I crudeli (1967)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Sergio Corbucci

Writers:

Albert Band (story)
Louis Garfinkle (additional dialogue)

Release Date:

June 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Western

Tagline:

A coffin without a corpse... Crammed with millions in cash!

Plot:

An ex-Confederate and his sons plan to use stolen money as a way to revive the Confederacy.

Plot Keywords:

Confederate | Indians | Coffin | Bar Fight | Rain

Cast

Joseph Cotten	...	Jonas
Norma Bengell	...	Claire
Al Mulock	...	The Begger
Aldo Sambrell	...	Pedro
Julián Mateos	...	Ben
Ángel Aranda	...	Nat
Gino Pernice	...	Jeff
Julio Peña	...	Sgt. Tolt
Claudio Gora	...	Reverend Pierce
Ennio Girolami	...	Commander of Fort Brent (as Enio Girolami)
José Nieto	...	The Sheriff
María Martín	...	Kitty
Giovanni Ivan Scratuglia		(as Ivan Scratuglia)
Rafael Vaquero
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Simón Arriaga
José Canalejas
Álvaro de Luna
Claudio Scarchilli	...	Indian Chief
Benito Stefanelli	...	Slim

Also Known As:

Hellbenders (USA)
Los despiadados (Spain)
The Cruel Ones (USA)
The Hellbenders (USA)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

Italy | Spain

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:18 (nf) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Alberche, Madrid, Spain

Company:

Alba Cinematografica

Trivia:

Selected by Quentin Tarantino for the First Quentin Tarantino Film Fest in Austin, Texas, 1996.

Quotes:

Jonas: Where do you hail from?
The Beggar: From under a rock. That's where they say we all begin...crawling out from underneath something.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Spaghetti West (2005) (V)

Corbucci on the Road

After the Civil War a dedicated ex-Confederate officer leads a hearse with a coffin full of money to New Mexico where he wants to revive the Confederation. His company is formed by his three very different sons and an alcoholic women. After the woman gets killed she is replaced by a seasoned female gambler who is well played by Norma Bengell. The whole story unfolds in the way of a road movie where the characters are passing through the typical obstacles of a Western environment. Due to a massacre the bunch committed in the beginning they are hunted by unionists and government officials. Corbucci manages to make the characters who are basically all criminals very likable and I was more often than not at the edge of my seat when the bunch run into trouble. Probably THE WILD BUNCH from Peckinpah got some inspirations from here and Corbucci's COMPAÑEROS can be considered a later variant with a different mood.

The mood of the film is excellently supported by Morricone's score which belongs to his best. Cinematography is above average. The Spaghetti Western Web Board rated this film at #24 of all SW in 2005.

7 / 10