Day of Anger
| Day of Anger | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Tonino Valerii |
| Produced by |
Henryk Chrosicki Alfonso Sansone |
| Written by |
Ernesto Gastaldi Renzo Genta Tonino Valerii |
| Starring |
Lee Van Cleef Giuliano Gemma |
| Music by | Riz Ortolani |
| Cinematography | Enzo Serafin |
| Edited by | Franco Fraticelli |
| Distributed by | National General Pictures |
Release dates | 1967 |
Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country |
Italy West Germany[1] |
| Language | Italian |
Day of Anger (Italian: I giorni dell'ira), also known by its UK video title Gunlaw, is a 1967 spaghetti western film directed by Tonino Valerii. The film stars Lee Van Cleef and Giuliano Gemma, and features a musical score by Riz Ortolani.[2] The film is based on the novel Der Tod Ritt Dienstags by Ron Barker.[3]
Day of Anger was Valerii's second film, as well as his second spaghetti western, following Per il gusto di uccidere (Taste for Killing, 1966). Valerii went on to film his third spaghetti western, Il prezzo del potere (The Price of Power), also featuring Gemma, in 1969.
Cast
- Lee Van Cleef as Frank Talby
- Giuliano Gemma as Scott Mary
- Walter Rilla as Murph Allan Short
- Christa Linder as Gwen
- Yvonne Sanson as Vivien Skill
- Lukas Ammann as Judge Cutchell
- Andrea Bosic as Abel Murray
- Al Mulock as Wild Jack
- Giorgio Gargiullo as Killer
- José Calvo as Blind Bill
- HansasOtto Alberty as Sam Corbitt
- Anna Orso as Eileen (Judge Cutchell's daughter)
- Benito Stefanelli as Owen White
- Nino Nini as Marshall / Sheriff Nigel
- Franco Balducci as Slim
- Virgilio Gazzolo as Mr. Barton
- Eleonora Morana as Mrs. Barton
Story
Scott (Gemma) is a young man working as a street sweeper in a small town called Clifton. Scott is looked down upon by the town people, and he has never known his father and only knows his mother's first name was Mary. When Frank Talby (Van Cleef) rides into town and kills one of Scott's bullies, Scott realizes the opportunity to change his life, and decides to prove his worth as a gunfighter to him. Talby soon leaves town to go after Wild Jack (Al Mulock), his former associate who owes him 50,000 dollars. Scott follows him and Talby reluctantly lets him tag along and agrees to teach him a few rules about gunfighting.
Talby and Scott find Wild Jack, but the man tells the pair that he does not have the money anymore, as he was double-crossed by the seemingly respectable citizens of Clifton. A gunfight ensues and Scott manages to convince Talby of his skills with a revolver. After taking care of Wild Jack's gang, the pair return to Clifton. With the help of Scott "Mary", as he was named by Talby, Talby quickly takes over the town, but Scott's fast draw has now become a threat to him. After he kills Scott's former mentor, the two decide to settle things in a shoot-out. Scott kills Talby in a duel and all of his gang by taking advantage of the rules Talby once taught him.
Releases
Day of Anger was released in Italy on December 19, 1967 and in Germany on January 12, 1968.[1]
Reception
In his investigation of narrative structures in Spaghetti Western films, Fridlund ranges Day of Anger, together with Death Rides a Horse as prime examples of a "tutorship variation" that further develops the play on age/experience between the protagonists in For a Few Dollars More, with Lee Van Cleef playing the older partner in all three films. In the "Tutorship" films a younger protagonist seeks the more or less reluctant partnership of an older one, but differences of motivation eventually bring them into conflict.[4]
Bibliography
- Hughes, Howard (2010). Spaghetti Westerns. Harpenden: Kamera Books. ISBN 978-1-84243-303-4.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Der Tod ritt dienstags" (in German). Filmportal.de. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
- ↑ Hughes, p.91
- ↑ "Day of Anger". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2007-04-13.
- ↑ Fridlund, Bert: The Spaghetti Western. A Thematic Analysis. Jefferson, NC and London: McFarland & Company Inc., 2006 pp. 165-7.
External links
- Day of Anger at the Internet Movie Database.
| ||||||