50th Anniversary of “The Beast”

Today all marks the 50^th anniversary of the premier of “The Beast” in Rome. Directed by Mario Costa the film stars Klaus Kinski and is almost a biographical account of the life of Kinski if he had lived in the old west of the 19^th century and his treatment of women as slaves and sex objects.

A crazed, sex fiend sets up a bank heist but when things go wrong he goes off the deep end and starts killing people. He goes after a trio of killers who have the stolen money. Every woman he encounters he wants to molest and rape immediately. He keeps tracking the men and leaves a path of destruction behind him until his own greed does him in. There must have been some structure of a story in the beginning and then they just turned Kinski loose and let him do whatever he wanted that day. The brutality against the women is pretty hard to watch after awhile and Kinski’s death doesn’t come soon enough.

La belva – Italian title

Sammensvaergelsen – Danish title

Salaliitto – Finnish title

Le goût de la vengeance – French title

Die Bestie – German title

To Ktinos tou San Diego – Greek title

O Sadistis tou Far West – Greek title

A Besta - Portuguese title

Bestia - Romanian title

La belva – Spanish title

Sammansvärjningen – Swedish title

The Taste of Revenge – U.K. title

Rough Justice – U.S.A. title

The Beast – U.S.A. title

A 1970 Italian film production [Nadir Cinematografica (Rome)]

Producer: Paolo Prestano

Director: Mario Costa

Story: Mario Costa

Screenplay: Mario Costa, Mario Calabrese

Cinematography: Luciano Trasatti [Eastmancolor, Techniscope]

Music: Stelvio Cipriani

Running time: 95 minutes

Cast:

Johnny Lester - Klaus Kinski (Nickolaus Nakaszynski)

Ricardo Powers - Steven Tedd (Giuseppe Cardillo)

Juanita - Gabreilla Giorgelli

Glen - Paul Sullivan (Paolo Casella)

Machete - Gianni Pallavicino (Giovanni Pallavicino)

Bowens - Lee Burton (Guido Lollobrigida)

Nancy Powers - Luisa Rivelli (Rosella Lanfranchi)

Gary Pinkerton - Giuliano Raffaelli

Conchita - Fiona Florence (Luisa Alcini)

Maude - Ivana Novak (Ivana Gibilisco)

Maude’s friend - Femi Benussi (Eufemia Benussi),

Maria - Grazia DiMarzà

Paco - Vittorio Mangano

Pepe - Bruno Boschetti

Blanco - Bruno Arié

Juan as a child - Pilù

Sheriff - Remo Capitani (Renato Capitani)

Williams Deputy - Luis Chavarro (Luigi Ciavarro)

Riccardo’s foster father - Andrea Aurelli

Judge - Giovanni Nuvoletti (Giovanni Perdomini)

Machete bandits - Sandro Scarchilli, Mario Dardanelli

Woman washing clothes - Cristina Josani (Cristina Iosani)

Saloon patron - Gilberto Galimberti

Gambler - Spartaco Battisti

Beggar - Claudio Scarchilli

Stagecoach driver - Lando Buzzanca (Gerlando Buzzanca)

With: Gioia Garson, Antonio Anelli, Carla Mancini, Omero Capanna

Master of arms: Basilio Patrizi