Spaghetti westerns play by a different set of rules. Dubbing, so often a disastrous decision, becomes strangely appealing, while ridiculously over-emphasised sound effects only add to the tension. Everyone drinks too much, shoots too much, and either mug their way through performances or operate with little more than a steely gaze. Day of Anger, made by Tonino Valerii, a Sergio Leone disciple, proves no exception, revelling in its flamboyant genre trappings to tell a giddily violent tale of fading youth, surrogate fatherhood and revenge.
Revenge provides the initial motivation. Lee Van Cleef’s aging gunslinger Frank Talby wants it for the fortune stolen from him years before; Giuliano Gemma’s downtrodden garbage man Scott Mary, son of a prostitute, wishes it on all the inhabitants of Clifton who treat him like dirt due to his parentage. After the colourful title credits have rolled and Riz Ortolani’s thrilling guitar inflected score has temporarily died down, Valerii, who co-wrote the screenplay, opens in Clifton where Scott is getting pushed around by everyone aside from an old stablehand. To escape this existence, he dreams the life of a gunman practicing drawing with a wooden weapon.
His chance comes when Talby rides in. After an unfortunate saloon shooting, he follows Talby out of town eventually convincing the older man to take him on as an assistant. Dishing out a number of sardonic lessons to Scott, the duo eventually come back to town to take control before their own relationship begins to disintegrate.
Van Cleef proves a good mentor, delivering his lines with a wry smile and just a glint of approval. He has a natural chemistry with Gemma, his cool image contrasting with the younger man’s abundant enthusiasm. Valerii knows how to handle an action scene as well, giving the two of them their fair share of gunplay. Gemma gets the athletic fights; twirling guns, catching them in mid-air and hurdling obstacles for cover. But the highlight comes midway through when Talby takes on a hired killer on horseback in a re-worked joust. The camera keeps pace with the charging horses, withholding the payoff until the last moment.
There’s an endearing quality to Talby and Scott’s friendship as well. As Talby knocks the young man back at first, you sense he’s just testing him. Later, there’s a fatherly scene when he gets him a gun picking out the best on display. This is later turned on its head when Scott’s old friend talks him through the mechanics of gun fighting, proving that Talby deliberately lumbered him with a gun less equipped to kill quickly in a bid to maintain his position as age encroaches.
The film is less successful when Talby and Scott finally come to blows. The action never diminishes in quality, though it becomes so regular it loses impact. But the breakdown in their partnership is rushed. Scott has doubts planted in his mind mighty easily, and the final act that drives them apart comes all too quickly. Emotional nuance is not always to be expected in spaghetti westerns, but even judged by the pulp standards of the genre, Valerii takes an awfully broad stroked approach.
Given that he gets so much else right, it can be forgiven. Day of Anger is for the most part a glorious blend of stop-start mayhem. Valerii winds the tension slowly before releasing each time in a hail of bullets. An impressively high number hit their target.
Day of Anger is released on Blu-ray on 30th March. The disc contains extras including an interview with Tonino Valerii.
Director: Tonino Valerii
Stars: Lee Van Cleef, Giuliano Gemma, Walter Rilla
Runtime: 95 min
Country: Italy, West Germany
Film Rating: 
