Day of Anger starring Lee Van Cleef

The spaghetti western genre was created in the 1960s and lasted to the mid to late 70s. These westerns were created by Italian filmmakers who made films that were more brutal than their American counterparts.  In addition to starring Italian actors, these films also starred such notable American actors like Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef.  Lee Van Cleef starred in several popular spaghetti westerns such as Sergio Leone's For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.   His characters were usually of the bad guy variety or as an antihero.   Even though he is better known for his character of "Angel Eyes" in the The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, I really enjoyed watching him in the Day of Anger.  

 

This movie allowed Van Cleef to really display his acting talents and most importantly, play a really convincing bad guy.  The thing about Van Cleef and most actors of his generation is that he hardly ever cursed or used excessive violence.  His screen presence alone with his steely eyes and rough demeanor was enough to show bad he really was.  

 

The basic plotline is about a kid (Scott "Mary") who lives in a small town who gets bullied by the townspeople.  He works in a horse stable where he practices his quick-draw gun fighting skills.   Lee Van Cleef (Talby) rolls into town and gets into a gunfight with one of Scott's bullies.  Afterward, the two of them ride to another town to collect money that is owed to Talby by one of his former associates.  Talby learns that his former comrade had the money but was swindled by the people of Scott's town.   After a gunfight with Talby's former comrade and his gang, they both head back to Scott's town to get Talby's money back.  

 

Talby also teaches Scott the tricks and the trade of gun fighting, from when to shoot to how to act towards others.  At first you think he is trying to help Scott but he is using him for his own nefarious purposes.   He also lays down 10 rules for Scott to follow:

 

1.  Never beg another man.

2.  Never trust anyone.

3.  Never get between a gun and its target.

4.  Punches are like bullets, if you don't make the first one you might just be finished.

5.  When you wound a man you better kill him. Cause sooner or later he is gonna kill you.

6.  Right bullet at the right time, well aimed.

7.  When you untie a man take his gun before that.

8.  Don't give a man any more bullets than what he got use for. (By Scott)

9.  There are times when you have to accept a challenge or loose everything there is in life anyway.

10. When you start killing you can't stop it.

 

Once they return to town, Talby ruthlessly takes over all the businesses and establishments.   After killing Scott's mentor, Scott has had enough and challenges Talby to a gunfight and kills him using the above rules that Talby taught him. 

 

Watching this movie made me think of Training Day with Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke where an "experienced" shootist mentors a young upstart.   It seemed like playing this role was natural for Van Cleef as if he really did not have to act the part - especially watching him overrun the town and how he manipulated young Scott.   It almost seemed scary at times when  he was teaching Scott how to be a gunfighter.  He made it look so easy like he had done it a million times before!   It amazes me how some of these actors play certain roles so well that it seems natural.  

 

If you want to see Van Cleef at his best, I suggest you check out this movie.   It's hard to find since it is so old but if you can find it, you will not be disappointed.  

Hardcore Western Action by Gordon D. Shirreffs

When most people think of western novels the first person that comes to mind is Louis L'Amour.   I enjoy L'Amour's work and have read quite a few of his books.   As good as L'Amour's writing tends to be,  I think Gordon D. Shirreffs is my favorite western author.   They both have similar writing styles in the sense that they give detailed descriptions about the land, the culture and the people.   They also know how to write good action-packed stories that capture the feel of the old west.   They were both prolific writers in where they were constantly pumping out books frequently.  I just feel that Shirreffs' work isn't as redundant as L'Amours and the story lines are always different.   His characters seem a bit more fleshed out and the stories have a more rugged feel to them.  

Arizona Justice (1958) is about Ex-Army officer turned U.S. Marshall Rowan Locke that comes to a small town in Arizona to find the killer of his cousin.   The town has two ranches that are feuding and Locke is thrust in the middle of them.  This story becomes a mystery as Locke is trying to route out his cousin's killer while trying to stay out of trouble between the two ranches.  All in all it is a pretty typical western setup - small town, two big ranches that can't stand each other, rustled cattle, etc.   Despite that the story itself is very good and compelling.    His characters are fleshed out and believable and you actually get to know them on a personal level.   The story is only 160 pages long  and has more character development, action and suspense than most books that are over 300 pages.  

Even though it has a mystery element it still has plenty of gunfights and fistfights along with it.   Shirreffs definitely knows how to write an action scene whether it be with guns or fists.   His action scenes can be very brutal at times and not for the feint of heart.  His writing does not have a lot of cursing or explicit sex but you can tell he loves action sequences.

Personally, I prefer westerns where the story takes place out in the open country or the mountains rather than a small town.   It seems more interesting when the protagonist has to chase his quarry through rough terrain and harsh conditions.  

Regardless of the settings, this is a very good story and I only wish Shirreff's work was republished.  Some of his books have been published as e-books but most them are only available at used bookstores.   It's a shame that only L'Amours work fills the shelves at bookstores and not Shirreffs.  I guess it could be that L'Amours aren't as brutal and appeal to a wider audience.   If you ever decide to get into reading westerns then I highly advise you to check out Gordan D. Shirreffs.   You won't be disappointed.  

