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| “ | We'll get along famously. | „ |
| ~ Jennings's first famous quote. |
| “ | Life is full of surprises. | „ |
| ~ Jennings's second famous quote. |
Emmat Keogh is the main tritagonist of the 1972 Western movie, The Wrath of God. He is a British gunrunner who formerly served as Captain Jenks in the British army before he was cashiered for misuse of regimental funds and later, as an informer known as Jamieson for the Black and Tans back in Ireland during the Irish Revolution, now residing somewhere in South America.
He was portrayed by the late Victor Buono.
Personality[]
Despite his reputation, Jennings is a kind, caring, gentle, selfless, charming, and generous man with quite a sense of humor. Although he tends to show some cowardly and somewhat selfish traits as shown when trying to flee for Mexico rather than to take the battle against de la Plata to the finish, Jennings is not a man without a clear conscience when he finally decides to do the right thing and proceed with his and his friends' current objective even at the cost of his own life in the end.
Biography[]
Prior to the events of the movie, Jennings once served as Captain Jenks in the British army before he was cashiered for misuse of regimental funds and later, as an informer known as Jamieson for the Black and Tans back in Ireland during the Irish Revolution before eventually settling somewhere in South America as a gunrunner selling guns and ammunition to the counter-revolutionary forces.
One day, when his partner, an Irish political assassin named Emmet Keogh returns to their hotel after finishing up some business, Jennings offers him a reasonable sum of money for driving a truckload of Scotch whiskey to Huila for him due to having lost his last driver to a firing squad earlier in the morning, but Emmet refuses to take the job as he has had enough of anything involving violence. Nevertheless, Jennings forces a reluctant Emmet otherwise later on after hiring a thief to steal the latter's passport and ticket while bathing in order to comply, but for an offer of $500 instead.
Eventually, Jennings is arrested at some point by the army serving under Colonel Francisco Santilla, the leader of the revolutionary forces and thrown in jail for selling what was, in fact, a truckload of weapons consisting of rifles, pistols, and grenades to the counter-revolutionary forces. Once reunited with Emmet and his new friend, an American Catholic priest named Father Oliver Van Horne he met earlier for killing some of Santilla's men in jail, Jennings nearly finds himself attacked by Emmet for his deception before passing out.
The next morning, all three men are subjected to what later turns out to be a mock execution by a firing squad in a bullring before being introduced to Colonel Santilla himself in person. After Colonel Santilla describes each of them including Jennings's past concerning the Black and Tans, which sends Emmet in a temporary fit of rage against the former due to his Irish patriotism, and reveals $53,000 stashed inside Father Van Horne's bag (presumably stolen bank money), both Jennings and the others are generously invited to join the former for breakfast.
When Father Van Horne questions the colonel out of suspicion of his true motives behind sparing their lives in the first place after ransacking the table without hesitation, it turns out that Jennings, Emmet, and Father Van Horne (referred to as Santilla's unholy trinity) have been selected in particular for an important mission: kill a man named Don Tomás de la Plata residing in the town of Mojada (the very same man whom Jennings was anonymously selling guns and ammunition to through agents in the first place). Through a forged letter in Jennings's name and sent to de la Plata by Colonel Santilla, both Jennings and Emmet are to pose as a mining company representative and engineer to help with the re-opening and financing of a silver mine de la Plata has recently shown interest in as he is in desperate need of money for wealth and power and also buying weapons as well whereas Father Van Horne is to help them out with the upcoming killings and at the same time, help the people of Mojada through spiritual counsel and guidance as they are in desperate need of a priest since de la Plata has had quite a reputation for desecrating the church and killing priests in the past (and anyone who so much as helped them): the last one (sent by the Church) hanged and the one before that left wandering in the desert naked and out of his mind by de la Plata. If the mission is successful, all three men will earn their freedom and an equal share of Father Van Horne's $53,000.
At night, after being provided with good service and such, Jennings and Emmet begin to fight due to the latter's grudge over the former for his misleads and past involvement with the Black and Tans until Emmet is stopped by Father Van Horne who then suggests that he take a walk to calm down instead. Then, Jennings and Father Van Horne make amends and shake hands.
In the morning, on their way out, Jennings and his friends are briefed by Colonel Santilla (having prudently withheld the money for safekeeping) on the additionally provided supplies needed with conducting a very satisfactory requiem mass for de la Plata and his army aside from Father Van Horne's machine gun in his car before all three leave for Mojada.
On their way to Mojada, Jennings and the others are greeted by a tribe of Aymara Indians including Chela whom Emmet and Father Van Horne saved from being raped by Santilla's men the other night and their chief, Nacho whom Emmet had already met earlier last night when Chela came to visit and bestow an amulet on him symbolizing their love and marriage. During the journey, Jennings asks about it to his friends, whom they reply to despite Jennings warning Emmet about the Aymaras when it comes to love, marriage, and divorce involving death. As they approach Mojada, Father Van Horne finds it best to snug back out of sight when they notice a guard on the hilltop.
