The Hellbenders (1967) User Reviews (27)

Good Spanish/Italian co-production with intelligent and slick direction by Sergio Corbucci

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 21 November 2010]

Sergio Corbucci's Western is packed with noisy action and lots of violence. Italian-Spanish co-production financed by Jose G. Maesso and Albert Band with full of action , exaggerated characters, shootouts and drama. This is a surprisingly low-key Spaghetti Western set in the post-Civil War era in which a washed-out confederate Colonel (Joseph Cotten) and his band of three sons (Julian Mateos ,Guido Pernice, Angel Aranda) lead a hearse and taking on a variety of problems and risks with the aim to go on the rebel cause. As three diverse characters and their father who call themselves ¨The Hellbenders¨ joining forces to carry a stolen currency and weapons. The crazed ex-Confederate Cotten plans to utilize it to reorganize Confederacy and rekindle the war but finding numerous complications .

This entertaining picture contains a twisted plot, Western action , crossfire and bits of campy and refreshing events with twists and turns. An improbable blending of standard Western with pursuits, high body-count and it's fast moving as well as quite entertaining. An interesting casting full of usual Spaghetti faces make this oater well worth the watching. Delightful Western in which the violent family uses their wit, breaking all the rules and kicking virtually every cliché in the pants, as the group relentlessly deceives, plunders, robs and kills. Decent but sometimes lumbering Western goes on and on about the same premise , as minutes are superfluous, it has quarter hour of excess , as it pack some moments turn out to be dull and tiring . Furthermore, here appears ordinary secondaries of Spaghetti/Paella Western, such as: Julián mateos, Ángel Aranda, Aldo Sambrell , Ennio Girolami, Jose Canalejas , Alvaro De Luna, Simón Arriaga, Rafael Vaquero and Benito Stefanelli who is also master of arms and stunt. The musician Ennio Morricone or Leo Nichols composes a nice soundtrack with catching leitmotif and well conducted ; it's full of guttural sounds with use of harmonica , trumpets and guitar. Striking cinematography by Enzo Barboni or E. B. Clucher (author of Trinity series with Terence Hill, Bud Spencer) who does an adequate cinematography with barren outdoors , dirty landscapes under a glimmer sun and photographed in Eastmancolor with negative regularly processed, that's why results necessary an urgent remastering . Interiors filmed at Italia , Cinecitta studios , and outdoor sequences shot on outskirts of Madrid La Pedriza , Colmenar Viejo , and of course , at Almeria, Spain, as usual. In addition , there are many fine technicians and good helpers, intervening as assistant direction Ruggiero Deodato, future director of ¨Cannibal Holocaust¨ and evocative Art Direction by Perez Cubero and Galicia.

The direction by Sergio Corbucci (along with the uncredited Albert Band) is well crafted, here is more cynical and less inclined towards humor and contains too much action, but especially this attractive western contains ample violence. Therefore the film contains shootouts, bloody spectacles and fist fights. Sergio Corbucci filmed his first Western in Spain, explaining the following: ¨I saw that in Spain there were these magnificent horses, these extraordinary canyons, this desert landscape that looked a lot like Mexico or Texas, or rather how we imagined them. So, when Sergio Leone and I were filming 'The Last Days of Pompeii' (1959), we often said to each other: "Wait a minute, we could make an incredible Western here, right?" Corbucci was an expert in Spaghetti Westerns, but also in comedies, his Western scores were usually composed by Ennio Morricone, and the comedies were frequently composed by Guido De Angelis and Maurizio De Angelis. The other Sergio made several Spaghetti classics as ¨ Django¨, ¨The great silence¨, ¨The specialist¨ , and Zapata Westerns as ¨The Mercenary¨, ¨The Compañeros¨ and ¨What am I doing in middle of the revolution¨ . In addition Sergio directed other other less successful S. W. such as: ¨Far West story¨ ,¨Johnny Oro¨, ¨The white the yellow an the black¨ and ¨Minnesota Clay¨. It's an offbeat , surprising and uneven Western but will appeal to Corbucci aficionados . Rating : 7 , riotous Western in which there's too much action and violence and excitement enough.

Who is hero and who is villain, depends on who's the viewer.

[Cimmerian_Dragon · 8/10 · 7 May 2003]

This film (which I saw as "The Hellbenders") is not much like the average western. As you watch, it is not easy to decide if we are supposed to be rooting for or against the main characters. Even when it becomes apparent which side of the good/evil line most of them stand on, Jonas (the real focus of the story) remains in a grey area. In the end, wether he is a hero or villain depends on the ideals of the audience. That is what I found most refreshing about this film. It lets you make up your own mind, rather than forcing one opinion of what is virtuous on you.

Corbucci on the Road

[cengelm · 7/10 · 29 April 2005]

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

route to the truth

[Kirpianuscus · 14 July 2016]

a special western. because the classic ingredients of genre are only details. because the theme of illusory dream becomes, scene by scene, more dramatic and complex. at the first sigh - the film of Joseph Cotten proposing an ambiguous hero. in fact, few interesting performances - Norma Bengell and Julian Mateos are the most easy to name - , a story who is far to be predictable, a powerful end who has the mark of period but who transforms entire story in a kind of parable. a film who is different by basic expectations. and that fact does it special. because it has not exactly genre apart, the theme is more profound by fights, love stories and line between good and bad guy, the meetings with different people, from the original sin to the desire of justice of the Indians , the memorable performance of All Mulock as the beggar, are steps to the verdict of viewer. a waste trip, madness of lost cause, justice or simply destiny. a film with many touching scenes. and with an useful message.

