Black Killer (Carlo Croccolo, 1971)

This movie has much like with “A bountyy killer for Trinity”, it´s just a variation. Replaced by Jeff Cameron, who seens to give a better touch than Kinski and those stanger books ??? Gazzarra made a good role, I was surprised why he made just this SW.
Actors and location are just the same, and some scenes repeats.
I liked the music, a crazy banjo starts…


For more info visit:
Database page: Black Killer - The Spaghetti Western Database

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I thought Kinski was pretty good as the weird lawyer. I liked the ‘book thing’. A nice touch. Black Killer is nothing grand, but it’s entertaining enough for me. Still don’t get the title though, odd for a sw. 6/10

Hehe I don’t get SW titles in general. T[quote=“Bad Lieutenant, post:2, topic:834”]I thought Kinski was pretty good as the weird lawyer. I liked the ‘book thing’. A nice touch. Black Killer is nothing grand, but it’s entertaining enough for me. Still don’t get the title though, odd for a sw. 6/10[/quote]

Hehe I never get SW titles in general.

Average but enjoyable movie, and nice to see Kinski play a protagonist.

dunno if he can be really called protagonist more like some sort of observer who occasionally shoots some guys down. Its been too long since I saw this but I remember it being quite bad film actually but worth watching because of Kinski’s appearance.

… and don’t forget there’s a rather nice bottom! (see appropriate ‘nudity’ thread.)

Yeah you’re right, I think Kinski’s peformance alone is enough to raise the movie a couple of notches. Had it not been for Kinski, this movie would’ve been a turkey.

I love this movie. I agree, though, that it would be a far lesser thing without Kinski.
This movie seems to be ineptly scripted, poorly edited, and done on the cheap. It’s got it all!!
But is it bad enough to be good?
Oh yeah.
I think this movie is really funny, sometimes even on purpose. Much of the humor is of the deadpan variety, or at least can be enjoyed that way (no Trinity style humor here).
Some of the funny stuff is over the top (the O’Hara brothers, for instance) but a lot that is funny is in the dialogue. In a sense, the really funny person here is the one who dubbed Kinski. The delivery is understated and droll, perfectly matching his mysterious (and possibly sinister) character.
The dialogue exchanges that Kinski has with the youngest O’Hara (in the saloon at the beginning of the film) and with the Judge (later in the film when they are discussing the “law”) are comic gems that depend on timing.
Like all good Spaghettis, it has the moments of brutal violence that we have come to love and expect.
And, as was alluded to in other posts, there is an uncommon lot of nudity. There are TWO, count 'em TWO, naked chics. Worth the price of admission, right there.
I love the expression on some of the faces: Kinski’s when he is eavesdropping (for really no apparent reason) outside a hotel room door; and Fred Robsahm’s when he has to remove a bullet from Marina Malfatti’s beautiful rear end.
And the O’Hara Brothers! A band of Irish Mexicans ?!? Ramon wears a red velvet suit and Pedro wears a lovely
matching green ensemble. And, of course, they’re both homicidal maniacs.
The movie has lots trickery and chicanery made all the more incomprehensible by the confused script.
Don’t try to make sense of it, just enjoy.

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Poorly edited - that bit where Kinski is outside the door with a big red book (not this is your life!), and anyway it could be a green book … but when he goes thru’ the door it turns into a green book (unless it was green in the first place in which case it’s now a red book). Blimey, I’m not watching it again right now to check what colour it starts as - but it definately changes colour … ok!? ???

Red and green suits … these are the bandits that are re-used in Bounty Killer for Trinity (see Brother Bill San Antonio’s ‘Recycled footage in sws’ thread) www.spaghetti-western.net/forum/index.php/topic,893.0
He even has a piccy of the dubiously attired cheesy ;D duo.
I’ve said it before - there’s an overall red/green theme in this film for whatever reason … accident or design? But I do remember red and green glass, the aforementioned red/green books and el banditos to boot.
2 NAKED WOMEN!!! I must be slipping. God preserve us from my incompetence :-[! Apologies to all … will you post her in the appropriate thread Brother Romaine, or should I revisit Brother Kinski et all?

