This Vengeful, Forgotten Spaghetti Western Starring a Genre Icon Is the Perfect Follow-Up to Clint Eastwood's Dollars Trilogy

If you love The Dollars Trilogy, and especially Lee Van Cleef’s role as a Western black hat, then you ought to check out his most notable horse opera as a leading man, Death Rides a Horse. The Italian-made Spaghetti Western — penned by The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly scribe Luciano Vincenzoni — was released in 1967 and follows a young gunfighter named Bill Meceita (John Phillip Law) who is hell-bent on killing the men who murdered his family. This leads him to a former outlaw named Ryan (Van Cleef), who is likewise after the men. Of course, his reasons are a bit more personal, leading to a showdown that rivals some of Clint Eastwood's best.

'Death Rides a Horse' Is a Powerful Spaghetti Western With Character

While Lee Van Cleef played both a foil and an ally to Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name character in The Dollars Trilogy, here the Spaghetti Western staple shines as a heroic protagonist, playing a former outlaw now on a course of revenge against those who betrayed him. For 15 long years, Ryan (Van Cleef) was left to his own devices in prison, but upon his release, he chooses to use that freedom to squeeze as much cold, hard cash as he can out of those who put him there. Or, at least he tries to. The problem is, Ryan isn't the only one after this very band of killers. Bill Meceita (Law) is, too, and his reasoning is far more understandable — and certainly more honorable. When Death Rides a Horse begins, it does so abruptly and with a devil-may-care attitude that carries throughout the picture. After a young Bill (Walter Giulangeli) witnesses the sexual assault on his mother and sister, followed by the murder of his entire family, the deplorable outfit burns down his home. Bill is only saved by an unknown man wearing a skull-shaped pendant around his neck, and is left alone with thoughts of vengeance in the years between.

Though Ryan attempts to convince Bill to forsake his revenge and carry on with his life — indeed, many of the locals echo the same sentiments — the young gun is unafraid and undeterred. It's this bullheadedness that gets Bill into trouble, forcing Ryan to bail the lad out on more than one occasion. Though Bill at first believes Ryan to be involved in his family's massacre, leading to a few confrontations between them (in which the younger man always comes up short), the pair eventually form a kinship as they aid each other against this merciless crew. There's an interesting parallel here between these two men, Ryan and Bill, who each pursue these Western outlaws as a way to move on with their lives and to escape the respective ghosts of their past. Bill does so in hopes of finally seeing justice done for his family, while Ryan's deep-seated resentments are more prideful and petty in nature — though he would never see them that way.

'Death Rides a Horse' Proves Lee Van Cleef Is a Capable Leading Man

While playing Ryan, Lee Van Cleef exudes coolness and classical gunslinger bravado that is easily as thrilling as Clint Eastwood's from the Dollars movies. While not Van Cleef's first role as the top-billed protagonist, Death Rides a Horse is among the actor's most memorable stints in the spotlight, playing a character who perfectly embodies the type of Westerns he became best known for throughout his career. We see this best on display in the final moments of the picture, in which Bill — who now knows that Ryan is the man with the skull necklace from his youth — attempts to force the gunslinger into a duel. As collectively as any of Eastwood's gun-toting characters, Van Cleef's Ryan turns his back and walks away, not wishing any harm on the younger man. Eventually setting revenge aside, Ryan watches Bill depart, satisfied that justice has been served.

The way that Death Rides a Horse propels its leading men into a war of their own making is simply exquisite. Director Giulio Petroni, best known for his Spaghetti Westerns, hits the bullseye effortlessly here, and the casting of Van Cleef was no doubt a major factor. Enhancing the myth of the American West, Italian pictures such as these offer an electrifying display of gunplay, suspenseful action, and heroism that are best displayed by actors such as Van Cleef. If you haven't had the pleasure of enjoying Death Rides a Horse, let this be the signpost that directs you back to this long-forgotten Spaghetti Western.

Death Rides a Horse is available to watch on Tubi in the U.S.

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