"You've Got To Respect The Dead." - "I Don't Even Respect The Living!"

[Witchfinder-General-666 · 7/10 · 28 August 2006]

Sergio Corbucci's "I Crudeli" aka. "The Hellbenders", is not one of his best Films, but nevertheless a great Spaghetti Western.

A few months after the end of the Civil War, a former Confederate colonel, still a fanatic devotee to the old South, and his three sons rob a money transport of the US Army, and kill every witness in a bloody massacre. With the money they hope to realize the colonel's plan to reorganize the Confederate Army and to restore the old South.

Although "The Hellbenders" doesn't come up to Corbucci's masterpieces "Django" and "The Great Silence", it is still a great, and in some parts unusual Spaghetti Western. Joseph Cotten is great as Jonas the colonel, a religious Southerner, a fanatic who, in a cold blooded manner, puts 'the cause' over everything else. Norma Bengell's performance is very good, and Julian Mateos, who plays another main character, the Colonel's son Ben, also does a good job. Some of the movie's best performances, however, are those of the supporting cast. Aldo Sambrell is great as a Mexican outlaw and Al Mulloch has one of the film's best roles as a tricky beggar. Benito Stefanelli has very short role as a card player, and Gino Pernice plays the Colonel's son Jeff. The music by Ennio Morricone is very good, of course, although it's not one of his best scores.

Though it has some lengths "The Hellbenders" is a pretty brutal and very good Spaghetti Western, and should not be missed by my fellow Corbucci fans.

The Craftsman Corbucci made a special Spaghetti that stands test of time!!

[elo-equipamentos · 7/10 · 18 March 2021]

A Sergio Corbucci's brand new box come out this mouth on Brazilian market, three pictures spotlessly restored, I've pick up "I Crudeli" which I've never saw, mainly by famous Brazilian pretty actress Norma Bengell who co-starring this Spaghetti, by the way I didn't expect too much shall I tell, having the veteran actor Joseph Cotten coming to Europe due he is no longer was asking for by the American filmmakers, thus I went to watch with a foot behind.

Elapsed a half hour I'd change my early thoughts, Corbucci implies an American style, including the audio allowing the English language, sustained by a far-reaching screenplay the story flows so easy, about a Confederate General Jonas (Joseph Cotten) let down for lost the war against the Yankees, settles a daring plan assisted by his three sons to ambush a calvary's convoy that has a large money shipment which would be used in the reboot of the Confederate issue under his leadership, thereafter a successful bloody massacre, the next step is passing through of the Yankee territory to reach at Mexico, the scheme is quite resourceful, aided by his drunkard mistress Kitty (Maria Martin) pretends be a widow carrying back the corpse of his late husband a Confederate hero Captain Ambrose, instead it in the coffin has the stolen money, dully escorted by them.

Tragically the hard-drinking Kitty waver in the first Yankee's barrier, the cold-blooded Col. Jonas gets rid of the unstable woman, hence to keep the previous plan ahead Jonas demands that his most reliable son Ben (Julian Mateos) got a woman on the nearest city to replace as the late widow, Ben sees on the Claire (Norma Bengell) a clever poker player that should fit perfect in the widow role, promising to her two thousand dollars for the job, soon Claire envisages that is in jeopardy due the lewd Jeff (Gino Pernice) tries rape her, also the greedy Nat (Angel Aranda) upon the compliant eyes of Col. Jonas which just slapping them occasionally for others reasons only.

The craftsman director Sergio Corbucci build up a solid storyline stitched by multi-colored characters of several shades, mixing hate, tyranny, greediness and filthy behavior and even human kindness, a movie that stands of test of time, sounds fresh and deserves be discovered by newest generation of the worldwide cinephiles, Corbucci never let me down!!

Thanks for reading.

Resume:

First watch: 2021 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.5

"There can be no haste before the eternity of death."

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 22 July 2006]

Knowing that a hellbender is actually a large type of salamander, I was weirdly surprised to see that the flag draped coffin bore a likeness of a salamander on it. The Hellbenders were a Confederate outfit in the film, with leader Jonas (Joseph Cotten) and his three sons attempting to revive the Southern cause with a million dollars in stolen money. The story starts out rather unbelievably as Jonas, with only two sons, wipe out a thirty man Union convoy from behind rocks and trees. Now that there's a ten thousand dollar bounty on their heads, their march back home to Nashville is fraught with peril on all sides.

Jonas himself is rather a vile sort, establishing his authority early in the story, and when he yells jump, his sons know enough to ask how high. The development of the story allows enough time for son Ben (Julian Mateos) to come to question his father's autocratic supremacy, in no small part aided by a newly hired stand-in daughter after maniac Jeff (Gino Pernice) dispatches the gold digging Kitty. However high stakes gambler Claire (Norma Bengell) is more than a match for Jonas when she pulls a fast one and has the group headed for Fort Brant where she insists her manufactured husband be buried. The whole time you wonder what evil plan Jonas will cook up for his 'daughter'.