[quote=“Reverend Danite, post:8, topic:834”]Poorly edited - that bit where Kinski is outside the door with a big red book (not this is your life!), and anyway it could be a green book … but when he goes thru’ the door it turns into a green book (unless it was green in the first place in which case it’s now a red book). Blimey, I’m not watching it again right now to check what colour it starts as - but it definately changes colour … ok!? ???

Red and green suits … these are the bandits that are re-used in Bounty Killer for Trinity (see Brother Bill San Antonio’s ‘Recycled footage in sws’ thread) www.spaghetti-western.net/forum/index.php/topic,893.0
He even has a piccy of the dubiously attired cheesy ;D duo.
I’ve said it before - there’s an overall red/green theme in this film for whatever reason … accident or design? But I do remember red and green glass, the aforementioned red/green books and el banditos to boot.
2 NAKED WOMEN!!! I must be slipping. God preserve us from my incompetence :-[! Apologies to all … will you post her in the appropriate thread Brother Romaine, or should I revisit Brother Kinski et all?[/quote]

Wow Reverend, I had not seen the previous posts regarding Black Killer. Thanks for alerting me to them. I am still finding my way around this site. Lots and lots to read.
The Red and Green theme, I had not noticed that until you pointed it out. I saw those red/green panes of glass in another Spaghetti recently but I can’t now remember which one…
I’ll try to post on the thread regarding naked pasta babes but just as a quick point, the boobs and butts in questin belonged to Tiziana Dini (boobs and butt) and Marina Malfatti (butt only).
And not only did Marina Malfatti look great, she knew what to do with a stick of dynamite!
By the way, in case it was not mentioned elsewhere, Thomas Weisser incorrectly identifies each of the above mentioned femmes in the entry for Black Killer in his error laden tome.
He also misidentifies the cameo role played by the director himself.
But that is for another thread…

As a lifelong Kinski fan i think this an ok SW. Kinski playing against type made it all the more enjoyable for me. I think the title derives from Klaus Kinski being dressed in black but like other posters have stated a lot of SW titles don’t make sense. :stuck_out_tongue:

A real guilty pleasure… Not that I really feel guilty for enjoying it but this is about as far from a coherent western story as I care to go. I can see why Weisser lists BLACK KILLER in his SW top 20 in but feel sorry if some layman readers believed his “expert advice” and thought this is the very best the genre has to offer… :frowning: The title is maybe the cleverest thing in the movie with its double meaning. While “Black Killer” could mean Fred Robsahm’s character (Burt?) who’s the actual protagonist, it also applies to the black-clad Kinski who must have been more important in getting investors and audiences interested. Though hardly a proper showcase for his talents, KK’s part is certainly interesting, both technically (a supporting role stretched into something bigger by editing) and thematically, as he’s an opportunistic but passive witness to the unfolding events. Hanging around the action with occasional intervention, he doesn’t reveal his real motives until the end scene, which comes as a pleasant surprise as it actually gives some answers after all the unintentional surrealism. Come to think of it, many low-grade westerns would have benefitted from having Kinski or William Berger there just following the story, instead of acting it out…

Am I seeing things or is that a crock of Amarena cherry jam in the town judge’s office?

My copy is a download and it looks very much like there has been a scene before the opening credits begin.

Does anyone know if this is available Uncut ?

Isn’t the Franco Cleef version uncut?

So i believe, Bill.

I have tried to find a copy of it, do you know where i can get it?

I remeber this one being a rather silly [those outfits of villains] but kinda enjoyable. The main protagonist was uninteresting, but there was Kinski to spice up the movie a little bit. There was a serious plot hole - [correct me if i get something wrong, but i saw it a long time ago] there’s a girl who goes to warn main character, Kinski gives her a gun and basically she just disappears and there’s no mention of her anymore. Maybe the print i had was cut or something. Anyway i would rate it 6/10.

