Day of Anger

• Italian: I giorni dell’ira [i ˈdʒorni delˈliːra], lit. The Days of Wrath
• Directed and Co-Written by Tonino Valerii
• December 19, 1967 (Italy) / January 12, 1968 (West Germany)
• Based on Der Tod ritt dienstags by Rolf Becker as Ron Barker

A garbage boy comes under the wing of an aging gunfighter who soon takes over his town through corruption and violence.

I was rather struck by the opening of Day of Anger. The music has a swinging disco beat and the imagery made me think of a James Bond film. This fun music gives way to setting up the general scenario of the beginning of the movie. Clifton, Arizona is a sleepy Western town with a bit of a rigid social structure at the bottom of which is local garbage boy Scott (Giuliano Gemma) who is the son of a local brothel worker.

Scott is cared for by stable owner Murph Allan Short (Walter Rilla) who is not exactly among the social elite either but was once a sheriff with a quick draw who does his best to guide Scott and has even taught him how to handle a gun. He has mixed those lessons with fatherly advice that has done little to help the boy with the locals.

Enter into town aging gunfighter Frank Talby (Lee Van Cleef). He may be a killer but one that lives by a code which is violated by the treatment of Scott who is so far down the social ladder that he does not even have a last name. Eventually he convinces the boy to use the name ‘Mary’ as his last name which was the first of his mother. This is one of many movies featuring Lee Van Cleef as the older and more experienced character teaching a younger one. Here the young man is learning hard lessons of gunfighter life which at the beginning of the movie he wants.

Van Cleef for his part brings his usual steely look and tough presence with each line and glance. John Wayne may have been one of the giants of the genre, but Van Cleef makes a good case in each film as a strong contender. He could be tough before his character made a move because every action meant business.

Giuliano Gemma-as-Scott is not too goofy nor silly. His performance is that of someone young and inexperienced. It is a sense you get from his performance. It doesn’t bring things down but is a starting point for his growth as a character which ends the film as a much different person than he starts.

What helps this is that the ADR is not done in such a way that the voices sound like cartoon characters. The actors dubbing the lines do sound like they are real people and not voicing something for a kids show. That is always irritating.

It starts as a story of Talby getting what is owed and Scott learning as he tags along but morphs into Talby becoming corrupt and violent as he seeks to secure a position of power and authority in Clifton in what amounts to his personal retirement plan. Along the way Talby drops pearls of wisdom that Scott takes to heart which also come into play during the end. There are moments where you get the sense that Talby regrets what he’s done to/for the boy. By taking Scott under his wing, Talby has created someone perhaps more dangerous than he. Talby even replaced a calm and meek individual literally covered in poop with someone angry and well dressed.

This is much more of Scott’s story than that of Talby. Talby is a present but only so much as it helps in the boy’s story or sets something up for the boys story. We got much more into the young man’s conflict-both internal and external-than we do into any complexities of the revenge narrative. There is an increasing level of difficult decisions that Scott is required to make with no option being really good for him. As presented, he only seems to have two sides to fall down on. That of the locals who abused him and that of Talby with neither being a truly good option.

As a film, Day of Anger is a slow building drama interspersed with moments of action. It’s a story of an individual’s growth where they journey from essentially childhood into adulthood, and at some point must leave the parent behind to forge their own path. In this case, the child is Scott and the father is Talby. Talby’s lessons when applied by Scott eventually cause him to be a better man though for Talby it never works out that way. There is some foreshadowing, and if you go into this assuming that at some point they will have to face off you will spot it. It’s done in a way that makes sense but also subverts your standard expectations.

With an excellent story, and the presence of Lee Van Cleef, Day of Anger is an outstanding Spaghetti Western about more than just dueling guns.