There were a couple of clever symbolic moments in the story which left me wondering whether they were intentional. When the Indians appeared to seek justice for the death of the chief's daughter, it provoked a family Civil War, brother against brother with the outcome satisfactory to the chief.

Anticipating a "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" type of ending, I expected to see the coffin release it's contents to the desert winds. The twist of course was just as satisfying, and led directly to an understated definition to the film's title. With time running out and the mission at a collapse, it was fitting to see the wounded Jonas slither across the parched banks of the Rio Hondo looking just like, well, a hellbender.

Rough and wonderful

[BandSAboutMovies · 6/10 · 22 August 2020]

Colonel Jonas (Joseph Cotten) has led the Hellbenders through the Civil War and he refuses to give in at the end of the battles. He takes his sons Ben, Nat and Jeff on a continuing campaign of massacres, killing Union soldiers as they move money and placing their treasure inside a coffin.

Even the love and devotion of Clare (Norma Bengell) is not enough for Jonas, who wants more power, more destruction and well, just more.

There's a fabulous score by Ennio Morricone - that goes without saying - and Sergio Corbucci's direction, which guides another Italian Western that is all about darkness and despair. Cotten is one of my favorite actors of all time. Even in a small picture, he makes something wonderful. This is no small picture.

Not quite...

[coldwaterpdh · 6/10 · 30 November 2008]

In the extras on my DVD, they have sort of a mini Corbucci biography where his is linked to Leone in several ways. The general message is that Corbucci and Leone were friends and sort of counterparts.

While Leone always succeeds in making your arm hairs stand up, with his amazing cinematography, music that works perfectly in the picture, and performances to blow the roof off, Corbucci takes more of a shocking, violent stance. The problem is, he doesn't take it far enough.

The first memorable scene in "The Hellbenders" shows a ruthless group of Confederate outlaws gunning down a squad of Union soldiers and stealing a coffin full of money. There is some blood and by the time it's over, you'll be a little taken aback. The problem is, that scene is never matched again in the movie. There should have been more. More blood, more guts more violence. It should be over the top and it never is.

All in all a very enjoyable spaghetti western, but it doesn't touch the works of Leone.

6 out of 10, kids.

Unique Corbucci Classic

[marc-366 · 9/10 · 28 May 2005]

Joseph Cotton stars as Jonah, an ex-confederate trying to keep the dreams of the south alive following General Lee's surrender. He and his sons, known as the Hellbenders, massacre a troop to steal the money that they are transporting, with the aim of using this prize to restart the confederate cause. The stolen loot is stored in a coffin, disguised as the dead Captain Ambrose, and transported across the desert to Jonah's home town. They are accompanied by a drunken whore, under the guise of Ambrose's mourning widow, supposedly transporting the dead man to his place of rest. The search for the troop's murderers is in full flow, but Jonah is a man obsessed with the cause, and nothing or no-one is going to stop him achieving his objective.....

Hellbenders is an absolute classic of the Spaghetti Western genre, standing proudly side by side fellow Corbucci classics Django and the Great Silence. It continues in Corbucci's usual vein, firing bullets of unjust and unexpected twists at the screen, as the plot spirals towards its grim finale. All the while, the engaging trumpet of Morricone's score becomes more and more pleasing to the ear.

The slow but gripping pace of the movie reminds me of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, in the way that its story is joined together by a number of sub plots. But here there is little humour. Aside from Ben (Mateos) and Claire (Bengell), the Hellbenders are an ugly and evil lot. Cotton is compelling as Jonah, his deadpan expression superbly capturing the characters single-minded vision. Pernice (perhaps most famous for having his ear cut off in Django) is truly deranged as the equally perverted and dim-witted Jeff. There are also great cameo appearances from euro-western favourites Al Mulock, Aldo Sambrell and Benito Stefanelli.

The film does tend to plod rather than gallop in a number of places (and this is in no way a bad thing!), and its story is quite different from the majority of the films in the Spaghetti Western genre. But it is a compelling view, with the scene at the Fort and the excellent finale worth the price of admission in itself.

A different Spaghetti Western

[mgtbltp · 7/10 · 1 April 2007]

I finally watched "The Hellbenders" on Saturday, got the Anchor Bay DVD off Amazon.com and sat down and watched this Joseph Cotton starring flick with Norma Bengell, Julian Mateos & Gino Pernice. It also has great cameos by Benito Steffenelli, Aldo Sambrel, and Al Mulock.

This was a film that looked and felt very much like an American Western, which I wasn't quite expecting (though I shouldn't say that since I've come to expect the unexpected from Corbucci) though it did have SW twists. Basically it starts with a Union Cavalry detachement that is escorting a million dollars in old currency designated to be destroyed (ie., burned). We see this detachment struggling to cross a river and there are some great action shots of this segment alone.

Joseph Cotton plays the part of an ex Confederate officer determined to take the money and make a new start, resurrecting the Confederacy. This is one of Hollywood's and 50's TV Westerns staple post Civil War "characters". You've seen variations of this depiction from the officer that goads the posse into stringing up Anthony Quinn and his compadres in "The Ox Bow Incident" to Edmund O'Brien's turn as one in living in a surreal southern mansion in "Rio Conchos" starring Richard Boone these come to mind. But Cotton is not restricted to just a few scenes at the climax but is present as a somewhat sincerely dedicated semi religious looney throughout the whole film. Great stuff! So the story concerns the stealing of the money and the treck to get it to safety through a countryside swarming with soldiers and civilian posses all looking for the perpetrators of the heist.

