Kid Vengeance

1977 "He watched them massacre his father... Shame his mother... Take his sister. They made him..."
4.9| 1h30m| R| en| More Info
Released: 01 August 1977 Released
Producted By: The Irwin Yablans Company
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

One of Cannon Films' two 1976 Italian-Israeli co-productions starring Lee Van Cleef and Leif Garrett (Gianfranco Parolini's Pistola di Dio was the other), this spaghetti western was actually shot in the Middle East by American director Joseph Manduke. Pop star Garrett plays Tom, a teenager who teams with a black gunfighter named Isaac (Jim Brown) to avenge his family. The culprit was McClain (Van Cleef), a sadistic outlaw who carried out the brutal rape-massacre, but his role is minor, as most of the film deals with Tom's maturation and coming to terms with his feelings. Omnipresent 1970s character actors Glynnis O'Connor and John Marley co-star. If there is anything remarkable about Kid Vengeance, it is Francesco Masi's fine musical score, but the film is otherwise anemic.

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Reviews

Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.
AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks
Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.
Derrick Gibbons An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
Bezenby I know nothing of Lief Garrett's modern day goings on, but I'll tell you this: he can sure pick a grim film to star in! Not only was he great in Devil Times Five (aka Peopletoys), he's also good in this, as a kid out to get revenge on the low down scum who killed his parents! The leader of this gang? Lee Van Cleef, all bald and knife-brandishing.Garrett fairly works his way through the evil gang, using snakes, scorpions, nooses, rocks and arrows in what amounts to almost a slasher-like Western. I didn't even think he needed the help of Jim Brown, but when Big Jim starts throwing dynamite at everyone, you're kind of signing up a winner right there! Big Jim also brings along his band of brothers he's been fighting with, just to complicate things up a bit.This is your typical dark late-era Spaghetti Western, violent and pretty unrelenting, with a fairly high body count. Made in Isreal so I guess the term 'Spaghetti' might not be appropriate.
Scott LeBrun The story of vengeance here is pretty standard stuff, as a stubborn protagonist determines to get back at the scummy outlaws who raped / murdered his mom, murdered his dad, and made off with his sister. The twist here is that the protagonist is a young teen, Tom Thurston (Leif Garrett). Tom actually does a pretty good, and needless to say, very amusing job on his own, but ultimately he will team up with a gunslinger named Isaac (Jim Brown), a man with a highly coveted stash of gold, in order to save his sibling. Not only do they have to contend with the main outlaws, led by a truly devilish Lee Van Cleef, playing McClain (and sporting a bandanna instead of a hat), but a bumbling secondary group, including characters like Grover (Matt Clark) and Ned (Timothy Scott). Reasonably enjoyable but also forgettable, "Kid Vengeance" is just offbeat and surreal - and humorous - enough to give it entertainment value, in addition to the solid cast. Confusing at times, as if there might be a scene or two missing, and it also plods a little too much. An early production for Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, before they formed the Cannon Group that cranked out many great genre movies of the 1980's, it's not as exploitative as one might think, and in fact it has some good moments where the feisty sister, Lisa (Glynnis O'Connor) tries to stand up to McClain. Van Cleef clearly has fun with his part, and John Marley is likewise a total hoot as his accomplice Jesus. Brown plays a role of quiet strength and does it well, and Garrett isn't bad as the kid. Clark and Scott are funny in the comedy roles. However, the tone of this movie is mostly serious (the opening scene actually looks believable), with a rather dark ending, and Garrett's Tom, who's been taught the difference between hunting and killing by his dad, figures out which of the two he's doing by following and eliminating the villains. The movie is mainly worth watching to see the commanding performances by Van Cleef and Brown, who'd also done "Take a Hard Ride" and "The Condor" together. They give it an extra point, along with the typically fine music by Francesco De Masi. While not without interest, it's not likely to stick in the mind for long after it's over. Six out of 10.
wes-connors In the American west, long-haired young Leif Garrett (as Tom Thurston) learns the difference between hunting and killing from his father. Later, while the lad is off communing with nature, a gang of cutthroats led by sleazy Lee Van Cleef (as McClain) attacks Garrett's peace-loving family. The kid arrives to witness his mother raped, parents murdered, and big sister Glynnis O'Connor (as Lisa) kidnapped. Garrett keeps his distance, then trails Mr. Van Cleef's outlaw gang, administering "Kid Vengeance" along the way. After being robbed and left to die, noble Jim Brown (as Isaac) joins forces with Garrett. The highlight is watching Matt Clark (as Grover) and Timothy Scott (as Ned) have some fun with their roles.*** Kid Vengeance (5/13/77) Joseph Manduke ~ Leif Garrett, Lee Van Cleef, Jim Brown, Glynnis O'Connor
FightingWesterner Young Leif Garrett watches helplessly while his parents are murdered and his sister taken by a savage band of grimy cutthroats led by Van Cleef, who looks like a hippie with full facial growth, earring, long hair, and headband (probably holding the hair extensions in place), and Robert Morley. (best remembered for waking up next to a horse head in The Godfather)Garrett tracks the bandits and begins to slay them one by one before teaming up with gold miner Jim Brown to finish them off.Not a spaghetti western, this was an Isreali production made in Isreal by Golan-Globus, who did a better job (Van Cleef too) with God's Gun.Most people agree that Lee Van Cleef's career in westerns ended with a whimper, but I thought it was okay. Too bad that in the following twelve years nobody got him back in the saddle with a six-shooter. It would have been great having seen Lee Van Cleef on a horse in the action packed eighties.