Review: His Name Was King

Richard Harrison stars as John ‘King’ Marley on a vengeance mission to kill the scummy Benson brothers (led by Goffredo Unger) gun smugglers who murdered Marley’s brother and raped the brother’s new bride (Anne Puskin). Klaus Kinski plays a sheriff who is friends with ‘King’, whilst Luciano Pigozzi plays an antagonistic government agent.

 

Lean and mean at under 80 minutes, this 1971 spaghetti western from director Giancarlo Romitelli (a bit more prolific as an assistant director) goes under several titles, but I saw it under “His Name Was King”. Mind you, it turns out the main character’s name is John Marley so that’s a lying arse title (and lying arse accompanying song, which is otherwise cool). Still, solidly directed by Romitelli and scripted by Renato Savino (“Hey, Amigo…Rest in Peace!”), this is a solid spaghetti western that deserves wider recognition. In a way you could almost call this an anti-Leone spaghetti western given how short and breezy it is, no fat on the bone here at all. That’s not a judgement, just an observation.

 

There’s plenty of action here and American actor Richard Harrison is works well enough as our exported ‘star’. This poor bugger turned down “A Fistful of Dollars” and recommended Clint Eastwood for the part. I wonder if he ever regretted that one, because while he gave us Clint Eastwood he could’ve given us Richard Harrison instead (both are still alive in 2024, by the way). Italy’s answer to Peter Lorre, Luciano Pigozzi is solid too but his rather ordinary role seems a waste of his talents. Even worse is the wastage of Klaus Kinski in a role that for 95% of its length doesn’t play to his strengths and keeps him on the sidelines. On the plus side the major villains of the piece are suitably scummy, with Lucio Zarini in particular standing out. The film is at its best when they are on screen. A good, violent climax too.

 

A well-cast Richard Harrison anchors this more than decent B-spaghetti western. So short that there’s no room for dead spots and quite a bit of exciting action helps too. Worth seeking out if this subgenre is your thing, but a couple of the bigger names are wasted in support.

 

Rating: B-

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Hellraiser (2022)

Recovering junkie Odessa A’zion accompanies scuzzy boyfriend Drew Starkey on a break-in where all they find is a weird puzzle box. A’zion later opens the box and after some weird shit happens, A’zion and Starkey figure it might be a good idea to learn more about this messed up trinket. Goran Visnjic plays a millionaire who possessed the box before our protagonist nicked it.   Is there any point in remaking/rebooting “Hellraiser” when the 1987 adaptation of Clive Barker’s original text was written and directed by Barker himself? And is considered a horror classic? On evidence here, absolutely not. Directed by David Bruckner ( “The Signal” ) and scripted by Ben Collins ( “The Night House” ) and Luke Piotrowski (ditto) this is an entirely tedious affair. I took a long time to get on board with the 1987 “Hellraiser” , I have to admit. It was wildly imaginative and original, like a nightmare transplanted on to film. However, the characters were stone cold and left me similarly chilly t
Read more

Review: Cinderella (1950)

The story of poor young Cinderella (voiced by Ilene Woods), treated as a servant by her nasty stepmother (voiced by Eleanor Audley), and dismissed by her thoroughly rotten, ugly stepsisters. Her only friends are a group of mice, who are forever being menaced by a cat named Lucifer (or as I call him, Grumpy Cheshire Cat). The King (hoping to find a wife for his charming son) is throwing a ball and every available young woman is invited to attend, and Cinderella is most excited to go. However, her stepmother and stepsisters do all they can to prevent this from happening. But with help from the mice and one fairy godmother (voiced by Verna Felton) later, and Cinderella looks set to attend the ball. You know the rest, folks.   Lovely 1950 Disney animated movie from directors Clyde Geronimi ( “Peter Pan” , “Lady and the Tramp” ), Wilfred Jackson ( “Fantasia” , “Alice in Wonderland” , “Peter Pan” ) & Hamilton Luske ( “Pinocchio” , “Fantasia” , “Peter Pan” ), that is a bit too s
Read more

Review: Ninja 2: Shadow of a Tear

Scott Adkins is once again Casey, an American proponent of the martial art of Ninjutsu. When Casey’s pregnant Japanese wife (Mika Hijii) is rubbed out, he’s on a vengeance mission to find her killers. A friendly face, Nakabara (Kane Kosugi) turns up at the funeral, and suggests Casey come to Thailand to deal with his grief in another country. Casey initially declines, but eventually takes Nakabara up on his offer. However, his wife’s murder still haunts Casey, and with intel supplied by Nakabara, the trail eventually leads Casey to a brutal drug baron named Goro (Shun Sugata).   I was extremely disappointed with the first “Ninja” , but had heard that this 2013 sequel from director Isaac Florentine ( “Undisputed II: Last Man Standing” , “Undisputed III: Redemption” , “Ninja” ) was a damn near masterpiece of the martial-arts action movie genre. Having now finally gotten my hot little hands on it, I’d say the hype is a bit much, but this is unquestionably a much better film than the f
Read more