This film is pretty much devoid of any SW style standoff gunfights and derives most of its tension from the various encounters and twists in the plot. It does have some of the familiar SW symbology though. All this is very well done. The actors that play Cotton's sons could have used a bit more fleshing out but thats a minor quibble. You don't quite react to them as well as you might have.

It dose have some faults however, its supposed to be just after the end of the Civil War and here my "curse of Leone" rears its head.

Now I don't know about you but ever since I've seen GBU and the rest of Leone's work I've been effected by the "curse" which is Leone emphasized the weaponry and ever since I've paid attention to this particular aspect of all Westerns, both AW's and SW's and even some of the classic AW's ie. "Red River" fall prey to it. I guess pre Leone nobody really cared a Western was a Western and not taken seriously.

In Il Crudeli the ex Southerners of the "Hellbenders" Regiment are equipped with Winchesters. OK in 1866 there were "Yellow Boy" Winchesters so you can over look this, but the six guns they carry are Colt 1873 Peacemakers, a big anachronisim, that could and should have been corrected, and is not easy to overlook, if you are familiar with the weaponry. Other that this, this film is entertaining but it could have been great. Morricone's score is average, nothing that memorable, not bad but not outstanding either.

Al Mulock has the biggest part I've ever seen and he does an excellent job, and its worth a look for this alone. He actually does a great job, check it out. Aldo Sambrel also makes an appearance, as does Steffenelli but his is brief.

The Anchor Bay DVD has just a trailer and a printed bio for Corbucci, pretty sparce if you ask me. But I'm glad to have this film.

Here is a film that could be remade with a slightly bigger budget more Western landscapes and a better attention to accuracy, its a great story won't need a lot of sets, and I can see a modern version of this somewhere down the line if Westerns come into vogue again.

Another winner from Corbucci

[bensonmum2 · 8/10 · 9 July 2005]

• Joseph Cotten is an ex-Confederate soldier who would like to see the South rise again. To finance such a venture, he and his three sons rob a Union convoy carrying $1 million. The money is placed in a coffin and disguised as the dead husband of Cotten's "daughter" - really just a woman he has hired to play the part of a widow in case they get stopped. The group will have to evade not only the Union Army, but also Mexican bandits, revenge minded Indians, a posse, and each other if they are to get home with the money.

• After having seen Hellbenders, I'm convinced now more than ever that if it weren't for Sergio Leone, Sergio Corbucci would be the recognized master of the Spaghetti Western. Hellbenders fits nicely beside Corbucci's other genre masterpieces. It may not be as over-the-top as Django or as beautiful as The Great Silence, but in it's own unique way, it's almost as good. Hellbenders takes it's own sweet time telling its story, and that's a good thing. You really get to know the characters and develop feelings for them. The acting, whether it's the crazed brother Jeff (Gino Pernice), the sympathetic Claire (Norma Bengell), or the always entertaining Cotten, is as good as you'll see in this kind of movie. The ending is marvelous. It's got to be one of the most satisfying twist endings I've seen in a SW.

• For those familiar with SWs, all I really need to say about the score is that it was composed by Ennio Morricone. That should be enough. The main theme is a trumpet-dominated mournful piece that grows in meaning throughout the film.

Just a few quick comments on this movie.

[padutchland-1 · 6/10 · 2 June 2006]

There are plenty of people reporting the story line of this movie so I will avoid that. The movie was OK, just OK. It is a spaghetti western but not as good as the Clint Eastwood ones. The dubbing of the voices was not good and one can easily see it. I don't know enough about the actors and actresses to comment on them, except to say they were adequate. I believe the only thing that kept the movie with its chin above water was the addition of Joseph Cotton as the star. Joseph Cotton was always a most accomplished actor. It was his acting that held this movie up and kept it interesting even with a story line that is mostly predictable. Julian Mateos did an admirable job as the outcast son. Other than that it was just a western at a lower level.

The Cruel Ones: The madness of a lost cause

[Wuchakk · 5/10 · 18 July 2016]

RELEASED IN 1967 and directed by Sergio Corbucci, "Hellbenders" (Italian title: "The Cruel Ones") stars Joseph Cotton as Colonel Jonas, an unrepentant Confederate who led a regiment called The Hellbenders during the Civil War. Lee surrendered and the war's over, but not for Jonas and his three sons. They ruthlessly rob a Union convoy in the Southwest carrying $1 million. The money is placed in a coffin and disguised as the dead husband of Jonas' "daughter" (María Martín), really just a booze-guzzling saloon girl he hired to play a widow in case they're stopped. The group not only has to evade the Union Army, but also a posse, Mexican bandits, vengeful Natives, and even each other if they are to get back East with the money to re-start the Civil War. Julian Mateos plays the Colonel's outcast son, Ben, while Gino Pernice plays the maniacal son, Jeff. Norma Bengell is on hand as Claire, a second female they hire.

The ratings for this film are all over the place. Some viewers say it's trash whereas others grant it a surprisingly high grade; and I can see why on both counts. Let's look at the positives and negatives respectively.

