E Dio disse a Caino...

Pardoned and freed after serving ten years hard labor for a crime he did not commit, Klaus Kinski returns to his hometown for some well-deserved payback against the bigwig who framed him.

Overly talky at first, things pick up about a third of the way in, when Kinski blows into town ahead of a violent windstorm to wreak near biblical vengeance.

And God Said To Cain... is full of neat Gothic touches such as the howling wind, the dark secluded mansion, a ringing church bell, and the silent priest playing pipe organ. All the while, there's something akin to superstitious dread on the part of Kinski's nemesis and his hired guns as the silent Klaus hides and seeks his prey.

Director Antonio Margheretti made films in all genres of Italian exploitation films (horror, peplum, giallo, etc.) with mixed success. Not bad, this one lies somewhere in the middle.

This has a great opening theme song and a satisfying fiery climax.

If you read the synopsis for And God Said to Cain you would be forgiven for assuming it was another archetypal Spaghetti Western. The story starts with a man called Gary Hamilton, being released by Presidential pardon from a hard labour prison sentence. And from here he immediately sets about seeking out those who betrayed him leaving him imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. Making matters worse is the fact that the chief villain, Acombar, has subsequently profited from his crime, making him a very wealthy land-baron and, to rub even more salt into Hamilton's wounds, has taken his wife as his own. It's a pretty straightforward and generic revenge narrative reminiscent of many an Italian western. But what sets this one out from the crowd a bit and gives it its interest factor is the way in which it goes about presenting this story.

Probably the single most significant element is quite a simple one. Virtually the whole story happens during one stormy night. This might not sound like much but I was raking my brains to think of another western whose main body of action all takes place during the night-time. The western genre, be it American or Italian, has a convention for action taking place mostly under the unforgivably hot, bright sun. It's a fairly ingrained part of the iconography, so much so that when a film deviates from it, it's pretty noticeable. This movie builds up the basic set-up typically enough but by the half hour mark we enter the final act and we never leave the darkness. The fact that the showdown itself last a full hour is pretty unusual too it has to be said. In this part Hamilton has to contend with Acombar's thirty henchmen and he does so via a variety of methods.

Director Antonio Margheriti was a solid, if unspectacular director who worked in a number of genres and made films such as the giallo Naked You Die. It's very possible that this could be his best effort though. He really cranks up the atmosphere in this one. The night setting sort of automatically creates a dark ambiance in truth but there are several details that really accentuate things nevertheless, such as the moody soundtrack from Carlo Savina that very much underscores the ominous tone that the director is going for. While there are some nice ideas that add an extra layer to the feel as well, such as the tolling bell that prefigures the villains doom. Even the ending is going for something interesting with a finale in a room full of mirrors.

The action is maybe a bit samey in the middle section, however, with faceless villain after faceless villain being dispatched by the hero. And the constant darkness didn't always ensure the action was always too clear which was unfortunate, although admittedly, this could be due to a poor print and not the film itself. But on the whole, this is a western that stands out a bit tone-wise and this is a good thing. And, how could I end without mentioning Klaus Kinski? He normally played the villains in the westerns he appeared in. In this one, along with Black Killer from 1971 he was in an atypical good guy role and this film, like the others he starred in, benefits from his charismatic presence.

After spending 10 years in prison an inmate called Gary Hamilton (Klaus Kinski) is pardoned for a robbery of a valuable transport carrying Confederate gold that took place in the final days of the Civil War . He is a convict who was betrayed by his ex-sweetheart (Marcella Michelangeli) and framed-up by his ex-colleague called Acombar (Peter Carsten) who in an effort to incriminate Gary abandoned him water-flask at the crime scenario . Nowadays , Acombar turns out to be a wealthy owner employing a private army full of henchmen and bodyguards . Released from prison, Gary goes back the small town , there he appears as a vengeful angel and roaming here and there, despite the fact that his former partner is provided and surrounded by a small army of henchmen , resulting in fateful consequences by confronting the terrible enemies .

