Professionals for a Massacre

During the American Civil War, a trio of criminals are given a reprieve from execution and instead are given a dangerous mission to find a corrupt army general and retrieve the gold he has stolen. A gang of Mexican bandits enter the scene and complicate matters further.

I would have to consider this one as a better than average spaghetti western. There's nothing precisely very original about it or anything but it manages to do a thing which is quite rare in these kinds of movies in that is successfully integrates a comic tone into its narrative without being annoying in doing so. Most westerns that attempt to use comedy aren't very successful at it and the spaghetti ones in particular are usually pretty dire, so it was a pleasant surprise to see a movie pull it off well. It's not all japery here though as the story includes a healthy amount of action and even a massacre, so it never forgets to cover its bread and butter elements too. Its well-paced as well with some decent performances, especially from Italian genre film regular George Hilton who appears as an ex-priest who has turned to crime. Nobody would claim that this flick breaks the mould as such but it does what it does with energy and some fun.

After being captured for robbing a bank in Arizona and trying to desert from the Confederate army, 3 outlaws named "Chattanooga Jim" (Edd Byrnes), "Fidel Ramirez" (George Martin) and "Steel Downey" (George Hilton) are given a choice of either facing a firing squad or helping to recover a wagon full of gold that was stolen by a fellow Confederate officer named "Major Lloyd" (Gerard Herter) and his men. Naturally, they decide to cooperate and along with another Confederate officer named ""Lieutenant Logan" (Milo Quesada) they ride out to catch the gold thieves before they can cross into Mexico. Along the way, however, they encounter other obstacles which they must overcome-or die trying. Now, rather than reveal any more of the story I will just say that as far as "Spaghetti Westerns" are concerned this particular movie didn't quite measure up with some of the great ones out there. For starters, the characters lacked depth and some of the scenes seemed a bit outlandish even for the sub-genre mentioned. In essence then, I think most Spaghetti Western fans will probably like it but general audiences may or may not. Slightly below average.

Confederate Major Lloyd and some accomplices desert with a Gatling gun and a shipment of gold. General Sibley sends Lt. Tennessee Logan, together with three Confederate soldiers about to be executed for theft - horse-thief Ramirez, defrocked priest and dynamite expert Steel Downey, and bank robber Chattanooga Jim. They set up an ambush for Lloyd, but the three others ditch Logan and go for the gold, only to find it snatched by the Mexican Camiseros gang. They ally with Lloyd against the Camiseros and then blow up Lloyd and his men, only to be intercepted by a Union troop led by Logan, who is a Union spy. The heroes manage to exterminate the Union men but are stopped by a Confederate troop led by General Sibley, who had suspected Logan but needed proof. The three are given horses and warned not to show themselves in these parts. When Sibley later hands over the gold to the Mexican army in exchange for weapons the three companions, now dressed in ponchos, suddenly drive off with the wagon, pursued by the Mexicans.

Ed Brynes (Kookie!) and George Hilton reunite again ( they had starred together in the lively Any Gun Can Play) in this rather standard issue spaghetti western. It's definitely not as good as Any Gun can Play- the usual confederates, gold, double-cross and double dealing characters feature here but the execution of the tale is a little flat and some excitement fluctuates at times. There's some bizarre characters like the old crone and her gang of Camiseros. The main characters aren't that interesting, however the location and action is decent enough.

Three Confederates sell their own regiment's guns to some union soldiers. Just before they're shot at dawn as traitors, General Sibley steps in and commissions them to recover a wagon of gold stolen from the Confederates. At least, I think that's the plot.

Edd Byrnes, with this super-cool hair. George Hilton as a dynamite-happy priest. And some random fake Mexican are the hired guns. Lots of mayhem ensues. Lots of fights and gunplay. And they up things real good.

I couldn't follow the half of it, since the one thing that marks spaghetti westerns is the total lack of continuity. I swear most of these movies - from the lowest dregs right up to Sergio Leone - were filmed, cut up by a blind butcher, and randomly taped back together by studio janitors.

The most memorable thing about this movie is that some of the random characters are extraordinarly ugly, even by spaghetti western standards. I mean, they're repulsive.

Dynamite-loving ex-priest George Hilton, Edd "Kookie" Byrnes, and Mexican horse thief/whisperer George Martin both fight for and steal from the Confederacy. About to be executed for their thieving ways, they're given a reprieve in order to track down a renegade officer who killed some of his fellow soldiers and made off with a wagon full of gold and a Gattling gun.

A fast-paced, rowdy adventure, this above average Italian western is a load of fun, especially George Hilton's character, who gleefully mixes piousness with his passion for blowing things (and people!) up. Hilton is truly a spaghetti western treasure!

Things stay pretty light-hearted throughout, with a good mixture of tongue-in-cheek comedy, plot-twists, and great action sequences. I don't know about everyone else, but I thought it was pretty cool!

It is claimed that one of the producers on this was a young Sylvester Stallone, a claim that seems a bit fishy. You never can tell though. If he did, he should have acted in it too. It sure would have been neat to see him before he was a star, shooting a six-gun in the Spanish desert!