While some complain about Joseph Cotton's supposedly wooden performance, his deadpan expressions superbly capture his character's single-minded vision. Jonas' family is nigh insane because they refuse to admit that the Civil War has been lost. His ultimate harebrained purpose is to finance a renewed Civil War. Everything else is secondary, including life itself. Hauling their loot around in a coffin is a symbol for the hopelessness of their cause. You'll hear Jonas talk about God & Scripture now and then, but it's all outward adornment, even while I'm sure he's sincere. He justifies killing Union soldiers on the grounds that they're still at war while he rationalizes murdering hirelings because their motivation is not the Confederate cause but rather filthy lucre. The man's brutal and despicable, but interesting nevertheless. He's a "Christian" fake, but just doesn't know it.

I'm thankful for the characters of Ben and Claire without whom there'd be no one to sympathize with amongst the protagonists. In her prime Norma Bengell was one of the most stunning women to walk the earth and the filmmakers were sure to capture this in a pond-bathing sequence where she strips down to black stockings and modest lingerie.

Another positive is that the movie's filled with action and generally maintains your interest even while glaring flaws regularly surface. For the family's nutty scheme to work they resort to nigh absurd deception; and you know what Shakespeare wrote: "O what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive." Something else I liked that can easily be overlooked takes place when the Indians come seeking justice for the death of the chief's daughter and it provokes brother against brother, the Civil War in microcosm.

Ennio Morricone (as Leo Nichols) composed the score with a decent leitmotif. It's full of guttural sounds with interesting percussion, harmonica, trumpets and guitar. But it's pedestrian compared to "Death Rides a Horse" (1967) and "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" (1966).

As far as shortcomings go, someone complained about the movie on the grounds that it comes across as if the producers just enlisted several actors & extras and a couple of babes, then got some horses, a couple of coaches, a coffin, some Mexican clothes and made the whole thing up in the Spanish desert as they meandered along. This is my main objection to the movie, particularly in the second half where the scriptwriters (term used loosely) awkwardly try to fit one episode after another into the story. At one point, for instance, Mexican bandits suddenly appear who had absolutely nothing to do with the plot up to this point. They disappear just as quickly when the Federals swiftly arrive. The worst example of this is the odd beggar who appears out of nowhere in the desert in the last act. This entire sequence is so badly done it horribly mars the movie.

A technical cavil: Jonas and his three sons are the remnant of Confederate Hellbenders regiment and you see them equipped with Winchesters. This can be overlooked on the grounds that there were "Yellow Boy" Winchesters in 1866, but the six guns they carry are Colt 1873 Peacemakers, an anachronism that should have been corrected and is hard to ignore if you are familiar with the weaponry.

The melodramatic climax reveals that good intentions were there, but the filmmakers just didn't have the funds to execute properly. If only they had the money "Hellbenders" would rank with the best Spaghetti Westerns. As it is, it's still worth catching for the highlights noted.

THE FILM RUNS 90 minutes and was shot in Spain and Italy.

GRADE: C+

THE HELLBENDERS (Sergio Corbucci, 1967) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 6/10 · 20 February 2006]

Watchable Italian Western set in the aftermath of the Civil War; humorless and rather downcast (the only notable here being a visibly tired Joseph Cotten) but with an interesting plot, both incident-packed (involving as it does the Cavalry, Mexican bandits and renegade Indians!) and twist-laden…although it's relatively short on the violent action typical of Spaghetti Westerns – a surprise coming from one of the genre's key figures! As usual, the poor dubbing and full-frame presentation get in the way of one's full enjoyment of the film, but it's certainly a harmless diversion as is (if, clearly, nowhere near the best we've seen from Corbucci or the Spaghetti Western sub-genre).

Silly-ass cheapo wild west extravaganza!

[Blaise_B · 4 January 2003]

This not-so-dazzling entry from "Great Silence" director Sergio Corbucci appears to have been conceived with the intention of providing fans with every spectacle the western mythos has to offer, even at the expense of logic. This is especially evident about two thirds of the way through the film, when the protagonists, becoming unhinged and desperate in the middle of the desert, are suddenly assaulted from all sides by about fifty cookie-cutter banditos. Joseph Cotton exclaims, "Mexican Outlaws!" and a gun battle ensues (up to this point, Mexican outlaws have had absolutely nothing to do with the plot). Thirty seconds after that, the cavalry, bugle and all, comes to the rescue! Earlier in the film we've had the obligatory western bar fight, and later on our "heroes" (they're a bunch of murderous Civil War vets who want to re-establish the confederacy) will be confronted by angry injuns. "Companeros" this ain't.

However, as a fan of Corbucci, who basically seems to subscribe to the Roger Corman school of just gettin' it done but who seems to manage to inject some of his own wierdness even into his worst films, I'm not sorry I saw it. I'll see it again. Certain moments make it all worthwhile. One of those moments is the whole finale sequence, which owes a lot to the bitter irony of film noir and also to the cheesiest episodes of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." Another is the aforementioned barfight, which displays some typical Corbucci camera technique (handheld cameras, zooms) that is so unsettlingly out of place that it elevates the scene above its otherwise cliche status.

Like most Corbucci westerns, there is blood when guys get shot (not always the status quo for the genre) and a decent helping of various brutality. There's a booze-guzzling femme fatale, a wierd-ass theme song with a trumpet that sounds more like it belongs in some European art film, and an atmospheric grave-robbing scene.