Above average Italian Western with chills , thrills , surprises , atmospheric sets and scary happenings . Nice Pasta western with terror elements , revolving around a merciless vendetta during a terrible wind storm and when day comes at dusk with plenty of eerie appearances , creepy murders and ghastly events. The plot is plain and simple, the ordinary revenge , Spaghetti's regular plot , as our starring plans to exact a relentless vengeance. Set at a ghastly village where happens scabrous and horrifying events in which our protagonist Kinski takes advantage of the secret network of underground tunnels that are part of an ancient Indian burial site and running under the town . In spite of a few escenarios and its medium-short budget the picture is pretty well, thanks to the adequate filmmaking , enjoyable soundtrack by Carlo Savina with catching songs at the beginning and the end , stunning cinematography by Riccardo Pallottini , Margheritti's usual cameraman , while taking great use of lights and shades as well as camera positioning to complement appropriate sinister set pieces . Of course , Antonio Margheritti delivers a nice work , in fact he was a good craftsman expert on horror and exploitation films. It packs a moving and exciting final duel between two starring Kinski and Carsten . Stars the great Klaus Kinski giving a fine acting in his usual style as the former Confederate officer who has served 10 years and subsequently takes his vengence on the family responsible for his wrongful sentence of hard labor . Pretty good Peter Carsten as the bad boy Acombar who betrayed Gary and ended up with the loot and the girl , today become a wealthy and influential land baron instructing his hoodlums to wait in ambush and kill Hamilton . Gorgeous Marcella Michelangeli plays the traitor Maria who married villian Acombar , resulting Gary's main alibi , she lied by being corrupted by Acombar's promises of money, and said that she was alone that day. While Antonio Cantafora , who used to use psedonym ¨Michael Coby¨, performs the naive and good son . Furthermore , some familar faces from Spaghetti , such as Guido Lollobrigida or Lee Burton , Gina Lollobrida's brother , Lucio De Santis, Raffaelli , Joaquin Blanco , and the regular Luciano Pigozzi as Alan Collins nicknamed the Italian Peter Lorre , among others .

This is a decent and better than average Pasta Western displaying a thrilling and frightening musical score by Carlo Savina . It contains a dark and sinister cinematography by Riccardo Pallotini . The motion picture was compellingly directed by Antonio Margheriti or Anthony M. Dawson . This Italian writer-director of horror and exploitation films, he was a former university engineering student who began in films in 1956. He was also an expert in special optical effects and model-making. Often used the pseudonym 'Anthony M. Dawson'. Antonio directed with skill and aplomb from 1956 to his death in 2002. He made all kinds of genres , some of them splendidly directed and others mediocre or failures. As he realized wartime movies, such as : ¨The Last Hunter , Tornado, Codename Wild Geese , Der Commander , Command Leopard¨. Sci-Fi : ¨War of Planets , Planet of the Prowl , Criminal of the Galaxy , Yor the Hunter from the future , Treasure Planet¨ . Spaghetti Western : Joko, Dynamite Joe , The Stranger and the Gunfighter , Take a Hard Ride , Ghosts go West , Joe implacable , God Said to Cain¨. And Terror : ¨Virgin of Nuremberg , Cannibal Apocalypse , Alien From Deep , Flesh for Dracula, Flesh for Frankenstein¨, among others . Rating 7/10. Above average . The picture will appeal to Spaghetti Western and Italian Gothic aficionados.

This is a story of Gary Hamilton (Kinski) set up for a crime he did not commit. After 10 years he is freed on behalf of a Presidential pardon. What is nice this is a full performance on behalf of Kinski which is quit uncommon. Kinski does a fabulous job in this one. It shows how greed took over a rancher who decided to steal the goldmine that Gary Hamilton had in order to make a better life for himself and for his family by ruining the life of another. Antonio Margheriti does a great job on this one. He has been slandered for years on how bad the night scenes are on this film. Well if guys like Weisser and other reviewers used common sense maybe they could have figured the film video which they viewed came from bad stock. I have seen the DVD version which all the night scenes were cleaned up and what do you know it is clear as day!!!

The movie overall had great performances on behalf of Kinski and Peter Carsten(Ackbar) Well Mr. Weisser check out on ebay and get the cleaned up copy of this movie and it will not be frustrating anymore. Maybe then people will give the film a descent review.

After 10 years in prison, Hamilton (Klaus Kinski) swears revenge to those who betrayed him. The Showdown actually begins after only 30 minutes. After the introduction of the characters, the whole film plays during the stormy night of revenge. The most remarkable thing about this film is Margheriti's unusual visual interpretation. It lets this Western look like a horror film, with typical small effects like windows suddenly opening, curtains blowing, or birds screaming when the name Hamilton is called. Kinski's appearances have got a kind of supernatural touch, he seems to appear or disappear like a ghost. Nevertheless a natural explanation (darkness, caves, a sandstorm) is always provided. The darkest Western ever made takes place at night for two thirds of its running time. And as a stark contrast, it ends in a bright mirror room. Kinski usually played one of the bounty hunters in his spaghetti westerns. In this case, he was cast as the hero (well, anti-hero) which turned out to be a clever move. Extraordinary for the genre!