Book Review: Dirty War - Mack Bolan

In the late 1960s Don Pendleton wrote an action adventure series featuring Vietnam vet Mack Bolan.  Mack Bolan aka the Executioner was an Army Special Forces soldier who came home from a tour in Vietnam when his family was murdered.  Bolan's father was involved with the Mafia who was pressuring him to pay off his debts.   The pressuring was so intense that he went crazy and killed himself and his family.   The only person who survived was Bolan's brother, Johnny Bolan.   After burying his family, Mack decided to start his own one man war against organized crime.  Each book in the series details Mack's exploits against different Mafia families throughout the United States.   He uses the same tactics from Vietnam such as "role camouflage", where he impersonates someone and infiltrates from the inside, to gun blazing action scenes with his 44 auto mag, 9 mm Beretta and M-16 assault rifle.  Despite the fact that he is a one man killing machine,  Pendleton made Bolan a character that you could sympathise with and relate to.   Pendleton wrote the first 37 books before turning the series over to Golden Eagle publishing.   From then on Pendleton's name became a house name and different ghostwriters picked up where Pendleton left off.

This particular novel was written in the 1980s by Stephen Mertz.   It serves as a prequel when Bolan was still a soldier in Vietnam.   The story is about how one of Bolan's fellow soldiers went rogue and started shipping drugs to the U.S. in body bags of dead soldiers.   Bolan and his team captured the soldier and put him in the brig.  Afterward , the NVA attacked Bolan's base and the soldier escaped with a list of spies working undercover in Northern Vietnam.  Bolan and a few of his team members hunt for this solider through the jungles of Vietnam until they meet Bolan's nemesis of the book, Major Linh.  This story is filled with tough action sequences, tough dialogue, and narrow escapes.  

I had a tough time getting into this book when I first read it.  I actually had to put it down for awhile and try again later.  I enjoyed it the second time around because it took me awhile to get used to the author's writing style.   I felt that the characters weren't quite as developed as Pendleton's Bolan books but it was still good. This book shows how Bolan's character developed in his early years and how he interacts with his fellow soldiers.  You also see how he earned his nickname "Sergeant Mercy" when he delivers a baby during a fire fight with the Khmer Rouge.

It is also interesting to note that his moniker "the Executioner" was originally used while a soldier in Vietnam. Just like in the Pendleton books,  Bolan's enemies and friends feared and respected him.

All in all this is an enjoyable book in the Mack Bolan saga.   You don't have to read it first but it is a good place to start.   Especially if you want to see what Mack was like in his early years.

The Predator - Why I think this is Arnold Schwarzenegger's best movie

This movie is by far Arnold Schwarzenegger's best movie.  I thought this one topped all of the other movies that he made during this time period.   For some reason I couldn't get into Commando, Raw Deal and even the Terminator as much as this one.   I have always enjoyed action movies with a small group of commandos going on a mission instead of large armies going to battle.  There seems to be more camaraderie between a small group than a large one.   I like to watch how they have to overcome odds and put their differences aside to achieve their objectives.   The odds are stacked against them and they can't afford to trouble with small stuff.  

One of the major criticisms of movies like this is the amount of violence and foul language.  I can understand that but if you look deeper you will see that these movies have more than that.   They also show the importance of brotherhood and sticking together.   One example is when Jesse Ventura's character is looking for the predator after one of his squad mates gets killed.   Not too long afterward he gets shot through the chest and his costar Bill Duke comes running in to save him.   He sees Jesse's body laying on the ground and goes into a rage.  He sprays the whole jungle with machine gun fire and then picks up Jesse's gun once his runs out of ammo.   Later on the rest of his squad mates show up and continue the onslaught.   Even though they didn't hit anything and wasted a lot of ammo,  they definitely showed a lot of commitment to their fallen brethren. 

Duke's character did the same thing when he was protecting Jesse's body late at night.  He started reminiscing about the old times him and Jesse's character had on other missions.  During that monologue, he was getting emotional because he lost his friend.  Another great scene is when they were setting a trap for the Predator by using logs and vines.   You can see the teamwork and effort they put into it even though they were exhausted and overwhelmed. 

Sometimes you have to look deeper into these types of movies to see the hidden messages behind it.   If you can ignore the foul language and the violence you might come away with a better appreciation for these types of movies.  

The Lone Ranger

After reading the poor reviews on Rottentomatoes.com, I was hesitant to give the Lone Ranger a try.  RT gave it a 23 percent rating for over 130 reviews.   Usually when a movie gets that much bad press I tend to avoid it.  The fans enjoyed it so I thought I should give it a try.  It turns out that the movie was much better than I expected.   The plot line was all over the place and the acting was pretty silly but it was still good overall.   I enjoyed watching Johnny Depp in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and felt the same here.   I also liked watching the Lone Ranger go from being a by-the-numbers prosecutor to being a gunman.

I wasn't surprised to see this movie as an over the top actioner with Johnny Depp in it.   I mean, did you really think that it was going to be that serious?   Most of the critics seemed to be upset watching Jack Sparrow as Tanto but I thought it was great.   This movie was more of an origin story but I can see them coming out with a sequel.   I did feel that some parts of the movie could have been left out but overall I could watch it again.

I guess the next time I won't listen to the critics as much and see a movie for myself.   Critics try to sound to "Shakespearean" in their reviews when it's not necessary.   They will take an action adventure movie like the Expendables and review it like their reviewing Hamlet or Macbeth.  Half the time their reviews do not make any sense and come across as being arrogant.   Movies like the Lone Ranger are not high art nor are they trying to be.   They are just over the top fun movies that allow you to escape your stressful lives.

So if you want to check out a fun action filled movie, check out the Lone Ranger.