However, there are plenty of slooooow moments and some REALLY bad dialogue that almost sink the whole thing. There's also a cheesy sub-plot involving a member of the Confederate gang who's questioning the evil ways of his father (Joseph Cotton as the gang's leader) and half-brothers falling in love with the woman they've coerced into helping them with their evil scheme. It could all work with better writing, grittier characters and better pacing; it doesn't have those things.

It's probably a two out of five star movie that's worth seeing for a few scenes and twisted ideas if you're willing to sit through the rest of it. Definitely worth renting if you're a Corbucci fan.

It does requires some thoguht

[jordondave-28085 · 6/10 · 26 October 2023]

(1967) The Hellbenders/ I crudeli DUBBED SPAGHETTI WESTERN

After a shooting massacre against the Yankee cavalry by a small group of Confederate soldiers, the rest of the story then has Colonel Jonas (Joseph Cotten) and his sons transporting and delivering stolen money to this cause. From Sergio Cuorbucci who made the controversial film "The Great Silence". Great musical score from Ennio Morricone.

I did not like it when I initially first saw this, but after a few years later and then watching it again, it's actually straight forward with an ending to question back how it came about in the first place.

"I don't even respect the living"

[Steffi_P · 8/10 · 11 August 2007]

This largely overlooked Spaghetti Western is one of the most unique and unusual entries in the work of prolific director Sergio Corbucci. Coming after the simplistic, over-the-top action of Django and the inferior Navajo Joe, it marks a beginning of a gradual increase in the quality of his films during the late 1960s.

Corbucci had clearly been attracting attention – Django was a massive hit – and was now commanding bigger budgets, as well as bigger names in the credits. The Hellbenders boasts talented Mercury Theatre veteran Joseph Cotton in the lead role. However, like his friend Orson Welles, Cotton's career was in the doldrums and it's fairly clear he appears here for the money, not the fun of it.

In style and story The Hellbenders is clearly a very different plate of spaghetti. The plot is based on a simple yet original premise. It's a great idea to have the defeated Confederate soldiers who hope to restart the Civil War carry their loot around in a coffin – a perfect symbol for the hopelessness of their cause. This device also allows for several extremely satisfying twists. As far as look goes, there is none of the grit and seediness of other Italian westerns and, with its compliment of cavalry and wagons The Hellbenders has more of the trappings of a John Ford film. It also has a somewhat more positive (albeit rather patronising) portrayal of women than most of its contemporaries, as it is the female lead who outwits all the men. While the basic plot elements are great, The Hellbenders is let down by the minutiae. The characters are fairly one-dimensional. Corners are cut and motivations are unrealistic. The ending is a total mess – while the final moments are nicely done, the screenwriters needlessly squeeze in a beggar and a tribe of vengeful Indians into the last ten minutes.

Corbucci's direction was never great, but he was a cut above the average in the genre, and there are some occasional moments of genius. The first action scene, the massacre of a few dozen Union troops, is brilliantly constructed, and Corbucci gives a level of realism to the violence that even Sergio Leone didn't have at this point. As usual though he is still let down by his overuse of the zoom lens and his having absolutely no feel for landscape shots. The editing on this picture is very good, and no wonder, since it's done by Leone's frequent collaborator Nino Baragli. Ennio Morricone provides the music, although it's a rather mediocre score by his standards.

While some top class actors tend to get a bit half-hearted when they're in less glamorous company, Joseph Cotton does a good job here, lending credibility to this somewhat creaky production. The same can't be said for the rest of the cast who are by and large abysmal. Despite some attention-grabbing cameos from Aldo Sanbrell and Al Mulock, The Hellbenders has a real lack of familiar spaghetti western faces. Luigi Pistilli, Mario Brega, Giuliano Gemma, Tomas Millian, Klaus Kinski – any of those would have been more than welcome.

Despite those flaws I've listed I do enjoy The Hellbenders fairly well, and I do think it's often underrated. If you could just polish up the script, and add a few more decent acting performances, this under-appreciated spaghetti would have been one of the genre's classics.

Solid Spaghetti Western

[FightingWesterner · 8/10 · 29 December 2009]

Under the pretense of escorting a body back east for burial, ex-Confederate Joseph Cotten and his sons transport a coffin full of stolen cash meant to be used to re-start the Confederacy and begin the second Civil War. However, robbing and killing a military transport was the easy part for Cotten and sons.

There's lots of great moments of suspense and double-crossing treachery in this slightly offbeat, above average spaghetti western, featuring director Sergio Corbucci's usual flair for excessive violence (for the 60's) and a good, more subtle than usual music score by the great Ennio Morricone.

Cotten, (who's great) in an appropriately cruel and domineering performance, heads a cast of familiar European faces, including a great cameo appearance by Spanish actor Aldo Sambrell as a sweaty Mexican bandit.

A Heaping Plate of Spaghetti

[ark30inf · 5/10 · 31 July 2003]

Good grief. I think this is the ultimate caricature of a Spaghetti Western. Its almost to the point where its an unintentional parody of a Spaghetti Western.

I'm not sure they even wrote down a screenplay. I think they just got some horses, a coffin, some Mexican clothes, and a girl and made the whole thing up as they meandered along.

