El dedo en la llaga

If you ever want to check out a complete disaster of a movie, just for laughs, then this is the champion of all champions. What was an accomplished actor like Klaus Kinski thinking of, when he was offered this movie?

Personally speaking, the plot is not even worth discussing, that's if there is even a plot in the film. But two things are worth talking about. Firstly, it has the worst direction, that I have ever seen in a movie. And secondly, the cinematography in it is so bad, that it makes even The Blair Witch Project look fantastic. Summing this movie up is so simple. Badly acted, badly directed and badly photographed. Basically, a complete disaster

This is a film which is extremely hard to find on video. I would consider this to be one of the "holy grails". Perhaps the reason for this is because it's so bad. Rating:0/10.

I was fortunate to find the Simitar VHS edition of THE LIBERATORS. While the box cover states a running time of 85 minutes, it is indeed 77 minutes, as other reviewers have noted.

I do not remember seeing any credits throughout other than THE END; in that sense IMDb proved helpful in supplying the basics.

GEORGE HILTON is a good deal more animated than he is in many of his other films (westerns and giallo are the genre I associate him with most). In uniform and clean shaven he very much looks the part of a recent West Point graduate given his first command during the Italian campaign.

A twist of fate leads him into being responsible for the execution of two fellow American GIs; their lives were thus be intertwined - the young lieutenant will come of age, and the two battle hardened veterans will achieve a state of grace through acts of sacrifice (culminating after the deaths of those who have grown close to them).

KLAUS KINSKI is eminently watchable, and thankfully the director saw fit not to rely on dialogue, but let the camera dwell on his ravaged features. His final scene is memorable, and alone worth the price of the video.

The third piece in the puzzle is a black American actor that I have never seen before; seeing as so many black jazz and blues musicians found Europe a haven it is understandable that black actors too might have chosen Europe as a new home. I found it interesting that the film is half over before he says anything.

The actress credited as BETSY DELL looked very familiar, and so I suspect this is actually a pseudonym. Can anyone tell me who she is?

The locations were such that I felt I was seeing a side of Italy that was totally unfamiliar to me.

A note on the music: it added a lot to the film.

The flavour of the film caught the anti-establishment movement of the times, and would be a nice contrast to John Wayne's THE GREEN BERETS, made about the same time if I remember correctly.

War truly is hell.

First film as director of Tonino Ricci (1927-2014). And, it's not bad. The same year, 1969, Klaus Kinski performed in "Five for Hell" (1969)5 per l'inferno (original title). In both films, Kinski is a villain, SS Colonel Hans Mueller in "Five for Hell", and American Corporal Brian Haskins/Norman Carr in "War Fever", the difference being that in "War Fever" he's doing some good deeds, killing many Germans and dying as a hero, while in "Five for Hell" it's just the opposite, he's just a mean and perverse man, killing americans. In both, he is the same special, unique, enormously talented, crazy, Klaus Kinski. Unfortunately, Riz Ortolani's music, great in many other films, this time is not. The film is also known with the title "Salt in the Wound".

WAR FEVER (aka SALT IN THE WOUND) isn't a bad Italian WW2 movie but I'm not sure it's the masterpiece that other reviewers are making out. Sure it has a handful of good scenes in it but then so do lots of other films in this particular sub-genre, and it seemed quite ordinary to me for the most part.

The storyline is the most intriguing thing about it: it sees American soldiers Klaus Kinski and Ray Saunders both sentenced to death by firing squad, only to have their execution thwarted by a German attack. They escape into the countryside with a rookie soldier (spaghetti western actor George Hilton) and soon proceed to take part in various enterprises. When they reach a town they're treated as liberators by the townsfolk, but an impending German attack will soon test their mettle.

Tonino Ricci is largely mocked for his work as director for the most part but I've always found him an underrated talent. Certainly WAR FEVER is a fine looking movie in which the landscape is as much a character as the people in it. The various action sequences are all handled adroitly and the inevitable highlight comes with one of those scenes where Kinski goes absolutely crazy; it's a shame Hilton and Saunders didn't have the energy or talent to match him. But a classic? For me, WAR FEVER is a typical and ordinary Italian WW2 outing.

One of my hobbies is watching obscure titles on old VHS tapes usually bought from flea markets and car boot sales. Most of the films are genuinely appalling, but every once in a while a gem is found.

Salt in the wound is one of them. In fact, most Klaus Kinski films are better than your average American pap. Apart from Kinski's psychotic performance, Salt in the wound also excels in cinematography. Some scenes are rescued by imaginative use of light. Also the length of the film is less than 90 minutes, which helps in keeping the viewer focused throughout.

The worst part of the film is the script. Cliched and predictable, it goes to show, that imagination in the casting and directing goes a long way.

Recommended, if you can get a copy.