The Summertime Killer (also known as Target Removed) starts hot. A young boy watches in horror as four ruthless mobsters brutally beat his father to death. Fast forward twenty years, and that little boy is Raymond Sullivan Castor (Christopher Mitchum), all grown up and running a cold, calculated campaign of retribution. He’s already systematically eliminated three of the gang members involved in his father’s murder, leaving the underworld sweating bullets.
Enter Police Captain John Kiley (Karl Malden), a rugged veteran of the badge. When Kiley informs the top mob boss, Alfredi (Raf Vallone), that an unknown avenger is wiping out his partners, the game is afoot. Kiley boards a flight to Portugal, piecing together the bloody trail. History hangs heavy here: Kiley and Alfredi actually started out as partners back in 1952 before splitting paths into a bitter, lifelong rivalry on opposite sides of the law.
Using a confidential informant, Kiley learns that our mysterious vigilante has pulled off a daring move: he’s kidnapped Alfredi’s pampered daughter, Tania (Olivia Hussey). This leads Kiley across the border into Spain, sniffing around a garage where Raymond works. He tracks the trail to Torrejón to chat with Raymond’s business partner, then breaks into Raymond’s apartment at the iconic Torres Blancas on Avenida América in Madrid. That’s where he finds the clue he’s looking for: a photo of Raymond as a young boy on a beach with his parents.
Meanwhile, back with the kidnapper and his hostage, things start intensely. Tania isn’t just going to sit quietly. She makes numerous escape attempts and even tries to skewer Raymond with a sharpened closet pole. But in classic cinematic fashion, that fiery friction melts down into an unexpected, passionate romance. When the day of reckoning arrives, and Raymond finally confronts Alfredi, vengeance gets complicated. He hesitates to pull the trigger, and chaos erupts when one of Alfredi’s bodyguards shoots Raymond. Raymond manages to steal a motorbike and make a desperate escape, while a brutal accident wipes out Alfredi and everyone else in the vicinity.
Raymond limps back home, only to find Police Captain Kiley waiting for him. An arrest follows, but it’s short-lived. Raymond is losing blood fast, and Tania tends to his wounds with fierce devotion. In a surprising turn of grace, Kiley lets them walk free. When Raymond asks why, Kiley gives him the ultimate parting line: “You don’t have to. Just keep going before I change my mind.” The lovers slip away into the horizon, though the tragedy lingers, as when Kiley returns to New York, Alfredi’s vengeful remaining bodyguards catch up to him.
The cast also includes Claudine Auger (Thunderball) as Michèle, Alfredi’s secretary; Gérard Barray, a staple of European adventure and Euro-spy cinema during the 1960s, as Tania’s teacher; and Jeffrey Tambor as Sully Tambor. Yes, this movie is the actor’s very first feature film appearance.
If the music in The Summertime Killer sounds chillingly familiar, your ears aren’t deceiving you. The film’s haunting, atmospheric theme composed by Luis Enríquez Bacalov was later plucked straight from the vaults by Quentin Tarantino to help shape the sonic landscape of Kill Bill: Volume II.
This is a Spanish poliziotteschi, which is an interesting cocktail, and could probably use a better actor than Mitchum to battle it out with Malden. But hey — this has some great chase scenes, Hussey is supernaturally beautiful, there’s a dog that can attack bad guys, a lot of Michael Winner-inspired ultraviolence and a decent story. Director Antonio Isasi-Isasmendi (They Came to Rob Las Vegas, A Dog Called… Vengeance) makes some great choices throughout.
There are three remakes: the Turkish Safakta Bulusalim and the Bollywood versions Barood and Bin Defa Ölürüm.
