The Return of Clint the Stranger (1971)

George Martin plays Trinity Harrison, who went off in search of the man who killed his brother and his brother’s wife on their wedding night, a quest that took six years.

Having gotten his revenge, Trinity looks to reunite with his wife and two children — Jimmy and Betty — who have settled on the Green Circle ranch near the town of Dalton, Texas.

Betty immediately takes to the stranger, not recognizing him as her father. Jimmy remembers better, and blames Trinity for all the hardships his mother has faced. As for Norma Harrison (Marina Malfatti), she’s ready to give her husband a second chance, if he gives up his guns for good.

Trinity makes that promise, but it won’t be easy to keep. Three ruffians led by a trigger-happy young man named Ross are trying to force Norma and the other small ranchers out of the valley. They’re working for Mr. Scranton, who plans to sell the land to the railroad for a cool $200,000 once he obtains it.

And the threat to the Green Circle ranch isn’t Trinity’s only worry. A bounty hunter named Scott turns up in Dalton, looking to claim the $5,000 reward on Trinity’s head.

George Marrtin as Trinity Harrison, confronted with a wanted poster bearing his image in The Return of Clint the Stranger (1971)

Klaus Kinski as Scott, the bounty hunter out to collect the reward on Trinity Harrison’s head in The Return of Clint the Stranger (1971)

Review:

The title makes this sound like a sequel to 1968’s Clint the Stranger. In truth, it’s more of a remake, though the main character gets a new name in this print, has a second child and has a bounty hunter on his tail who doesn’t exist in the original.

Otherwise, some of the scenes are nearly mirror images from the earlier film. That doesn’t make this very original, or very good.

At one point, Trinity is tied to a spinning wagon wheel, with dynamite underneath it. The dynamite blows, but he somehow escapes with only superficial burns. He’s ordered to stay in bed for 24 hours. A couple film minutes later, he’s climbing out of bed to head off with the bounty hunter.

Marina Malfatti as Norma Harrison, the woman who has raised two children on her own for six years in The Return of Clint the Stranger (1971)

Daniel Martin as Slim and Augusto Pescarini as Ross, two ruffians pushing their weight around in The Return of Clint the Stranger (1971)

Directed by:
Alfonso Balcázar

Cast:
George Martin … Trinity Harrison
Marina Malfatti … Norma Harrison
Klaus Kinski … Scott
Francisco Jose Huetos … Jimmy
Susanna Atkinson … Betty
Daniel Martin … Slim
Augusto Pescarini … Ross
Ricardo Moyan … Don
Willi Colombini … Clint’s brother
Luis Induni … McKinley
Adolfo Alises … Glenn McKinley
Gaspar “Indio” Gonzalez … Sheriff Culver
Gustavo Re … Blinky

Also with: Luis Ponciado, Manuel Muniz as Pajarito, Manuel Gas, Manuel Bronchud, Gustavo Re, Miguel Muniesa, Vittorio Fantoni, Luigi Antonio Guerra, Rossana Canghiara, Mara Krupp

aka:
There’s a Noose Waiting for You Trinity
Il Ritorno di Clint il solitario

Score:
Ennio Morricone

Runtime: 80 min.

Susanna Atkinson as Betty, watching Trinity Harrison refuses to stand up to the ruffians in The Return of Clint the Stranger (1971)

Francisco Jose Huetos as Jimmy, the son who doesn’t exactly welcome his estranged father back into the fold in The Return of Clint the Stranger (1967)

Memorable lines:

Sheriff to bounty hunter Scott: “You always bring them in like that (meaning dead)?”
Scott: “Why sure. That way, they don’t make noise, and I don’t need to feed them.”

Slim: “The only thing he’s proven to us by not wearing a gun is he’s a yellow dog.”
Trinity: “Cowards wear guns, too.”

Luis Induni as McKinley, the settler who winds up framed for a bank robbery and murderr he didn’t commit in The Return of Clint the Stranger (1971)

Adolfo Alises as Glenn Murphy, who tries to get his father out of trouble after he’s framed in The Return of Clint the Stranger (1971)

Trivia:

Ennio Morricone provides the score for this 1971 film, but it’s rehashed Morricone. Those who listen carefully will recognize snippets from the scores for “Hellbenders” and “Guns for San Sebastian.”

This film is essentially a remake, rather than a sequel to 1968’s “Clint the Stranger.” But that doesn’t keep the film from featuring a flashback sequence from the earlier movie. In an addition to George Martin, Francisco Jose Huetos returns for the second film in the role of the gunman’s son.

George Martin as Trinity Harrison, looking for information about the family he hasn’t seen for six years in The Return of Clint the Stranger (1971)

Mariana Malfatti, tied up and helpless as her husband faces danger in The Return of Clint the Stranger (1971)

Daniel Martin as Slim, leader of the land-grabbing ruffians in The Return of Clint the Stranger (1971)

Augusto Pescarini as Ross, the fast gun among the ruffians behind the land grab in The Return of Clint the Stranger (1971)

Marina Malfatti as Norma Harrison explaining to daughter Betty why Trinity isn’t a coward in The Return of Clint the Stranger (1971)

Ricardo Moyan as Don, one of the three ruffians behind the land grab in The Return of Clint the Stranger (1971)

Stanton, the banker behind the land grab in and around Dalton in The Return of Clint the Stranger (1971). Does anyone know who plays this part?

Klaus Kinski as Scott, deciding to intervene on Trinity Harrison’s behalf in The Return of Clint the Stranger (1971)

George Martin as Trinity Harrison pleads with estranged wife Norma (Marina Malfatti) to give him another chance in The Return of Clint the Stranger (1971)