Red Coat (1975) User Reviews

MacCORMACK (Joe D' Amato, 1974) **

[Bunuel1976 · 5/10 · 7 June 2006]

Italian Western made at the tail-end of the "Spaghetti" style, though it doesn't really fit into those parameters. The snowy setting recalls THE GREAT SILENCE (1968) - which, incidentally, I only watched a day prior to this one!

The plot revolves around the hunt for an escaped convict (Guido Mannari) by Canadian Mounties; however, it also takes in a personal grudge between him and one of the pursuing officers (played by Fabio Testi) - its eventual revelation, absurdly delayed, is clearly inspired by Anthony Mann's WINCHESTER '73 (1950). Testi, however, is unable to express the essential ruthlessness which marked his character following the death of his loved one (Lynne Frederick), who had previously been the neglected fiancée of his quarry; the trio's relationship also evokes memories of the James Coburn character's backstory, shown in intermittent flashbacks, in Sergio Leone's A FISTFUL OF DYNAMITE (1971). Incidentally, Testi and Frederick later appeared together in another (unsuccessful) Spaghetti Western - Lucio Fulci's THE FOUR OF THE APOCALYPSE (1975)!

An unusual element added to the fray is the relationship which blossoms between the villain and Testi and Frederick's child, whom he kidnaps and holds hostage; at one point, the boy saves the man's life and the latter reciprocates - by calling in befuddled doctor Lionel Stander - when the young one becomes feverish. The climactic scenes involve a showdown between Testi and his nemesis that's interrupted by the latter's greedy cohorts (prior to his capture, he had hidden a cache' of gold) and in which, finally repentant, he willingly succumbs to a hail of bullets.

In the end, the film is harmless enough but also strictly routine. This was the first film to bear the name of director D'Amato. He previously directed under his real name of Aristide Massaccesi, which he still retained for his other credit as the film's cinematographer! In anticipation of this, I rented the director's more typical sexploitationer EMANUELLE AND THE LAST CANNIBALS (1977) - which I'll eventually get to sometime this week...

Civilisation and its discontents played as a Mountie adventure

[jaibo · 7/10 · 7 July 2009]

This is the last of D'Amato's Westerns, and the last time (1974) he made a film which could possibly be described as family entertainment – a rollicking boy's own adventure about a Mountie in pursuit of the villain who has kidnapped his son. Yet beneath the usual Saturday morning at the pictures thrills – the cloying kid, the brave dog, the gunfights and the quirky supporting characters, there are intriguing and troubling strands which prevent the story becoming just another good versus evil Manichaean morality tale.

Cormack the Mountie is an obsessive tracker, with a touch of The Searchers' Ethan Edwards about him. In flashback-story, we find that his once close relationship with the villain Cariboo was cankered when he fell in love with and married Cariboo's woman. Cariboo himself is everything the steadfast Mountie is trying not to be – a risk-taking, bullying, gambling, drinking and quarrelling man. Way back then, he was sent to prison (arrested by Cormack) for his part in a gold robbery. Between then and now, the woman loved by them both has died, the son she bore Cormack has grown into a fine young lad and Cormack has retreated into something more like the living personification of Civilised Justice than a living, breathing human being. Cariboo kidnaps the son, hoping that his old enemy will be lured after him to the slaughter, but the story is complicated by the presence of Wolf and his gang of outlaws, after their share of the gold from the robbery, which Cariboo has secreted somewhere all for himself.

Some of this is troubling: Cormack has cut himself off emotionally after the death of his wife and lives apart from his son; once the son is kidnapped, he begins to cathect to Cariboo and, more surprisingly, Cariboo finds himself caring for the kid. All the time, there seems to be something more going on between Cariboo and Cormack than simply rivalry over a woman – one suspects that it is "the standard case of the repressed homosexuality that underlies most American adventure stories" and, when Cariboo notices and notes that the pretty blond boy is the spitting image of his mother, we suspect that things are getting pretty transgressive and lurid. The film cops out at the end by revealing that Cormack and Cariboo are brothers rather than lovers, but the suspicion remains as this just swaps one cloak for another. Also intriguing is the backdrop of wars against the Iroquois Indians in the region which is mentioned periodically – the civilisation that Cormack represents and which Cariboo is discontent with is a colonial project, built on the exclusion of the natives of the land, on their forced compliance, on their genocide. This all makes the story rather more D'Amato than it at first appears.

The film rattles along at a good pace, includes some beautifully choreographed and edited gunfights, has a wonderful turn from Lionel Stander as a drunken doctor and, most strikingly, takes place for the most part against a backdrop of snow covered mountains, beautifully photographed. This snow-setting makes the story elemental, as the characters enact out their Freud-tinged rivalries in the face of a cold, careless, barren and unblinking natural world.

