''The Hellbenders'' ( it, I crudeli, lit=The Cruel Ones, link=no) is a 1967 Spaghetti Western directed by

Sergio Corbucci Sergio Corbucci (; 6 December 1926 – 1 December 1990) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed both very violent Spaghetti Westerns and bloodless Bud Spencer and Terence Hill action comedies. He is the older bro ...

Plot

Colonel Jonas is a fanatical and unrepentant

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

who led a regiment called the Hellbenders in the recently ended

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. Similar to

Edmond O'Brien Eamon Joseph O'Brien (September 10, 1915 – May 9, 1985) was an American actor and film director. His career spanned almost 40 years, and he won one Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. O'Brien w ...

's character in ''

Rio Conchos The Río Conchos (Conchos River) is a large river in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It joins the Río Bravo del Norte (known in the United States as the Rio Grande) at the town of Ojinaga, Chihuahua. Description The Rio Conchos is the main rive ...

'', he is determined to reorganise the Southern Army and defeat the Union. With his sons Ben, greedy Nat, and rapist Jeff, he massacres Union soldiers transporting a consignment of banknotes and conceals the loot in a coffin supposedly belonging to a deceased Confederate officer, Captain Ambrose Allen, who was killed in the Battle of Nashville. A drunken prostitute, Kitty, pretends to be the officer's widow. When Kitty is killed attempting a double-cross, Ben persuades Claire, a combination saloon hostess and professional gambler, to take Kitty's placeand then they fall in love. They consummate their love during a gunfight between Jonas and a local bounty hunter. The cool Claire proves her worth when feigning grief to a

sheriff's posse The ''posse comitatus'' (from the Latin for "power of the county/community/guard"), frequently shortened to posse, is in common law a group of people mobilized by the conservator of peace – typically a reeve, sheriff, chief, or another spec ...

who stop the wagon and wish to search the coffin suspecting the party may have been responsible for the theft and massacre. The party has another close shave when they stop in a town where the local minister who knew the late Captain Allen forces the party to stay for a memorial service where the town can pay their respects. Tension arises when the minister produces a man, Sergeant Tolt, who knew Allen's wife as well, but it turns out that he is blind (and so cannot identify Claire as a fraud). Tolt mentions possessing photographs of Captain Allen and his wife, so Jonas decides that Tolt must be secretly murdered and the photographs stolen. Later the party is attacked by Mexican bandidos but is rescued by the American cavalry who capture several of the bandidos. Heeding Claire's wishes, the soldiers escort the wagon to the fort where Captain Allen was a former commander. Claire, resentful of Jonas' fanaticism, arranges for the coffin to be buried in 'her' husband's fort. Jonas orders his sons to sneak back into the Union fort, dig up the coffin, and return the money to the wagon; in the meantime, he whips Claire and makes her stay outside of the cave where the group takes shelter in the storm, leading Claire to become gravely ill from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

. The group moves onbut their horses are killed by what appears to be a mad beggar but is a thief who wishes to rob them. They later fall afoul of Indians who were thought to be 'friendly' and would be agreeable to selling horses to the Hellbenders. The chief demands that Jeff (who raped and murdered his daughter with a bayonet when he should have been buying horses) be handed over to him. Ben denounces his family's fanaticism and offers the Indians all the money in the coffin, only to be caught in the crossfire between his arguing brothers, who shoot each other over the money; satisfied, the Indians ride away. The mortally wounded Jonas discovers that his sons dug up the wrong coffin that contains the remains, instead bringing that of Pedro the head bandido who promised Jonas they would meet again. As Ben and Claire watch on, Jones crawls away and dies by the edge of the river, as the flag of the Hellbenders regiment sinks to the bottom of the river.

