Doris Day, Rock Hudson, and Tony Randall in Send Me No Flowers (1964)

Burt Lancaster and Dianne Foster in The Kentuckian (1955)

Angelo Susani in Salt in the Wound (1969)

Klaus Kinski and George Hilton in Salt in the Wound (1969)

George Hilton in Salt in the Wound (1969)

Klaus Kinski

George Hilton

Rai Sanders

Tonino Ricci

Piero Regnoli

An inexperienced American lieutenant and two American prisoners are the only force standing between advancing German troops and an Italian town that was &quot;freed&quot; by the trio.

Il dito nella piaga

Watch it for Kinski

WAR FEVER (aka SALT IN THE WOUND) isn&apos;t a bad Italian WW2 movie but I&apos;m not sure it&apos;s the masterpiece that other reviewers are making out. Sure it has a handful of good scenes in it but then so do lots of other films in this particular sub-genre, and it seemed quite ordinary to me for the most part.

The storyline is the most intriguing thing about it: it sees American soldiers Klaus Kinski and Ray Saunders both sentenced to death by firing squad, only to have their execution thwarted by a German attack. They escape into the countryside with a rookie soldier (spaghetti western actor George Hilton) and soon proceed to take part in various enterprises. When they reach a town they&apos;re treated as liberators by the townsfolk, but an impending German attack will soon test their mettle.

Tonino Ricci is largely mocked for his work as director for the most part but I&apos;ve always found him an underrated talent. Certainly WAR FEVER is a fine looking movie in which the landscape is as much a character as the people in it. The various action sequences are all handled adroitly and the inevitable highlight comes with one of those scenes where Kinski goes absolutely crazy; it&apos;s a shame Hilton and Saunders didn&apos;t have the energy or talent to match him. But a classic? For me, WAR FEVER is a typical and ordinary Italian WW2 outing.

WAR FEVER (aka SALT IN THE WOUND) isn't a bad Italian WW2 movie but I'm not sure it's the masterpiece that other reviewers are making out. Sure it has a handful of good scenes in it but then so do lots of other films in this particular sub-genre, and it seemed quite ordinary to me for the most part.

The storyline is the most intriguing thing about it: it sees American soldiers Klaus Kinski and Ray Saunders both sentenced to death by firing squad, only to have their execution thwarted by a German attack. They escape into the countryside with a rookie soldier (spaghetti western actor George Hilton) and soon proceed to take part in various enterprises. When they reach a town they're treated as liberators by the townsfolk, but an impending German attack will soon test their mettle.

Tonino Ricci is largely mocked for his work as director for the most part but I've always found him an underrated talent. Certainly WAR FEVER is a fine looking movie in which the landscape is as much a character as the people in it. The various action sequences are all handled adroitly and the inevitable highlight comes with one of those scenes where Kinski goes absolutely crazy; it's a shame Hilton and Saunders didn't have the energy or talent to match him. But a classic? For me, WAR FEVER is a typical and ordinary Italian WW2 outing.

An inexperienced American lieutenant and two American prisoners are the only force standing between advancing German troops and an Italian town that was "freed" by the trio.

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