In town, Jennings and Emmet are greeted and welcomed by de la Plata's second-in-command, Jurado and his men. Jennings and Emmet are told by Jurado that they will be directed to de la Plata's hacienda for dinner once properly settled at the hotel owned by Carlos Moreno and Jurado has informed his master of their arrival. After Jurado and his men leave, Jennings and his friends arrive at the hotel where Moreno has been expecting them. After Father Van Horne is told by Moreno to leave the town for his own safety and out of fear of his and his family's lives if they do anything to help him in any way; given de la Plata's fierce reputation for murdering priests in Mojada, Jennings and Emmet keep their dinner date with de la Plata at his hacienda tonight while Father Van Horne is dropped off to the desecrated church which has been left in a rather dilapidated state.
At night, Jennings and Emmet arrive at the hacienda where they first meet de la Plata's kind-hearted, spiritual mother, Señora de la Plata praying at the hacienda's chapel before they are taken to a courtyard where de la Plata's men are placing bets during a cock fight and they meet de la Plata himself in person. Jennings is paid and Emmet has been discovered with a gun after both of them have been searched by Jurado for any possible hidden weapons as instructed by de la Plata, which de la Plata confiscates, but promises to return when they leave Mojada.
As Jennings and Emmet talk business with de la Plata and his mother at dinner, they are informed by de la Plata that he will be out there trying to find and kill Colonel Santilla whom he suspects might take advantage of their visit as a diversion to allow the latter's revolutionary forces to invade and liberate Mojada. Then, Jennings and Emmet are instructed to inform Father van Horne to leave once they leave Mojada and not to give one service or sacrament in the meantime after de la Plata has been informed by Jurado that they had brought a priest into town earlier in the day despite his mother's pleas and protests before leaving the dining room in anger due to his animosity of such people.
After dinner, Jennings and Emmet enter the church as it is being cleaned and fixed up by both Father Van Horne and his newly adopted son, Pablito whom he had found sleeping inside earlier due to de la Plata having orphaned him years ago. After Father Van Horne introduces him to his friends, Jennings and Emmet are inquired by the latter for any useful information about de la Plata, only to reveal that the tyrant knows of the latter's presence in town and is threatening to kill him should he give either a service or a sacrament during his stay. To make matters worse, de la Plata won't be present at the mine as expected the next day, thus, leaving the three men to deal with de la Plata's mother instead. Nevertheless, that doesn't discourage Father Van Horne from coming over to the mine the next day and blessing it now that it has been re-opened.
After Father Van Horne blesses the mine in the morning with Pablito's help and unsurprisingly finds himself warned and threatened of his upcoming demise by Jurado for defying his master's orders, Jennings assigns Emmet to assess the condition of the mine as he stays behind with Father Van Horne to determine what they might need in terms of transport and equipment.
When the silver mine suddenly collapses, trapping both Emmet, Señora de la Plata, Jurado, and a few miners inside, both Jennings and Father Van Horne rush in to save and free them while Pablito is told to stay behind. However, during Señora de la Plata's rescue, Jennings and the others are left for dead by a cowardly Jurado when the mine continues to collapse despite Emmet's pleas for his assistance. Then, Jennings and the others leave to rescue more people while Father Van Horne stays behind to give the last rites to a dying man named Don Jardona. Outside the mine, Jennings goes back in to help Father Van Horne makes it out alive and well while Emmet prevents Pablito from entering with him for his own safety. Jennings and everyone else are informed by Father Van Horne that he intends to hold a mass at 4 for the deceased, which further angers Jurado who doesn't hesitate to ride out and inform his master of the priest's current actions; unaware that the priest's defiance is merely bait to lure de la Plata to his demise.
Back at the church, Jennings and Emmet are briefed by Father Van Horne on his plan of attack once de la Plata shows up at 4 for the upcoming mass. At 4, Jennings and his friends take up their firing positions in the church when de la Plata arrives to kill Father Van Horne as expected. However, when de la Plata's mother unexpectedly shows up, enters the church, and threatens to die with the priest at her side if one more priest is killed in her name, Father Van Horne's life is spared in return for having saved her life earlier today for now, but not before he is warned and threatened by de la Plata for the last time. After de la Plata instructs Father Van Horne to leave Mojada tomorrow at 9 or die and leaves with his men while his mother stays behind to warn Father Van Horne of her son's intentions for his own safety and have her confession heard, Jennings and the others are upset and frustrated when they are forced to abandon their first attempt on de la Plata.
Later, Jennings and everyone else learn from Father Van Horne that he promises them that tomorrow, he will make a procession around the square and that they will be liberated from de la Plata and his men's tyranny once and for all, bringing to both de la Plata and his men the wrath of God despite Jennings' doubts later on.