Yup, her name was Maureen and she did disappear never to be seen again. Later it’s revealed that she had been killed but that scene was most likely cut from the versions we have.

Thomas Weisser calls this a “text-book example of the genre” and for once he couldn’t be more correct. This very entertiaining flick is a perfect example of the genre. A gritty “revenge for a slaughtered family” plot mixed with “corrupt town boss” schtick. It’s violent, bloody and has some added quirk and nudity in it. A full lengthed role by Klaus Kinski is added for good measure.

A mysterious Man in black (Kinski) rides into the town of Tombstone. He says he is a lawyer named James Webb and carries a gaggle of thick law books around with him. He acquires himself a room at the local hotel and begins to take part in some shady conversations with the town judge. He is especially interested in some land that two mexican outlaws, inaccuratly called the “O’Hara brothers”, have stolen.

When the O’Hara’s kill a town sheriff, Webb wastes no time in dispatching some of their lackies using his pistols that are intricatly hidden inside his text books and are rigged to go off when he pulls on a book mark. Of course at this point we don’t know why he does this nor do we know what he is up to. His motives are not revealed until the very end of the picture.

After the first twenty minutes another Stranger by the name of Burt Collins rides into town and Kinski’s character takes a back seat throughout the rest of the picture (he is just shown sneaking around town dropping in on secret conversations held by some villains and shooting from his books when necessary), instead the film becomes the adventures of Burt Collins.

Burt has come to tombstone to visit his brother Peter who is living on the outskirts of town with his indian wife Sarah (another unusual name for a certain character). While Burt spends the night at Peter’s house, the house is raided by the O’Hara brothers and Peter is killed. Sarah is brutally raped and Burt gets beaten to a Pulp and left for dead.
Both Burt and Sarah head to the O’hara’s hideout for revenge.
The movie has a lot of female frontal nudity, mostly from a saloon girl named Consuelo but Sarah the indian girl shows her back side a few times as well (Nudity is a rare occasion in the genre).

Enjoyed the flick but I have a few minor gripes with it, first and foremost the costumes the O’Hara brothers wear, they have these really ridiculous color coordinated costumes that make them look like circus performers. One of the brothers (the red suited one) has a utility belt full of throwing knives, he only uses these once. The knives should have been a running theme and his death should have involved something with a knife as oppsed to just getting shot.

The very end (I won’t get into details as not to spoil anything) shows the revenge driven hero (Burt) to be not so honest as one would expect. In fact his activities at the end make him seem indifferent to his brothers death.

otherwise great action packed film.

The actors:

Kinski is noteworthy as Webb, he brings this mystique to the film that few actors can accomplish.

Fred Robsahm plays Burt Collins very well. In fact I liked him for all the reasons Shobary didn’t (http://spaghettiwesterns.1g.fi/black/killer.htm) didn’t like him. Shoabry writes " looks dirty and probably smells bad too"). I think that’s the whole point of a down and dirty spaghetti western hero but I guess it’s different strokes for different folks (shrugs).

Marina Mulligan is cute and sassy as the Indian girl seeking revenge on the villians for killing her husband and raping her in the process.

The Music:
I enjoyed the horror music esq. type tune for the “James Webb theme” but everything else is barely passable as an Italian western score.

Verdict: a solid spaghetti.

Like the way Kinski lingers around corners with his fast shooting books with his eyes wide open, and looks a strange mixture of crazy and suspicious at the same time. Like mentioned the main music theme is not a bad one. When Kinski is being handed a glass of Brandy by the judge he is very offhand, like he is doing the judge a favour by drinking the Brandy. It is this sort of Kinski element that kept me watching, amongst the violence and sleaze.

Kinski is really the thing that keeps you watching Black Killer. I also liked thy trashy baddies, how are they called? The O’ Haras? They come from Ireland but look like some kind of indio-Mexicans. And they wear the poorest and cheapest kid’s carnival costumes ever.

Seedy salty looking dudes the O’ Haras.