MartinHafer "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.

zardoz-13 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 himself made. Indeed, Corbucci directed several acclaimed Italian westerns such as "Django," "The Grand Silence," "The Mercenary," and "Companeros" that 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 Theatre crew. Capable American leading man Joseph Cotton, its rugged outdoor Spanish scenery, some memorable dialogue, and Ennio Morricone's somber but flavorful orchestral soundtrack enhance 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 to be destroyed so that the Treasury can be replace it with new notes. They massacre these men 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 that he can reorganize the Confederate army, attack the Union, win back the South, and form a new government. Clearly, Colonel Jonas isn't dealing with 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 coffin, but Jeff strangles her to death. An unhappy Jonas dispatches the best of his sons, Ben, to the nearby town of Denton to find a replacement for Kitty. Ben finds 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 an adequate storyline jammed with surprises, especially the 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 a lot of gunfire, 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"—that 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 later 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 worth a look-see if you are either a fan of the genre or a Corbucci buff.

marc-366 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.

cengelm 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