A
few months after the end of the American Civil War, an army convey
carrying money is attacked and wiped out by a small family group. The
patriarch Jonas (Joseph Cotten) is insistent that his detachment of the
Confederate Army (the Hellbenders) never surrendered and aims to use
the money to fund a new war against the Northern States. However they
are a long way from home and a lot of soldiers are out looking for them
- Jonas hides the money in a coffin and brings along a woman to play
the weeping widow, but getting back home isn't going to be that easy...
Co-written by producer Albert Band, The Hellbenders
is a relatively traditional 'convoy' story, similar to the classic
Second World War films where soldiers in disguise are trying to get
past enemy patrols in order to achieve their objective - the big twist
here is that the main characters are actually, technically, the bad
guys and it this this that makes the film so distinctive. While Jonas,
the father of the group, is doing what he does for reasons that he
considers to be valid (although hardly sympathetic), his two sons Jeff
and Nat seem to be in it for nothing more than the money and the love
of killing. Ben is the most sympathetic of the group and certainly the
closest that the film comes to having a 'good guy' - but he still
chooses to go along with the plan and passes up more than one
opportunity to turn the group in.
This characterisation is reflected in the film's generally grim tone - like Corbucci's earlier Navajo Joe (1966) and Django
(1966), there is barely a hint of humour in this entire production and
the script is particularly unmericful to background characters. The
only scene that doesn't gel with this tone is a sequence with a beggar
towards the climax, which seems to serve no purpose except for some
light comedy. For a
convoy film to work, the situations the characters find themselves in
need to be believable and the script does work well in this
department. Less effective, and the film's only real failing
however is the
pacing - it takes a little while to get into the film and although the
searches are tense, the presence of three similar sequences does
become a little repetitive. Fortunately the film really picks up for
the climax and concludes in a superbly fitting manner.
Cobucci had made his name with the unconventional Django,
but goes back to a more traditional looking Western here, with all of
the famous Spanish locations. A few of his more creative shots do sneak
in, notably when camera's tumbles along with Jeff's brutal fistfight
and the superb gothic horror atmosphere of the grave digging sequence.
Ennio Morricone provides another strong soundtrack that really suits
the film.
Joseph
Cotten had been a big Hollywood star in the 1940s before a short time
in retirement saw him relegated to television work, until he accepted
the call from Europe. He was no stranger to Westerns having topped the
cast list on a pair in the early 1950s and his performance here is a
genuine powerhouse managing to completely convince in the role - it is
genuinely hard to imagine that anyone else could have been as
effective. Corbucci regular Gino Pernice (always very remniscent of
Quentin Tarantino, particularly in the part he plays here) plays one of the sons alongside a rare non-sympathetic role
from the babyfaced Ángel Aranda.
The
script is not perfect but Joseph Cotten's acting is and Sergio Corbucci
provides a strong directoral turn backed up by another fine Ennio
Morricone soundtrack to make this a recommendable Spaghetti Western. It
will probably not make any top 10 lists, but should be high on the list
for genre fans to track down. A must have for Corbucci fans.
In brief:
Anyone famous in it?
Joseph Cotten - a Hollywood star in the 1940s he later appeared in a number of Eurocult films during the 1970s.
Directed by anyone interesting?
Sergio Corbucci - one of the best known Spaghetti Western directors, responsible for the revolutionary Companeros (1970) and the uniquely dark and grim Great Silence(1969).
Recommended to Spaghetti Western fans and a must-see for Corbucci fans.
The DVD
Visuals
Original Aspect Ratio - 1.85:1. Colour. Anamorphically enhanced. Picture quality is good but often very grainy.
Audio
English mono - comes through fine.
Subtitles
None
Extras
The disc includes:
Original American theatrical trailer
A detailed Sergio Corbucci text biography
The DVD case includes a postcode poster.
Region
Region 1 (ALL) - NTSC
Other regions?
Previously released on Japanese DVD, a Spanish disc and a low quality US DVD are also available.
Cuts?
The
film is believed to be uncut. Titles and credits are in English.
Summary
Not the best of Corbucci's work, but an impressive directoral and acting turn make this film recommendable.
A good looking and sounding
disc with a good trailer (sadly none of the main cast are still alive
to interview so the absence of any extra features can be excused).
