His Name was King (1971)

Richard Harrison is John “King” Marley, a bounty hunter who kills outlaws less for the money than because bandits were responsible for the death of his parents … or so explains a cavalry officer for whom Marley sometimes works.

Right now, he’s on the trail of four suspected gun-runners, the Benson brothers.

Sam Benson lures him into a trap, figuring it’s the best way to rid the world of “the dirtiest bounty hunter in the West.”

But his gun backfires; King’s doesn’t. Suddenly, the world has less one Benson brother.

To get even, the man behind the gun-runners has the remaining three Benson brothers track down King’s brother. He’s killed while on his honeymoon; the Bensons rape his new wife.

Sure enough, that makes King very easy to find. Because now he has a very personal reason for wanting to see all the Bensons dead.

But he doesn’t know that there’s someone quite important behind the gun-running.

Nor does he anticipate what happens next: he’s framed as being one of the men behind that gun-running.

Richard Harrison as John King Marley in His Name Was King (1971)

Klaus Kinski as Brian Foster in His Name Was King (1971)

Review:

The best thing about this film is the soundtrack, which includes the title tune “His Name is King.”

The film itself is a rather hum-drum affair, with the slightest of plots. King keeps winding up under wraps in some way or another. And keeps making surprisingly easy escapes.

And even at its short runtime — the Wild East print runs only 70-some minutes — the movie seems padded with lots of footage of horses or wagons or caravans traveling to and fro.

Klaus Kinski plays King’s friend, the man he trusts to watch over his sister-in-law when he’s out looking for revenge.

But Kinski is asked to do little with a part that could have gone a long way toward enlivening the film.

Goffredo Unger as Ben Benson in His Name Was King (1971)

Frederico Boido as Sam Benson in His Name Was King (1971)

Directed by:
Giancarlo Romitelli
as Don Reynolds

Cast:
Richard Harrison … John ‘King’ Marley
Klaus Kinski … Brian Foster
Anne Puskin … Carol Marley
Luciano Pigozzi … Mr. Collins
Goffredo Unger … Ben Benson
as John Silver
Lorenzo Fineschi … Benson brother
Lucio Zarini … Benson brother
Federico Boido … Sam Benson
Marco Zuanelli … Pepe Mestas
Vassili Karis … Foster’s deputy
Tom Felleghy … Maj. Ericson
John Bartha … Sheriff Roberts

Also with: Giuseppe Monteverdi, Paolo Magalotti, Ada Pometti, Giorgio Dolfin, Antonio Basile, Oscar Giustini, Claudio Ruffini, Sergio Smacchi, Osiride Pevarello, Salvatore Billa, Renzo Pevarello, Virgilio Ponti, Franco Ukmar, Sergio Ukmar, Rinaldo Zamperla, Antonio Danesi

aka:
Lo Chiamavano King
The Last Bullet
The Man Called King

Score: Luis Bacalov
Song: “His Name Was King” performed by Ann Collins

Runtime: 85 min. (77 min.)

Lorenzo Fineschi as a Benson brother in His Name Was King (1971)

Sergio Smacchi (?) as a Benson brother in His Name Was King (1971)

Memorable lines:

Union guard, at a checkpoint: “Halt. Let’s see what you got inside there, gents.”
Gun runner: “What are you looking for?”
Guard: “Listen, mister, we take orders from the sergeant, who gets them from the major, who gets them from Washington. How the hell should I know what they’re looking for?”

A Benson brother, as he climbs atop a Mexican woman: “Hey, brother, dive in. There’s enough for everybody.”
His brother: “No, I want to go carve up that bastard (Marley).”

A Benson brother: “That’s John Marley, known as King. Yeah, that’s right, the great king who’s gonna be shot like a poor coyote. That’s pretty cute, hey?” He pulls the trigger, but his gun backfires. “Damn!”
And there’s one less Benson brother.

Anne Puskin as Carol Marley, about to become a widow in His Name Was King (1971)

Vassili Karis as Foster’s deputy in His Name Was King (1971)

Trivia:

When Italy closed down its film production, Harrison headed to Hong Kong and kept his career going by starring in a series of Ninja movies. He wound up listed as star of 18 such flicks, though his scenes were edited into some of those movies without his knowledge.

During a Wild East interview on the DVD of his film, Harrison says he enjoyed working with Klaus Kinski, but recalls how he would intentionally cause problems or uproar on the set, in some cases so he could film his scenes early in the day, then leave.

Tom Felleghy as Maj. Ericson in His Name Was King (1971)

Marco Zuanelli as Pepe Mestas in His Name Was King (1971)

John Bartha as Sheriff Roberts in His Name Was King (1971)

Luciano Pigozzi as Mr. Collins in His Name Was King (1971)

Anne Puskin as Carol Marley in His Name Was King (1971)

Richard Harrison as John King Marley, scarred but still fighting in His Name Was King (1971)