I think the best way to describe the elder Volonte is that he like a caged tiger, extremely threatening but hides his fangs behind a laconic expression until fresh meat comes around. I get a weird vibe from the guy to be honest and am not surprised that he apparently had some radical political views, specifically he had a love affair with Communism (a political system I vehemently detest) . He also helped Oreste Scalzone flee from Italy after the guy tried to create an armed uprising in order to overthrow the Italian government.
As an actor he has a good range, and can pull off the whole mad-man bit pretty well, whether it’s the overdrive crazy like in For a Few Dollars More or subdued crazy like in Face to Face. I haven’t seen any of his other films besides the four Spag’s he was in, but I am interested to see some others. Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion is one I’m interested in seeing, and it won an oscar.
You can watch it on Amazon Video.