VENGEANCE (1968)

 

Another Western from director Antonio Margheriti (or Anthony Dawson, if you prefer). VENGEANCE was also co-written by Margheriti. The movie's original Italian title is JOKO INVOCA DIO...E MOURI. 

This is a more typical Euro Western, with a scruffy loner as the main character, plenty of sweaty close-ups, and tightly edited action sequences. Richard Harrison plays "Rocco" Barrett (at least that's what he's called in the English dub of the movie that I saw--other sources say the man is called "Joko"), who wants vengeance on the men who tortured and killed his friend, and made off with a horde of stolen gold. Rocco himself was involved in the gold robbery--but he's far less of a bad guy than those he's after. 

The movie starts out with a visually arresting pre-credits sequence detailing how Rocco's friend was tortured and killed (he's roped to a number of horses, and basically drawn and quartered). The film then becomes a series of confrontations between Rocco and the men he's after. Along his travels Rocco gets involved with a saloon girl (Spela Rozin) and he's tailed by a mysterious Pinkerton agent (Paolo Gozlino) who resembles and dresses like Lee Van Cleef's Colonel Mortimer. 

Richard Harrison is an acceptable enough Spaghetti Western hero, but there's really nothing that makes him stand out. About halfway through the story it is revealed that Rocco is part Native American, but this feels like a random point designed to try and inject some interest in the character. Some sources state that the man Rocco is getting revenge for is his brother (in the version I viewed he's a close friend). Spela Rozin, an attractive actress from Yugoslavia that I had never encountered before, manages to make an impression in her role (Margheriti makes sure to show her in her underclothes in one scene). Euro cult legend Luciano Pigozzi (credited under his "Alan Collins" moniker) has a small role as the most pathetic of the men Rocco is after. 

The most notable character in the film is the eccentric "Professor" Mendoza, played by Claudio Camaso. Mendoza is a weirdly dressed fellow who carries a cane (the best way I can describe his fashion sense is that he's a roughneck fop). Like a lot of Euro Westerns, the unconventional villain gets the viewer's attention much more than the hero. 

VENGEANCE does have a lot of impressive shot compositions (the cinematographer was Ricardo Pallottini), and Margheriti includes a few unique elements, such as a nighttime shootout and a death by spurs in the neck. The energetic music score is by Carlo Savina. 

I wouldn't call VENGEANCE a top-tier Euro Western, but like most films directed by Antonio Margheriti, it's entertaining and energetic enough to spend your time watching it.