On the Third Day Arrived the Crow (1973)

The three members of the Connelly clan — Link (Lincoln Tate), Sally (Fiorella Mannoia) and Tornado (Lorenzo Fineschi) — are riding along one day when they come across an abandoned wagon.

It doesn’t take them long to figure out it’s been robbed of a gold shipment. So they head off to Lynchburg to report the incident and return the wagon to the Lawson Mining Company.

An anxious Lawson and a cool reception at the local saloon by the Sloane family arouse the Connellys’ suspicions.

Could they be closing in on the killer of their father Fred, owner of the Black Mountain Mine?

And could this all be more complicated than another just gold theft by men working under the notorious outlaw known as The Crow (William Berger)?

While Sally is striking up sparks with young Charlie Sloane and Tornado is making a play for Mary Sloane, Link tries to get answers to those questions.

Review:

A classic case of a Spaghetti Western where the title is better than the film. And don’t get too excited William Berger fans. The film is halfway over before he shows up. And he doesn’t hang around for long. Though he does wear a cool cape that he flaps about on occasion. Just like a crow’s wings.

Chief among the problems here: director Gianna Crea didn’t seem to know whether he wanted to make a comedy Western, a who’s-got-the-real-gold mystery or a revenge film. He winds up not doing very well at any of the above.

Next to some silly fistfight choreography, the comedy component is probably the weakest here. The jokes just aren’t funny. For instance, poor Sally wants so badly to sleep in a real bed in the Connelly’s hotel room. But her brothers won’t let her sleep with them because she wet the bed as a young girl. Yikes!

This was one of five Westerns directed by Crea, along with “Seven Devils on Horseback” (1975), “Magnificent West” (1972), “Finders Killers” (1971) and “Law of Violence” (1969).

Directed by:
Gianna Crea

Cast:
Lincoln Tate … Link Connelly
William Berger … The Crow
Fiorella Mannoia … Sally Connelly
Lorenzo Fineschi … Tornado Connelly
Rosario Borelli … Lawson
as Richard Melvill
Lars Bloch … Bill
Edda De Benedetto … Mary Sloane
Guiseppe Tuminelli … Sheriff
John Turrel … Pa Sloane
Maurizio Mannoia .. Charlie Sloane
Perry Dell … Will Sloan
Dino Strano … Jack, Crow’s brother
as Dean Stratford

Runtime: 85 min.

aka …
…E il terzo giorno arrivò il corvo

Score: Nora Orlandi

Memorable lines:

Sheriff, conducting his investigation into the strangers in town: “Tell me Sally, are these gents really your brothers?”
Sally: “Yes. And have been for years.”

Link Connelly to Mary Sloane about Tornado: “He doesn’t need any help (in a barroom fight). He’s the perfect Hercules.”

Lawson: “What makes you want to look for my gold? It could be a nasty undertaking.”
Link Connelly: “We want a commission when we find it.”

Trivia:

Fiorella Mannoia’s dad was a film stuntman and she started her career following in his footsteps, including reportedly playing Candice Bergen’s stunt double in “The Hunting Party.” She went on to become a successful singer in Italy.

In the film, she’s rescued from kidnapping and falls for Charlie Sloane. That part is played by Maurizio Mannoia, her real-life brother, who also got his start as a stuntman in films.

The image on the film’s poster shows a man with a stick of dynamite in his mouth. It’s from a scene that was reportedly cut from the most common print of the film for being too violent.