Joseph Cotten is horribly miscast as a twisted Confederate officer bent on somehow reconstructing the Confederacy by dragging a coffin full of money through the desert with his cruel psychotic sons in tow. None of it works out right for them (or makes any sense for that matter...not that you would care) but they do all manage to remain remarkably clean-shaven throughout their horrific and agonizing ordeal in the desert which is a plus for them I'm sure.

The best acting in this film comes from the assorted bit players that wander in and out of the story line for no apparent reason. The Reverend, the blind Sergeant, the Yankee Fort commander, and the card player all have more memorable performances than the main characters even though they only have one or two lines.

The film was gritty enough to have some realistic feel to it, in that weird Spaghetti Western way, but there are a few jarring things that spoiled even that for me. I know I shouldn't be looking too close but its hard to ignore Joseph Cotten's 1966 service station attendant outfit that is supposed to pass as a Confederate uniform (belt loops and all) or Ben's 1966 jacket with the funky pockets. Every time I saw that coffin I had to wonder where they came up with that weird looking lizard flag. The feel of the film would have been improved drastically just by using a regular old Confederate battle flag.

The musical score was good and had that familiar Spaghetti Western eeriness to it that I love. Some of the cinematography was quite interesting, particular the opening credits with the yankees trying to manhandle the wagon across the river. That scene was designed as filler for the opening credits but turns out to be a real gem. I particularly like the detail of the yankee guidon bearer using his guidon to urge the horses forward, nice work. It makes you wonder what this crew could have done if they had taken the rest of the visuals just as seriously.

This film was fun to watch even though it went nowhere and there were no characters to love, empathize with, or even care about. When I get hungry for a little pasta I'll probably watch it again with friends just for the camp value.

The Wildest Bunch of them all!!!

[pjojr · 8/10 · 6 February 1999]

"The Hellbenders" is Corbucci's predecessor to his genre defining "Django" of the same year. Initially, the film can be dismissed as a low-budget mess because of poor audio and cinematography, but there are redeeming qualities which make this film a landmark in the overall Western genre. It was one of the first to use Almeira, Spain as a backdrop. It follows the adventure of a gang of ruthless Conferates (three brothers and their father, Joseph Cotten) fleeing the Union cavalry, Mexican outlaws, a local sherrif, and a vengeful Indian tribe. They carry a coffin filled with booty, and a permit stating that the coffin contains the body of a dead lieutenant. Corbucci pulls in a femme fatale (Norma Bengall) to foil the gang's money heist. Along the way a Mexican bandit is backstabbed, so to speak, by Cotten, and the bandit proclaims that they will meet again in hell. I'll leave the plot twists for you to discover, but note that "The Wild Bunch," released two years later, has a similar plot and twists. Also note Corbucci's more refined and improved spaghetti western, "Django," employs the use a mysterious coffin, which houses a Gatling machine gun, just so conveniently used again in "The Wild Bunch." Ol' Peckinpah sure did his homework.

Not Corbucci's Best Spaghetti Western, but Better Than the Usual Italian Oater

[zardoz-13 · 8/10 · 16 December 2007]

Sergio Corbucci never acquired the critical accolades that the legendary Sergio Leone attained with his Spaghetti westerns. Nevertheless, Corbucci managed to carve out a well-respected niche for himself in the genre. Corbucci helmed at least 13 Euro-westerns, far more than Leone. Indeed, Corbucci directed several acclaimed Italian westerns such as "Django," "The Grand Silence," "The Mercenary," and "Companeros," which have withstood the ravages of time. Meanwhile, the straightforward but suspenseful "The Hellbenders" doesn't qualify as one of Corbucci's finest, but neither is it a candidate for ridicule from the likes of the Mystery Science Fiction Theater crew. Intelligent American leading man Joseph Cotton, its rugged outdoor Spanish scenery, some memorable dialogue, a blazing massacre, and Ennio Morricone's somber but flavorful orchestral soundtrack highlight this cynical oater.

Renegade Confederate Army Colonel Jonas (Joseph Cotton of "Heaven's Gate") and the remnants of his Southern 'Hellbenders' regiment ambush a Union convoy with 30 troops assigned to protect its cargo of one million dollars worth of old paper money scheduled for destruction so the Treasury can replace them with new notes. They massacre these troopers at a river crossing and even kill their horses. The gimmick in Albert ("The Tramplers") Band and Louis ("The Deer Hunter") Garfinkle's script is that Colonel Jonas stashes the stolen cash in a coffin and plans to transport it back to his ranch so he can reorganize the Confederate army, attack the Union, win back the South, and form a new government. Clearly, Colonel Jonas isn't dealing from a full deck of cards. He and his sons, trigger-happy Nat (Ángel Aranda of "From Hell to Victory"), psychotic Jeff (Gino Pernice of "Django"), and their humane half-brother Ben (Julián Mateos of "Return of the Seven") have hired a woman to pose as the widow of the dead Confederate officer in the casket in case the authorities want to investigate the corpse. Apparently, our protagonists weren't thinking when they had a certificate made our in the widow's name so they could pass without problem through the Union lines. The first woman, an alcoholic blonde named Kitty (María Martín of "Murderers in the Rue Morgue"), tries to flee with the loot, but Jeff strangled her to death. An unhappy Jonas dispatches the best of his sons, Ben, to the nearby town of Denton to search for a replacement for Kitty. Ben chooses a cardsharp babe, Claire (Brazilian actress Norma Bengell of "Planet of the Vampires") and almost bites the dust in a saloon brawl to get her to join his father and brothers. Essentially, "The Hellbenders" follows Jonas and his sons as they run the gauntlet to get away with their stolen booty. They have to contend with Mexican bandits, Indians, thieves, and lawmen. Corbucci generates unbearable suspense in one scene when the sheriff and his deputies are about to remove the lid from the coffin.

