There's a Noose Waiting for You... Trinity! Review
A sequel to Clint the Nevada's Loner. The flashbacks taken from the first movie, tell us that it was intended as a sequel, but it feels more like a remake, virtually telling the same story of a gunslinger who wants to re-unite with his family. The main difference, apart from George Martin's moustache, is the addition of a bounty hunter, played by no other than Klaus Kinski. Five years ago Clint (who all of a sudden has become Trinity) took the law into his own hands and ever since then he has a price on his head.
Most people think this sequel is the better of the two movies, but the first one has its defenders as well. If the first movie was a bit naïve, it was a least consistent. It was a clean, old-fashioned movie, unspectacular but likable. Shot in the Pyrenees, it also had a glorious look. The sequel has a low-budget feel: it was one of the last westerns to be shot in Esplugas City, the then already derelict western town of the Balcazar Studios and the outdoor scenes were filmed on far less impressive locations. Kinkski's bounty hunter is a colorful (and very welcome) addition to the otherwise predictable storyline, but he also unbalances the movie: his scenes have a distinct spaghetti western feel, while the central storyline of the gunslinger coming home remains firmly rooted in Hollywood's most romanticized traditions.
According to most sources Alfonso Balcazar took over direction after the original director, Pedro L. Ramirez, had left the set, but the Italian credits tell us that George Martin finished the movie (*1). The use of Trinity in the title may have created some false expectations: this is most certainly not a comedy. In spite of the traditional storyline it's a rather dark movie. Martin is still the archetypical western hero of the peaceful man who's forced to take up his gun again, but he's also a psychologically tormented, unstable person who is haunted by his violent past in a series of red-tinted flashbacks. The action scenes are rather sudden; they're well-handled and a bit more graphic than in the first movie (or most spaghetti westerns from the previous decade). Ennio Morricone's score is of course very nice but was recycled from his original score for The Hellbenders.
Director: Alfonso Balcazar (or George Martin) - Cast: George Martin, Klaus Kinski, Marina Malfatti, Daniel Martín, Augusto Pesarini, Susanna Atkinson, Adolfo Alises, Willi Colombini, Luis Induni, Gaspar 'Indio' González, Francisco José Huetos, Gustavo Re, Manuel Sas - Music: Ennio Morricone (recycled)
- DVD info: Ritorno di Clint il solitario, Il/DVD
Note:
- (1) Marco Giusti, Dizionario del western all'italiana
See Database Page # Names & Titles
Both movies are linked by their original titles: Clint il Solitario and Il Ritorno di Clint il Solitario. Clint was obviously a reference to Clint Eastwood, the moniker 'il solitario' possibly a reference to the italian title of Shane, the film that served as a model: Il Cavaliere della Valle Solitaria. In English Clint became a stranger or - ungrammatically - a Nevada's Loner. In the second movie he remained Clint in most countries, but became Trinity in the international English language version. Oddly enough the Spanish working title was Te espera una cuerda ... Ringo. As far as I know, the name Ringo wasn't used in any language version, but cuerda (rope, string, noose) popped up in the English title There's a Noose waiting for you, Trinity.
Special thanks to Simha Chardon
