Dir: Pasquale Squitieri
Star: Leonard Mann, Ivan Rassimov, Steffen Zacharias, Klaus Kinski
a.k.a. La Vendetta è un piatto che si serve freddo, Vengeance Trail, Three Amens for Satan

While relatively minor in terms of Kinski content – after a brief appearance near the beginning, he then vanishes entirely for the bulk of its running time – this is still solidly satisfying. As an 11-year-old, Jeremiah Bridger (Mann) narrowly escaped being slaughtered, along with the rest of his family, when Indians attacked their Arizona farm. Now grown up, he has vowed to take revenge, and spends his time hunting, killing and scalping any native Americans he can find, selling their scalps to a local wig-maker(!). However, even he draws the line at killing women, and when he comes across one, Tena (Elizabeth Eversfield), takes her back to town.

The local folks don’t take kindly to this, due to a recent spate of Indian attacks, and tar and feather her. Jeremiah temporarily rescues her, only for the worst of the locals, Boone (Teodoro Corrà), to re-capture Tena as a present for his boss, Perkins (Rassimov). Jeremiah is rescued by a conveniently-passing comedic doctor (Zacharias), who spills the beans on what has been going on. Perkins has been staging all the attacks as part of a long-term land-grab, targeting those who stand in his way. He has been using his men, but blaming it on the natives, with the help of local journalist, Prescott (Kinski). It’s time for the end game. Seems like one more “atrocity”, and the Army will clear out all the Indians, freeing up their land – and, more importantly, its water – for use by Perkins.

Jeremiah heads off Boone and his men on their way to carry out the attack, frees the tribesmen whose corpses are intended to be left at the scene, and heads back to infiltrate his way into Perkins inner circle. For this is where the Italian title comes into play: it translates as “Revenge is a dish best served cold.” And there I was, thinking all the time it was a Klingon proverb. Quentin Tarantino was lying to me! [And it’s not as if a film geek like QT, especially one so devoted a fan of spaghetti Westerns, would be unaware of this one, though the phrase pre-dates the movie, obviously] So, ten years on, it’s time for those who were really behind the murder of our hero’s family, to pay for their crimes.

Damn, this does not exactly offer a sympathetic portrayal of Western settlers. Even Jeremiah is first seen as an adult engaging enthusiastically in genocidal slaughter, a firm believer in the notion that “the only good Injun is a dead Injun.” Just about everyone else is on the same page: either actively, in collusion with Perkins, or through believing the lies put out by Prescott in his newspaper. I couldn’t help thinking of the “false flag” claims which have become increasingly prevalent in the more paranoid corners of conspiracy theory lately, since what’s shown here is, effectively, what the government is accused of carrying out at Sandy Hook, Orlando, etc. It’s particularly notable in light of events just a few years later in Italy, where some of the attacks blamed on the Red Brigade, were allegedly actually carried out by right-wing groups.

Removing my tinfoil hat, and replacing it with the more appropriate Stetson… This is a good, relatively straightforward Western, though I was initially confused with the transition between young Jeremiah and the adult version, and didn’t immediately realize they were the same person. Mann makes for a good, taciturn hero, who believes in letting his action speak louder than his words. Those against whom he goes up, are equally appropriate, Rassimov makes a good villain, and Kinski oozes tabloid slime onto the screen in every scene. In particular, check out where Perkins rolls out a selection of kept women (though captive women might be closer), and offers Prescott his choice for the night. I felt like I was watching Shark Week on the Discovery Channel for a moment, watching Kinski languidly circling his prey. It’s the potential for moments like this which make even small Klaus roles worth the effort.

Less effective are the minor roles on the good guy’s side. Doc is a misconceived effort to inject levity into a plot, that doesn’t work at all. He fulfills all necessary purpose after his exposition tells Jeremiah the truth about what’s going on. Eversfield, in her only role, according to the IMDb, is no more convincing as a native American – should that be called “redface”? – spouting pseudo-philosophical nonsense in bad English. The same goes for Yotanka, the family’s Indian friend pre-massacre, who might as well have “noble savage” tattooed across his forehead. I was also not particularly convinced by Jeramiah’s sudden conversion from mass murderer of Indians to their protector. Generally (and I see this all the time with conspiracy theorists), it takes a lot for anyone to accept their deeply-held belief is thoroughly wrong. The cynic in me suggests that Tune must have been a really good lay…

Just to lob in a note on the score, which was composed by Piero Umiliani. He was one of the second tier of go-to guys for spaghetti soundtracks, a little behind Ennio Morricone and Riz Ortolani. But outside of that, he’s probably best known for writing Mah Nà Mah Nà. a ditty originally composed for a mondo film about Sweden, but latter covered on multiple occasions by the Muppets. If only there was a version of the song performed by Kinski, rather than just him doing songs by Bertold Brecht… It would be utterly epic.