La belva

This film is strange not in a surreal way, but in the way it dispenses entirely with the Man With No Name character and tells the story of one of the bad guys and his effect on everyone he encounters.

Put it this way, if Klaus Kinski came to you and said he had a sure fire way to make loads of cash, would you not run away screaming? In fact, if Klaus Kinski said hello to you, would you not run away screaming? These people learn the hard way, but let's back up a bit.

Kinski this time plays Crazy Johnny Laster, a demented drifter who loses the plot the moment he sees cleavage and tries to force himself on every woman he sees. For some reason, some guy thinks Johnny is a good bet to recruit for a robbery. They kill a landowner who has just sold his land, only to find the money has been sent to a bank in Dallas to a relative. I'm sure the guy thought it was a good idea at the time, but I'm not so sure he thought it was a he hit the ground with one of Johnny's bullets in his back.

Johnny still wants the cash, so he heads south with a plan and recruits a local guy and a Mexican couple for a heist, but how do you think that's going to work out if they put Johnny in charge of someone they've kidnapped? And what about that rival Mexican gang who want the cash too?

There's no mysterious stranger here, just Johnny and all those stupid enough to trust him. There's also the genuine good characters who are shoved to the background: the sheriff and the deputies, the townsfolk, the landowner. We just get to sit back and watch all the fallout as Johnny makes kissy lips at cringing women (truly horrifying) and shoots anyone who disagrees with him. He never actually gets to rape anyone.

The pretty grim ending doesn't come as a surprise, but it's good to see Kinski unleash his inner madman. Or just be everyday Kinski for the cameras.

A rare lengthy Kinski feature role as Crazy Johnny sex crazed outlaw who is wanted in San Francisco. Kinski's character is obsessed with raping women a sexual predator in the old west who has nothing more but stealing, raping, and killing on his mind. This movie maybe a major disappointment for many Spaghetti Western fans but not for many Klaus Kisnki fans. Overall it had two things going for it a great performance from Klaus Kinski and a great music score by Stelvio Cipriani.

Another story line which needed much more work done to it to be impactive but still fun to watch!

It would be nice to see this movie redone in the future. Since most old movies are being re-made nowadays.

I was most disappointed with this. A spaghetti western with Klaus Kinski in the lead role as a sex starved wheeler dealer, what could go wrong? Actually the story is fine with various parties interested in a large amount of money that suddenly appears on the scene. One of those interested parties is Crazy Joe, who Kinski plays to the hilt, grabbing at every passing women and preparing to bash up against a wall or into a hay loft anyone in possession of a bosom. But, either the director could not control Kinski or did not see the need, for this is a great wasted opportunity to tell a tough tale well. As it is Crazy Joe becomes a laughable has been and the for the rest we have group after group of baddie chase each other to little effect.

This was a somewhat enjoyable movie, even though I was expecting it to be better.

Klaus Kinski does an adequate job with what he is given, but his character really doesn't have much personality. I'm not sure if this is Kinski's fault or the director's, but the character of Johnny is simply a man who can't control his sexual impulses. There is absolutely nothing else that can be said about him. He has no unusual mannerisms or interesting personality traits to speak of. He is just downright boring. This does not make for a good main character of a movie, especially when the film is a spaghetti western. The other characters are even more boring. In fact, they are too dull to even be called cliché.

Stelvio Cipriani's music score is very good, which really helps this movie, since a good score is especially important in a euro-western.

The overall story is also pretty good, and is enough to keep you interested all the way to the end. The main story being told in this movie is not really about a sex maniac in the old west, as many people describe it. It is a tragedy of Shakespearian proportions that shows just how much damage greed can do to a person and his or her loved ones.

The problem is that the characters are not interesting or memorable enough for the viewer to become emotionally involved in the story. Therefore the most memorable thing about the movie ends up being "Kinski plays a sex maniac." It's too bad because this movie had the potential to be much more.

Still, it's interesting enough to be worthwhile if you're a spaghetti western fan.

An above average Italian western featuring a nicely sinister performance by Klaus Kinski. Kinski is a sadistic sex mad bandit who's after dollars as well as women.

The plot is engaging and the acting above average, so this one is easy to recommend to fans of the genre or the man Kinski.

Fast paced and fun. Probably even better with original soundtrack, though!

Released on video in Finland in the early eighties.