The Hellions (1961)

Luke Billings and his four reprobate sons ride into a small South African settlement in search of revenge on Police Sergeant Sam Hargis. Hargis knows he cannot outgun the five outlaws and ... See full summary »

Director:

Ken Annakin

Writers:

Harold Swanton (screenplay), Patrick Kirwan (screenplay)

Stars:

Richard Todd, Anne Aubrey, Jamie Uys

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Todd	...	Sam Hargis
Anne Aubrey	...	Priss Dobbs
Jamie Uys	...	Ernie Dobbs
Marty Wilde	...	John Billings
Lionel Jeffries	...	Luke Billings
James Booth	...	Jubal Billings
Al Mulock	...	Mark Billings (as Al Murdock/Al Mulock)
Colin Blakely	...	Matthew Billings
Ronald Fraser	...	Frank (as Ronald Fraser/Ronnie Fraser)
Zena Walker	...	Julie Hargis
George Moore	...	Malachi
Bill Brewer	...	Mike The Barman
Jan Bruyns	...	Jan Pretorius
Lorna Cowell	...	Martha Pretorius
Ricky Arden	...	Bert

Storyline

Luke Billings and his four reprobate sons ride into a small South African settlement in search of revenge on Police Sergeant Sam Hargis. Hargis knows he cannot outgun the five outlaws and turns to the townspeople for help. But he gets no help except from a most unexpected source. Ultimately Hargis must face Billings on his own.

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Plot Keywords:

africa | remake | independent film | 

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Taglines:

The lashing slashing drama of The Hellions and the town they violated!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

All characters and events in this film are fictitious. Any similarity to actual events, or persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

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Connections

Featured in Talkies: Talking Pictures with Marty Wilde MBE (2020)

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Soundtracks

The Hellions
Music Composed by Larry Adler
Lyrics Written by Herbert Kretzmer and Larry Adler
Sung by Marty Wilde

User Reviews

Good film

As with previous posts I agree that Lionel Jeffries was superb in this role playing a part far removed from what we are used to from him. James Booth also good, These were two of the 'baddies' and as such had strong roles. Richard Todd gave a good restrained performance in the leading role. Directed by Ken Annakin, one of my all time favourite directors, or at least partly directed by him. In his autobiography he reveals that well into the filming he was taken quite seriously ill and the remainder of the film was directed by Harold Huth and Clive Reed. Ken had given the cast 'carte blanche' to play the film as a tongue in cheek spoof and most were up to it but the rest of the film was directed with everyone playing straight. The critics panned the film for being 'uneven' - they knew nothing of Ken's illness. Ken also states that 'Irwin Allen's(the producer)girlfriend played the female lead - the less said about her the better' He doesn't elaborate Fortunately he recovered fully after his long illness and is still alive well into his 90s. I have just received a DVD of the film and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Details

Country:

UK South Africa

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 March 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

5 katazitoumena katharmata

Filming Locations:

South Africa

Company Credits

Production Co:

Irving Allen Productions, Jamie Uys Film Productions, Irving Allen

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor) (as Technicolor®)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1