There’s trouble brewing in Houstonville where ranchers are trying to push squatters off their land.
And the situation has turned deadly when henchmen under the direction of Alan Adams (Nello Pazzafini) try to tear down farmer Frank Ryan’s fence.
By the time the shooting ends, two men are dead on each side, one of Adams’ chief lieutenants is wounded and Ryan is in hiding, fearing for his own life.
The more peaceful residents of town are hoping the arrival of a feared federal marshal named Harrison will stop the bloodshed and bring law and order to Houstonville.
But instead, Deputy Marshal Josh Grant (Glenn Saxson) gets off the stage. He’s not exactly rushing to the squatters’ defense. If anything, he seems likely to side with Adams’ and corrupt Mayor Johnson.
And matters seemed even worse with a new fast gun known as “Mule” (Gordon Mitchell) under Adams’ employment and a mortgage deadline rapidly approaching on the squatters’ land.
Review:
A rather slow-moving ranchers versus farmers film that does offer a few twists at the end, if you can stick with it that long.
There’s also as large-scale climatic showdown that takes place while a Thanksgiving Day banner flies in town. It seems to include nearly everyone in the cast, though it’s not all that well choreographed or filmed.
The most effective scene in the movie follows a jailbreak gone bad. Frank Ryan is strung up to a greased pole in town. His brother Billy is given a knife and offered a chance to climb that greased pole in order to save Frank’s life.
Spartaco Conversi and Phillippe Hersent play town lawmen who would like to do the right thing, but are badly outnumbered.
Maria Vittoria Bardanzellu is the pretty girl whose sympathy lies with the squatters and Janos Bartha plays a leader among those squatters.
But the most spirited performance might come from Gordon Mitchell, who gets to flash that maniacal smile of his on more than one occasion.
Glenn Saxson as Deputy Marshal Josh Grant in Cry of Death (1968)
Gordon Mitchell as Morgan (Mule) Pitt in Cry of Death (1968)
Directed by:
Alfonso Brescia
as Al Bradley
Cast:
Glenn Saxson … Deputy Marshal Josh Grant
Gordon Mitchell … Morgan “Mule” Pitt
Renato Baldini … Mayor Johnson
as King Mac Queen
Phillippe Hersent … Deputy Norton Carradine
Nello Pazzafini … Alan Adams
Janos Bartha … Tex Thomas
Ferruccio Viotti … Dr. Dave Logan
Evaristo Maran … Frank Ryan
Antonio Monselesan … Jess
as Tony Norton
Spartaco Conversi … Sheriff Brown
Lucio Rosato … Davis
Edmea Lisi … Mary Ryan
Edgardo Siroli … Cooper
Maria Vittoria Bardanzellu … Katie Simpson
as Mavil
Renato Pinciroli … Tappman
Runtime: 90 min.
aka:
Carogne si nasce
If One is Born a Swine … Kill Him
Music: Lallo Gori
Renato Baldini (King Mac Queen) as Mayor Johnson in Cry of Death (1968)
Nello Pazzafini as Alan Adams in Cry of Death (1968)
Memorable lines:
Mayor to Jarod: “Listen bigmouth, it’s about time you learned that your best ain’t worth braggin’ about.”
Morgan “Mule” Pitt: “They call me Mule. I could never understand why.”
Katie: “For starters, I’m not your ‘charming Miss Katie,’ Adams. And have you finished looking at my bodice?”
Maria Vittoria Bardanzellu (Mavil) as Katie Simpson in Cry of Death (1968)
Edmea Lisi as Mary Ryan in Cry of Death (1968)
Evaristo Maran as Frank Ryan in Cry of Death (1968)
Jonas Barta as Tex Thomas in Cry of Death (1968)
Phillippe Hersent as Deputy Norton Carradine in Cry of Death (1968)
Renato Pinciroli as the banker Tappman in Cry of Death (1968)
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