Companeros (1970)
"Vamos a matar, compañeros" (original title)

Arms dealer Yolaf Peterson aims to make a sale to guerilla Mongo, but the money is locked in a bank safe, the combination known only to Professor Xantos, a prisoner of the Americans. Yolaf ... See full summary »

Director:

Sergio Corbucci

Writers:

Sergio Corbucci (screenplay), Sergio Corbucci (story),

Stars:

Franco Nero, Tomas Milian, Jack Palance

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Franco Nero	...	Yodlaf Peterson
Tomas Milian	...	El Vasco
Jack Palance	...	John
Fernando Rey	...	Prof. Xantos
Iris Berben	...	Lola
José Bódalo	...	Gen. Mongo (as Francisco Bódalo)
Eduardo Fajardo	...	Colonel (as Edoardo Fajardo)
Karin Schubert	...	Zaira
Gino Pernice	...	Tourneur (as Luigi Pernice)
Álvaro de Luna
Jesús Fernández
Claudio Scarchilli
Lorenzo Robledo	...	Man Dancing with Zaira
Giovanni Petti
Gérard Tichy	...	Lieutenant

Storyline

Arms dealer Yolaf Peterson aims to make a sale to guerilla Mongo, but the money is locked in a bank safe, the combination known only to Professor Xantos, a prisoner of the Americans. Yolaf agrees to free Xantos, accompanied by reluctant guerilla Basco, but a former business partner of Yolaf's- John 'The Wooden Hand', has other ideas.

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Plot Keywords:

hawk | pacifist | gold | mexican revolution | train | 

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Taglines:

Fate brought them together. Greed made them inseparable, and violence made them Companeros!

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Genres:

Western | Comedy

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy West Germany Spain

Language:

Italian Spanish

Release Date:

April 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Companeros

Filming Locations:

Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Box Office

Gross:

ESP 45,052,639 (Spain)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tritone Cinematografica, Terra-Filmkunst, Atlántida Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At one point, Tomas Milian is seen dragging a coffin out of a graveyard. This is a reference to Sergio Corbucci and Franco Nero's previous collaboration Django in which the title character drags a coffin behind him.

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Quotes

Yolof Peterson: If you ever come to Sweden, I'll let you meet my sister.
El Vasco: [singing] Beautiful eyes, just like the sky... just like your sister, huh?

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Connections

Referenced in Cannibal Holocaust (1980)

User Reviews

Funny Spaghetti-Western

In times of revolution in Mexico, the ignorant Vasco (Tomas Milian) is promoted by the corrupt General Mongo (Francisco Bódalo) to lead his men in the invasion to San Bernardino. Meanwhile the arms trader Yolaf "Swedish" Peterson (Franco Nero) arrives in the village to deal with Mongo; however the money to buy the weapons is locked in a bank safe. The only man that knows the combination to open the safe that was not murdered by Mongo's men is the pacifist Professor Xantos (Fernando Rey) that is prisoner in Fort Yuma in the United States. Swedish offers to release Xantos but the suspicious Mongo asks Vasco to go with Yolaf. The twosome is chased by the followers of Xantos led by the beautiful Lola (Iris Berben) that want to convince the duo to join the revolution; and by the mercenary John (Jack Palance) that lost one of his hands in a betrayal of Yolaf to save his life and uses his smart hawk Marsha to get Xantos to deal with Mongo.

"Vamos a Matar, Compañeros" is a funny spaghetti-western of Sergio Corbutti that has a story very similar to Sergio Leone's "Duck, You Sucker" of 1971 and plays with "Blood for a Silver Dollar". Franco Nero, Tomas Milian and Jack Palance are hilarious, and I laughed a lot with the scene when Marsha becomes a toasted barbecue. The music of Ennio Morricone is excellent, as usual. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Compañeros"