"The Hellbenders" is not the kind of Spaghetti western that will have you whooping it up and riding an imaginary horse after you watch it. Altogether, it is a rather dour, downbeat, and largely depressing western that benefits from a solid storyline, jammed with surprises, especially its ironic ending. Spaghetti western veterans, such as swarthy Aldo Sambrell as Pedro, the chuckling Mexican bandit who has the last laugh on Colonel Jonas, and Al Mulock of "Once Upon A Time in the West" as a sneaky, scheming beggar, spice up the action. Yes, there is gunfire galore, but nothing like "The Mercenary." The end scene with Cotton dragging the coffin behind him is reminiscent of Corbucci's "Django." Earlier, when Jonas opens fire on the Mexican bandits, Pedro utters a warning "Vamos a matar, compañeros" which became the title of Corbucci's 1970 Italian western with Franco Nero.

Spaghetti western fans will be happy to learn that the cinematographer Enzo Barboni went on to helm the Terrence Hill & Bud Spencer "Trinity" movies, and he was also responsible for telling Sergio Leone about Akira Kurosawa's landmark samurai film "Yojimbo" that Leone remade as "A Fistful of Dollars." Corbucci's editor Nino Baragli went on to serve as Leone's editor on "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" as well as "Once Upon A Time in the West." Another famous or infamous director who served as the first assistant director on "The Hellbenders" was Ruggero Deodato who later helmed seminal Italian shockers "Cannibal Holocaust" and "Jungle Holocaust." "The Hellbenders" isn't the liveliest Italian western but it is definitely a must if you are either a fan of the genre or a Corbucci buff.

Awful acting

[courtjes · 1/10 · 2 June 2015]

This movie is a total waste of time. The acting isn't worthy of a high school play. Joseph Cotton should be ashamed and the ones who play his sons are wooden, incapable of emotion. The only decent acting is the second "widow." I am very surprised of the IMDb rating this was given. The photography is not first rate but acceptable. The score is sometimes actually appropriate for the scene. The plot has numerous holes, especially at the end. Its difficult to capture the spirit of the American West and the Civil War without filming in the United States. The "western" background is again, acceptable, at times. And the scene in the town near the end is completely predictable.

Far better than I expected!

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 9 December 2013]

"Hellbenders" shocked me. While there are tons of bad Italian westerns, there are very few classics and near-classics. Too often, they were indifferently directed, poorly dubbed and were just meaningless violence. It's a shame, as I really do like the genre. When they are well done (such as the films of Sergio Leone), they are wonderful. As for Sergio Carbucci, I've found his films to be better than average. Yet, oddly, I have never heard of this film--and it seems to be his very best.

The film is about an insane family who refuse to admit that the Civil War has been lost. Despite General Lee's recent surrender, Colonel Jonas (Joseph Cotten has a bloody and nutty plan--to steal a huge cache of Union money and finance a renewed Civil War! To do this, he and his three sons cold-bloodedly murder Union troops--and even of their own men! The problem is that now they have to get the money from out west all the way east where the fighting has been occurring. When their plan starts to unravel when the woman assisting them is killed, they need another female gang member because they are hiding the money in a coffin--a coffin supposedly holding a grieving widow's husband. How can this go wrong? See the film.

There's a lot to like about this one. The dubbing is far better than normal and the film looks very professional. Plus, while some similar plots were used in the 1940s and 50s (several with Randolph Scott), they never were handled like this one. While I am not usually a fan of violence, it really helps make the family thoroughly despicable--and this evil, clannish quality gives the film a very gritty (almost noir) edge. Overall, a very successful film with only one tiny flaw (the way the family reacts to a 'bum' in the desert late in the film makes absolutely no sense--especially in light of how the family behaved early in the film). Still, there's a lot to like and admire about this one.

Corbucci, Cotten in commanding form

[adrianovasconcelos · 8/10 · 30 March 2024]

Honesty forces me to admit that the only other Sergio Cobucci film I have watched is THE GREAT SILENCE, which some reviewers rate the director' career best... but which I found excessively gelid and introspective, not least because male lead Jean-Louis Trintignant portrayed a mute pistolman and the action took place against a snowy, freezing-looking background.

I CRUDELI (The Cruel Ones, a more attuned title than THE HELL BENDERS) has to do with Confederate Colonel Jonas - convincingly and meanly interpreted by Joseph Cotten - and his psychotic trio of sons wanting to bankroll a revival of the Confederate forces even though officially Confederation had already accepted defeat.

The humane creature in THE HELL BENDERS is the character played by Brazilian-born actress Norma Bengell. She is not just spiritually wholesome, she is also delightful to look at - especially when she bathes in a rivulet in stockings.

There are well choreographed sequences, particularly those involving shooting action. Photography is of unusually high quality for a spaghetti Western, and the script brims with crisp dialogue exposing the cracks in relations between tough men, Jonas the father trying to keep his family unit intact whilst pursuing his Confederate cause to the end, with a decent woman caught in the flotsam.