The Hills Run Red (1966)
"Un fiume di dollari" (original title)

After the Civil War ends, two soldiers return home with a cache of stolen money. They are caught by Union troops. One escapes, but the other is sent to prison for five years. When he gets ... See full summary »

Director:

Carlo Lizzani

Writer:

Piero Regnoli

Stars:

Thomas Hunter, Henry Silva, Dan Duryea

Cast

Credited cast:
Thomas Hunter	...	Jerry Brewster / Jim Houston
Henry Silva	...	Garcia Mendez
Dan Duryea	...	Col. Winny Getz
Nicoletta Machiavelli	...	Mary Ann
Gianna Serra	...	Hattie Gardner
Nando Gazzolo	...	Ken Seagull / Ken Milton
Loris Loddi	...	Tim Brewster
Geoffrey Copleston	...	Brian Horner
Paolo Magalotti	...	Stayne
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Fortunato Arena
Vittorio Bonos	...	Gambler #1
Jeff Cameron	...	Randall (blond Mendez gunman)
Pietro Ceccarelli	...	Bald Mendez gunman (as Puccio Ceccarelli)
Guido Celano	...	Burger - Blacksmith
Gianluigi Crescenzi	...	Carson

Storyline

After the Civil War ends, two soldiers return home with a cache of stolen money. They are caught by Union troops. One escapes, but the other is sent to prison for five years. When he gets out and goes home, he finds that his wife has died in poverty because his partner kept all the money, and is now a major power in the area with an army of deadly gunmen to back him up.

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Plot Keywords:

soldier | army | civil war | assumed identity | murder | 

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Taglines:

The man who had five years to think about killing... his best friend! Finally they meet...

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Genres:

Action | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

9 September 1966 (Italy)

Also Known As:

River of Dollars

Filming Locations:

Colmenar Viejo, Madrid, Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

C.B. Films S.A., Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Union cavalry sergeant: We'll make you talk.

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Connections

Referenced in The Hills Run Red (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Home to My Love"
Lyrics by Audrey Nohra
Music by Ennio Morricone
Performed by Gianna Spagnolo

User Reviews

Obscure gem

This is an unusually-structured western, but a very satisfying one. TCM played a nice letterboxed print of this, and it was a surprisingly-engrossing revenge drama. Some unexpected violence in the several shoot-outs made this more brutal than usual for a mid-sixties western.