Killer Kid (Leopoldo Savona, 1967)

Middle of the road for me. Not bad, decently done, but I was not very entertained either. Steffen is doing his Clint Eastwood impersonation here - heā€™s better when he is not doing that. Fernando Sancho steals the show.

Most interesting aspect is that this is one of the first Zapata spaghettis, so it can be viewed as a blueprint for the later ones. I think that it has lot of similarities with Companeros in particular. Saint = Professor, Mercedes = Lola and Kid is in some aspects similar to Yodlaf, especially at the very end when he decides to choose side and when asked what to do with the soldiers he answers: ā€œKill themā€.

In the first 5 minutes we got Squinty Ken being ever so squinty with his Federaly-moustachioed mean look, and we get the infamous wolf-loop - so all bodes well. This is a marvellously entertaining film, that rattles along with some great roles for (Big Hat) Steffen; Luisa Barratto as the smoulderingly sexy love interest (see what wearing the proper sized had does Mr. Steffen?); and Ken (as mentioned)ā€¦ but this film really belongs to Sir Sancho. He gets to play all of his cliches in one filmā€¦ heā€™s sadistic, cowardly and impulsively dim-witted, then insightful and moustache-twirlingly scheming, then again blubberingly sad and delusional, and finally veangeful and heroic - I donā€™t think Iā€™ve ever seen him better in any of his many outings. 8) 8) 8)

Thereā€™s no point me going on about the story as Phil as written such a fine review that all should read, (and anyway itā€™s a bit complicated for me now) but here are some personal highlightsā€¦

Phil saysā€¦ ā€œNo scorching iconic Almerian landscape to help set the mood here. Just an italian quarry and the backlots of Elios Studios and Cinecitta. This would normally jar but I found myself almost being fooled on occasion and the fact that the cheap locations went more or less unnoticed was a good indication for me that there was enough good stuff going on to keep me focused on the story.ā€

This leads me on to the cactii and succulents 8) (there will be a thread one day for these overlooked props) - you were ā€œalmost fooledā€ Phil because of their subtle presence in what would otherwise be just seen as a quarryish sandpit. There were knee-high succulents a-plenty in town that replanted around the quarry, and filmed from the right angle looked positively mexi-desert. And then, joy of joy, theyā€™d borrowed two of the Fidani fave cliched papier-mache big boys and stuck them in as well. (These can be seen in photo-form appearing in my own - Fidaniā€™s Dead Men Donā€™t make Shadows - review. And here they appear again, these counterfeit cacti, these sumptuous simulated succulents. Theyā€™ve hornswoggled us all yet again, seducing us into their wonderful world of mock mexi-ambience.

We,ve got the nasty remains of a mexi-massacre at that old burnt out fort, as seen in Requiescant - which is always a good 'un.
Thereā€™s dramatic trumpets as needed - again a welcome spaghetti-staple.

And besides Sir Fernando, special mention should go to chisel-cheeked Mercedes (Lizzie Barret) who is absolutely gorgeous in her creamy trousers in this. :-*

As Phil says - it is not ā€œof the very highest orderā€, and I concur ::slight_smile: but it is highly enjoyable, and worth watching for the three main leads and for a bit of cactus-watching I reckon.

Easily 4 spiny stars! Great fun!

Anica, SWDB and IMDb indicate Domenico Cianfriglia as Ortiz (El Santo lieutenant) when in fact he plays Felipe, one of Ramirez soldiers.

ORTIZ

Giovanni Cianfriglia (aka Ken Wood) and his brother Domenico together in Killer Kid

Any ideas as to who actually plays Ortiz, JC?

Adriano Vitale, but not entirely sure yet.

Now it is 100 percent sure.

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Good. While checking what I had for Ortiz, came across Sergeant Mulligan.


Luciano Doria?

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Yes, I also think Sgt Mulligan is Doria.

Also in the pre-credits sequence of Today We Kill, Tomorrow We Die together with C.S.C. actor - and psychic - Umberto Di Grazia.

Bury Them Deep / Today We Kill

Sartanaā€™s Here / Today We KIll / Il suo nome gridava vendetta

Ah! good. So thatā€™s Di Grazia.

Iā€™m not sure if thereā€™s a specific page for this? Vehicles making unwanted ā€˜guest appearancesā€™
Spotted this one in ā€œKiller Kidā€ ā€¦ looks like a truck or a bus, probably shouldnā€™t be there !!! :crazy_face:

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Yep, good eye! Looks like a box van of some type :laughing:

I have to agree with you about Fernando Sancho. Vilar is one of the most infuriatingly redeeming characters Iā€™ve ever seen.

I rate the film as a rewarding 8-out-of-10.

Gives Killer Kid a sci-fi element. :alien:

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Itā€™s probably his best western ā€¦ near perfect by Steffen standards - but that damned truck had to get in the way. :disappointed_relieved:



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Theyā€™re milking that truck slip up. :grimacing:

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Just when I think I have the definitive Killer Kid version, the extended truck cut comes out

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