A thrilling western with violent pursuits between the tough starring Fabio Testi against enemies.

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 19 May 2022]

Colorful Paella/Spaghetti western about confrontation between a suspicious outlaw and Canadian Mounted Police , with a trackerwell played by Fabio Testi . Western starred by genre usual , Fabio Testi as an obsessive Mountie resolving conflicts between rugged pioneers and Canadian Mounted Police , being decently directed by horror expert , Joe D'Amato, and dealing with taking on between a Canadian officer and his enemy throughout the gorgeous Canadian outdoors . Canada , late XIX century , Cormack (Fabio Testi) , the lawman most feared by the trappers at the turn of the century , has a strange bond with "Caribou," (Guido Mannari) , an outlaw whom he has imprisoned after killing a card player . When Caribou getaways from jail , Cormack goes after him. Following the death of his loved one (Lynne Frederick), who had previously been the neglected girlfriend of his enemy , Cormack pursues him but then Caribou returns seeking vengeance and kidnapping his son Jimmy (Renato Cestie) .

Well crafted and passable Western realized in traditional style with ordinary screenplay written by Lucio Fulci himself , based on a story by Bret Harte and adapted for the screen by prolific writer Ennio De Concini . Thus , the picture includes the Canadian theme similarly to ¨The unconquered¨ by Cecil B De Mille , ¨The Canadians¨ by Burt Kennedy and ¨The trap¨ by Sidney Hayers . As the movie follows more the American models as well as Spaghetti Western wake . ¨Giubbe rosse¨(1975) is an exciting picture containing noisy action , chases , thrills , breathtaking struggles through the snowy outdoors , spectacular landscapes and anything else . The film is a crossover among three Italian sub-genres : ¨Spaghetti Western¨ ,¨ Canadian Mounted Police¨ and ¨Jack London's White Fang¨ series . Following films about Canadian Mounted Police as ¨Mestizo¨ by Julio Buchs and ¨La Carga De La Policía Montada¨ (1964) by Ramon Torrado and ¨Rebels in Canada¨ by Amando de Ossorio ; as well as ¨White Fang¨series : Lucio ¨Fulci's White Fang¨ , ¨Tonino Ricci's White Fang to the Rescue¨, ¨ Ken Annakin's Call of the wild¨ , ¨Buck¨ with John Savage and ¨Buck and the magic bracelet ¨. Acceptable and passable Spaghetti Western in which the starring , Fabio Testi gives an adequate acting as the stubborn Montie goes into action to track down a dangerous contender who's abducted his child . At the beginning of his long career Fabio played various Spaghettis , such as : ¨Une corde un Colt..¨., ¨Pasion Salvaje¨ , ¨Zorro Justiciero¨, ¨I quattro dell'Apocalisse¨ , ¨At the end of the rainbow¨ , ¨Django Meets Sartana!¨ and ¨Clayton Drumm¨. As it results to be a family film , with no much violence , though there are many deaths . This is an Italian production with action , usual Western characters , go riding , crossfire and lots of shots . It's a middle-budget film with professional actors , technicians , production values and pleasing results . There is action in the movie , intrigue , twists , riding pursuits , and guaranteeing some shoot'em ups or stunts . The movie packs a spectacular final charge of the Mounted Police cavalry against the bandits , though regularly paced , including extras enough . There're several familiar faces from Spaghetti Western and other Italian subgenres , such as : Robert Hundar , Lars Bloch. Bruno Corazzari , Lionel Stander , Emilio Messina and the early disappeared cult actress Lynne Frederick who married Peter Sellers and also starred another notorious Spaghetti : Lucio Fulci's ¨The Four of the Apocalypse¨ .

The motion picture was professionally photographed/ directed by prolific director Joe D'Amato or Aristide Massaccessi . This artisan was a prolific cameraman/writer/producer/director who made all kinds of genres . His first directing work was in 1972's low-budget Scansati... a Trinità arriva Eldorado (1972), co-directed by Diego Spataro, under the pseudonym Dick Spitfire, but it was a commercial failure. As he directed hardcore , soft-core, erotic films starring Laura Gemser, such as Emmanuel and francois (1975), Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals (1977), Emanuelle in América (1977), Emanuelle and the White Slave Trade (1978), Erotic Nights of the Living dead , L'alcova (1985) . Gialli and Terror movies : Gomia , Hitcher in the dark , Death Smiles on a Murderer , Buio Omega . Scifi and Sword-witchery : Ator , Ator l'invincibile, Ator 3 , 2020 Texas Rangers , Bronx Endgame, and many others . Rating Giubbe rosse (1975): 5.5/10 .

The sub sub sub genre of Italian White Fang films continues

[Bezenby · 7/10 · 8 May 2018]

Butlins Skegness is a harsh, lawless place, and only Red Coat Fabio Testi can keep the invading hordes from the North at bay with his upbeat, enthusiastic nature and his encouragement to get people involved. With his side-kick Russel Grant in tow. Fabio sets off on an adventure to find someone to clean up a pile of sick outside of the Waltzers.