At night, at the hotel, Jennings and Father Van Horne enjoy a few drinks while Emmet spends the night in his room with Chela. Later on, Jennings, Father Van Horne, and Pablito witness both Emmet and Jurado fighting after the latter deliberately insults Chela since Aymara Indians aren't allowed in a canteen despite drunkenly suggesting taking her out and possibly raping her as well. Even though Jurado cheats and Jennings manages to stop another one of de la Plata's men from trying to shoot Emmet during the fight, Emmet wins the fight by knocking him out even after Chela finally speaks out for the first time to warn him about the latter's final attempt with his dagger and both Jennings and Father Van Horne come in to stop the same man of de la Plata's from finishing him off. While Emmet spends the night with the Aymaras at their village to recover from all the bruises and beatings received during the fight, Jennings and Father Van Horne return to have another drink.
Later, when Father Van Horne leaves with Pablito to open the church to the public all night long where he will perform marriages, hear confessions, serve communions, celebrate mass, and baptize all the children and babies that have yet to be baptized after learning from Moreno and another villager named Antonio about the situation in Mojada concerning unbaptized children and babies, sinners, unheard confessions, unholy marriages, and no peace for the dead since de la Plata's return two years ago, Jennings "baptizes" himself a "dull, gullible, blithering idiot".
In the morning, Jennings and Father Van Horne prepare themselves for the upcoming battle at 9 while wondering where is Emmet. When Emmet finally shows up after being temporarily held against his will by the Aymaras for his own safety, Jennings and the others take up their firing positions when de la Plata and his men arrive at the square as expected. During the ambush, however, Jennings and Emmet kill some of de la Plata's men with guns and grenades whereas Father Van Horne only manages to wound de la Plata mainly on the right arm and kill some of his men with his machine gun before de la Plata and the rest of his remaining men flee and retreat.
As the villagers clean up the mess left out in the square, Jennings and his friends recruit and instruct Moreno and a few others on how to defend themselves if and when de la Plata and his men return. However, Jennings and the others are horrified to find a wounded Nacho arriving on horseback with a message from de la Plata to Father Van Horne, stating that unless he shows up at the latter's hacienda alone and unarmed, he will proceed to kill all the men, women, and children he has taken hostage including Chela as well.
So, Jennings agrees to run away with Father Van Horne out of fear for his own life and unwilling to make a martyr of himself, using their remaining ammunition on Santilla's men should they give them any trouble along the way, but Emmet refuses to leave as he is determined to find and rescue Chela. After Father Van Horne and Emmet finish arguing, Jennings is joined up with Father Van Horne in his car, but not before Jurado and some of de la Plata's men return to town with Pablito as one of their hostages whom Jurado murders in cold blood in front of Jennings and everyone else's eyes when trying to rejoin them in order to prove their master's point and coerce Father Van Horne into coming to his master; informing them that every half hour, they will proceed to kill another hostage and the next one being Chela unless Father Van Horne heeds to de la Plata's demands.
After mourning for Pablito's death, Jennings and Emmet round up all the men with guns to storm the hacienda while Father Van Horne rides out to the hacienda armed with nothing more than just a Bible and a crucifix out of vengeance. Later, while modifying Father Van Horne's car to make it strong enough to break through the gates and Emmet later decides to sneak into the hacienda with Nacho and the other Aymaras and rescue Chela since she is not seen amongst the freed hostages; unaware that de la Plata plans to keep and use her as bait in order to lure both him and Jennings as well, Jennings is told to drive the car through the gates with Emmet's grenade signal, but after Emmet leaves, Jennings secretly tries to run away North to Mexico like a coward out of fear of his own life until suddenly, he begins to develop a conscience and decides to proceed with the plan, driving the car towards the hacienda while leading the villagers into battle.
Once near the hacienda, Jennings stays out of range to avoid getting shot by de la Plata's men until they are stopped by de la Plata and instructed to bring out Chela in order to tempt them. After Chela has been rescued by Emmet, Nacho, and the Aymaras, some of more of de la Plata's men have either been killed or taken prisoners, and the gates have been weakened by Emmet and Nacho using grenades, Jennings finally drives faster and breaks through the weak gates while killing more of de la Plata's men with his machine gun. However, after Emmet has been shot on the right arm by de la Plata when trying to free Father Van Horne from the stone cross he has been tied up tightly to, Jennings tries to kill him with his machine, but unfortunately, finds himself shot fatally by both de la Plata and Jurado (who later gets shot by Nacho) when switching guns since his current one turned out to be empty clean afterwards. While dying, Jennings disarms Jurado with his sword hidden within his cane when the latter attempts to finish him off with his dagger and both men are killed by a grenade deliberately set off by a dying Jennings.
Nevertheless, Jennings' death doesn't go unavenged once de la Plata finds himself shot twice by his own reluctant mother when trying in vain to kill Emmet and finally, killed at last by Father Van Horne when the latter topples the cross onto him, thus, putting an end to his tyranny once and for all.