Cast

Joseph Cotten Joseph Cheshire Cotten Jr. (May 15, 1905 – February 6, 1994) was an American film, stage, radio and television actor. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original stage productions of '' The Philadelphia Story'' and '' Sab ...

as Colonel Jonas *

Norma Bengell Norma Aparecida Almeida Pinto Guimarães d'Áurea Bengell (21 February 1935 – 9 October 2013) was a Brazilian film, stage and television actress, singer-songwriter, screenwriter and director. She appeared in several episodes of '' T.H.E. Cat' ...

as Claire *

Julián Mateos Julián Mateos (15 January 1938 – 27 December 1996) was a Spanish actor and film producer. He appeared in 48 films and television shows between 1960 and 1980. He starred in the film ''The Robbers'', which was entered into the 12th Berlin I ...

as Ben *

Gino Pernice Gino Pernice (6 May 1927 – 25 April 1997) was an Italian stage, television and film actor. Life and career Born in Milan, Pernice trained at the Accademia dei Filodrammatici graduating in 1952, and made his professional debut with the stage ...

as Jeff *

Ángel Aranda Ángel Aranda (18 September 1934 – 4 July 2000) was a Spanish film actor. He appeared in more than 40 films between 1955 and 1980. He was born in Andalucía, Spain. Partial filmography * ''El guardián del paraíso'' (1955) * ''Embajado ...

as Nat *

Claudio Gora Claudio Gora, '' Emilio Giordana '' (27 July 1913 – 13 March 1998) was an Italian actor and film director. He was particularly prolific, making some 155 appearances in film and television over nearly 60 years (from 1939 to 1997). In the 1950s ...

as Reverend Pierce * María Martín as Kitty * Aldo Sambrell as Pedro *

Al Mulock Alfred Mulock Rogers (June 30, 1926 – May 1968), better known as Al Mulock or Al Mulloch, was a Canadian character actor. Early life Alfred Mulock Rogers was born on June 30, 1926 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was the only child of Adèle ...

as The Beggar *

Enio Girolami Enio Girolami (14 January 1935 – 16 February 2013), sometimes credited as Thomas Moore, was an Italian film and television actor. Born in Rome, son of director Marino Girolami and brother of director Enzo G. Castellari, Girolami made his ...

as Lieutenant Soublette *

Julio Peña Julio Peña (18 June 1912 - 27 July 1972) was a Spanish actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1930 to 1972. He died on July 27, 1972 aged 60 at Cortijo Blanco in Marbella, where he was resting after appearing in the film ''Horror ...

as Sergeant Tolt * José Nieto as The Sheriff *

Claudio Scarchilli Claudio Scarchilli (10 February 1924, Rome – 25 July 1992) was an Italian film actor who appeared in film throughout the 1960s. He acted in nearly twenty films within that decade. He is best known in world cinema for his small roles in several ...

as Indian Chief *

Álvaro de Luna Álvaro de Luna y Fernández de Jarava (between 1388 and 13902 June 1453), was a Castilian statesman, favourite of John II of Castile. He served as Constable of Castile and as Grand Master of the Order of Santiago. He earned great influence in t ...

as Bixby * Rafael Vaquero as Tyler * Giovanni Ivan Scratuglia as Gambler in Denton Saloon * Gene Collins as Union Soldier counting money * William Conroy as Union Soldier * Gonzalo de Esquiroz * Martín Díaz as Search Party Lieutenant * Rocco Lerro as Denton Saloon Brawler *

Mimmo Poli Mimmo Poli (born Domenico Poli, April 11, 1920 – April 4, 1986) was an Italian film character actor. Career He was one of the best known and most active characters of Italian cinema; in his thirty-five-year career he boasted an immense film ...

as Man in Saloon *

Benito Stefanelli Benito Stefanelli (2 September 1928 – 18 December 1999) was an Italian film actor, stuntman and weapons master who made over 60 appearances in film between 1955 and 1991. Biography and career Stefanelli is best known in world cinema for his ...

as Slim the Gambler

Release

''The Hellbenders'' was released in Italy in February 1967. It was released in Spain in November 1967.

Reception

In a contemporary review, "Byro." of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' felt the film was not superior to the majority of other European Western films due to "indifferent direction, uneven color quality, and heavy-handed acting" and that Joseph Cotten gave "one of his weakest performances of his career." The ''

Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with ...

'' stated the film was "quite efficiently made but with the usual quota of gratuitous violence" and that the film's script was "more ingenious than most"

References

Footnotes

Sources

* *

External links

*
DVD Review
Review of the film & DVD a
Vista Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hellbenders, The Films directed by Sergio Corbucci Films shot in Madrid Spaghetti Western films 1967 Western (genre) films 1967 films Films scored by Ennio Morricone Films shot in Almería 1960s Italian films