied to a corpse, the liturgical chord from a defiant bloody finger on the organ keyboard. "This here's a showdown. Good luck." Morning light brings Biblical quotes, and points the way to High Plains Drifter. With Guido Lollobrigida, Giuliano Raffaelli, Luciano Pigozzi, María Luisa Sala, Lucio De Santis, and Luigi Bonos.
--- Fernando F. Croce |