merklekranz Review of Day of Anger

Day of Anger (1967)

Certainly no threat to "The Big Gundown" for best non-Leone "spaghetti"

[6/10 · 17 February 2011]

Giuliano Gemma gets no respect in "Day of Anger", but this film might be getting too much respect in the "spaghetti western" sweepstakes. The performances by Lee Van Cleef and Giuliano Gemma are fine, but the film is very choppy, with little or no character development of anybody else. Sure there are lots of closeups, and some familiar faces from the "Dollar Trilogy", but the script is pretty simple. Van Cleef teaches Gemma the tricks of the gunfighter trade, then once he gains respect, it eventually leads to conflict. Although "Day of Anger" is good, it certainly is no threat to "The Big Gundown", which is often considered the best of the non-Leone "spaghetti westerns". - MERK