On the way there he also takes up a job as Cormack, a no-nonsense Mounty guy who learns that his arch Nemisis Caribou has escaped jail, vowing to get revenge on Cormack. This triggers a lengthy flashback while Cormack explains that he and Caribou used to get great mates, but then a woman got involved and that was that. Just like the Beatles, eh, fellas?

What happened was that Caribou had hooked up with Lynne Frederick but then became a drunken bitter gambler who neglected Frederick, and if you snooze, you lose, so hunky Fabio and Frederick start making eyes at each other and before you know it, Caribou is in jail for killing a couple of fellas and Frederick has borne a son to Testi, but then she dies off screen in a way that isn't explained...so...moving on...

Long story short - Caribou gets a gang together and gets a hold of some gold which gives Cormack plenty of bad guys to gun down while Caribou kidnaps Cormack's son. There's also a dog sidekick called King thrown in there to give the film a White Fang vibe (and King gets his licks in with the bad guys too, for good measure). Lionel Stander plays a boozed-up doctor who gets involved when the kids ends up with diphtheria.

What plays for a while like a straightforward Western turns into a tale of redemption as Caribou and the kidnapped kid bond and start looking out for each other. I'm not sure if it was implied that Caribou might have actually been the boy's real father, so who knows. This leads up to a revelation and a good old shoot out in the snow until Cormack returns to Butlins and is killed by sinister new employee Michael Barrymore.

He's Cormack! Cormack! Cormack of the Mounties! Soon the man will full of flan and Mars Bars and Bounties! Cormack! Cormack! Cooooormack!

And King the dog.

D'Amato in Canada

[BandSAboutMovies · 4/10 · 13 December 2021]

Red Coats was released internationally as Cormack of the Mounties, Killers of the Savage North, Red Coat and Royal Mounted Police and was part of a very short cycle of childrens' adventure films that were made after the success of commercial success of Lucio Fulci's White Fang, a film that was Aristide Massaccesi went to Canada to be the cinematographer on.

After shooting the sleigh ride for that film's sequel - Challenge to White Fang - producer Ermanno Donati asked Massaccesi to stay and direct this movie for him. It would be the first time that the gifted cinematographer would use the pseudonym that so many of use for him to this day.

Joe D'Amato.

It tells the tale of Corporal Bill Cormack (Fabio Testi, Contraband), a Canadian mountie who met his wife Elizabeth (Lynne Frederick, who was also in Fulci's Four of the Apocalypse with Testi) when he continually rescued her from her drunken husband Caribou.

Years pass and Elizabeth has died, but not before giving Bill a son, Jimmy (Renato Cestiè, who was Italy's top child star of the 1970s, best remembered for palying neglected children who die by the end of the movie. Italy, you know?), who Caribou has kidnapped and, as Renato does best, young JImmy gets sick and is only saved because of the skills of Doctor Higgins (Lionel Stander, who was blacklisted after the Communist witch hunts in Hollywood for longer than just about anyone else; he was forced to go to act in small stage roles, act as a corporate spokesperson and even a stockbroker while he tried to get back into the movies. Other than voicing over the bizarre noir Blast of Silence, it took moving to London and then Rome for his acting career to make a comeback. He settled into a series of Italian Western roles, such as Once Upon a Time in the West, Beyond the Law and Boot Hill as well as showing up in Fulci's The Eroticist. After working with Robert Wagner on an episode of To Catch a Thief - playing a lifelong friend named Max - he ended up getting the role that so many remember him for several years later as Max on Hart to Hart. Sorry for the digressing, but Stander's refusal to back down and late career renaissance make him one of my favorite actors).

When asked which film was the best one he made in the mid 70s by the authors of Spaghetti Nightmares, D'Amato said "Undoubtedly, Giubbe Rosse, which also made a lot of money." By all accounts, it didn't.

This doesn't often get discussed when people bring up D'Amato's career, but it's a well-made action film. Of course, when you have other movies where women have sexual congress with snakes, where men keep their wives hacked up bodies in the house and a man impales himself on a fence at the start of the movie, it's understandable why this low key action yarn isn't top of mind.

Western with a few surprises

[wolfhell88 · 8/10 · 3 January 2002]

Fine Italo-Western with a few surprises at the end and a fantastic showdown in the snow. The whole movie plays in a landscape of snow and so this is the second western after "Il grande silenzio (Leichen pflastern seinen Weg)" who plays the whole time in a snowy landscape. The bad guy who kidnapps the son of the heroe isn't really a bad one. The psychological aspect between the child and the kidnapper is very interesting. If you like Italo-Westerns this is a great one!