The Ruthless Four

Ruthless Four, The (1968)

*** (out of 4)

Spaghetti Western take on The Treasure of the Sierra Madre has Van Heffin playing an elderly gold digger who finally hits it big but is betrayed by his partner who he has to kill. After being robbed by some bandits, Heffin must leave his gold behind and head back to the city where he asks his stepson (George Hilton) to go back and get the gold with him. The stepson agrees to go but is forced into taking an ex partner (Klaus Kinski) and even Heffen is forced to bring along a man (Gilbert Roland) and soon all four are looking over their shoulders. This is far from a great film but it has a terrific cast and a very good story, which makes this a worthy addition to the good titles that this genre has given us. The music score really hurts the film as it sounds out of place but outside of this everything else works just fine. What works the best are the terrific performances with Heffen leading the way. Just take a look at the early scene when his character is dragging himself out of the desert and nearing death from lack of water. I'm not sure what Heffen did to "look" the part but it's rather amazing to watch him. Kinski, playing that mysterious silent man, is terrific as well and makes for a great villain. Roland also delivers a fine performance as the calmer bandit and Hilton is good, although can't really touch the other three men. There are a couple classic shoot outs in the film with an excellent one coming half way through the film. The direction is also nice throughout and there's some wonderful scenery as well.

Sam Cooper, (Van Heflin) was a gold prospector all his life and he finally found a good gold mine and one of his partners decided to kill him in order to keep it all for himself. However, Sam Cooper manages to blow up the mine and bury his partner instead, meaning that Sam Cooper had to hide the gold because it was too heavy to carry back by horseback through a desert area. Sam Cooper gets back in town and gathers up a group of guys, some he did not care to tag along. One guy was Mason, (Gilbert Roland) who knew Sam Cooper in past years and Sam figured he could trust him. There is one gal who appears in the town named Anna, (Sarah Ross) who is a sexy bar girl who gives Sam and eye full of her female charm. Brent the Blonde, (Klaus Kinski) is dressed up like a preacher but is a human rattlesnake who will give you one look and blow you away the next second. This film is very much like the Humphrey Bogart film, "Treasure of Sierra Madre", but this film is full of cruel evil men lusting for gold and gold only.

This is another good Spaghetti Western, one that even got a laudable appraisal in the "Leonard Maltin Film Guide"…not to mention the seal of approval of our own Michael Elliott! Actually, it's a character-driven piece – with the action spread neatly throughout yet proficiently executed. Besides, it's exceedingly well cast: ageing American star Van Heflin is excellent in one of his last roles; both Gilbert Roland (himself a Hollywood veteran) and especially George Hilton did their fair share of Spaghettis, but it's safe to assume that they were never better than here; Klaus Kinski, then, has a typically enigmatic role for which he sports numerous eccentric 'costumes' (from preacher's garb to shades to a raincoat over his head and even a makeshift turban!).

Unfortunately, as had been the case with THE SPECIALIST (1969), the copy I acquired (English-dubbed this time around) lapsed occasionally into a different language without the benefit of subtitles – but, whereas I could more or less make out what was being said in French with respect to the Sergio Corbucci film, here it's in German (even the print bears the title DAS GOLD VON SAM COOPER)! In any case, the narrative – bringing an old-fashioned situation up-to-date, stylistically speaking – deals with Heflin's striking gold and his attempt to find suitable partners (his previous one had already tried to double-cross him!) that would help him extract the precious element: what he ends up with is an interesting bunch – Hilton, the miner's former protégé (who's not as clean-cut as Heflin seems to think); the young man's domineering companion, Kinski (who's actually quite subdued here); and Roland, another old-timer (who, bearing Heflin a personal grudge, will no doubt look out for him from being 'jumped' by the others[!] – though he's ultimately revealed to have appointed a cowboy duo to shadow the 'expedition' before they think, erroneously, of cutting in on the deal). Carlo Rustichelli's score is, again, more traditional than most genre efforts but robust nonetheless; that said, it breaks into a semi-lounge piece more suited to a German "Krimi" during the scene in which Kinski drops some gear while ascending a mountain and has to be tied in order to go back down and retrieve it (given that this is one of the scenes presented exclusively in German, could it be that the music was changed in that country?)!

The film was co-scripted by Fernando Di Leo (a Spaghetti Western regular during this time but who never actually contributed to the genre after graduating to director!) and Augusto Caminito (who, as a film-maker in his own right, would make a couple of pictures with Kinski towards the end of the actor's life – including the little-seen GRANDI CACCIATORI [1988], which I have in my "To Watch" pile of obscure "Euro-Cult" titles recorded off Italian TV!). Curiously enough, co-producer Luciano Ercoli would also subsequently get to be a director – proving a notable exponent of the Giallo form.

Though I love spaghetti westerns enough that I can often tolerate seeing the same plots and characters over and over, I do like it when I come across one that is quite different - which "The Ruthless Four" is. One surprise is that in some aspects it seems to be trying to be more American than European, such as the musical score and the fact that there's a lot less action and more character development than many other spaghetti westerns. It's also a lot more leisurely paced, often taking its time when even an American western would have sooner gone to serious business. But the movie is never dull even during the slower moments. It gets you wondering just how it's going to end up, and that leads to a lot of tension and suspense. You can also feel the agony the characters go through at various points in the movie. While you shouldn't watch this spaghetti western if you are in the mood for action, it is a fine choice when you are in the mood for something quite different.

I had been looking for a copy of this film for a long time and finally found one. I wasn't disappointed as it is a well-written and directed film.

Van Heflin stars as a down and out prospector who finally strikes it rich. After surviving a double-cross attempt by a partner, he decides to look up an old friend to help him retrieve the remainder of his fortune. Through various situations the group expands to four - Heflin, George Hilton (his old friend), Klaus Kinski (who has a strange hold over Hilton) and Gilbert Roland (hired by Heflin as insurance against future double crosses), and the four then begin the trek to retrieve the gold. What happens along the way will hold your interest as there are some unusual plot twists.

As for the performances, Heflin and Kinski are remarkable. Heflin looks like he sat in the hot desert sun for weeks to prepare for this role, and his craggy voice and features are perfectly suited for his character. As for Kinski, dressed mostly in black, he is evil incarnate, with his cold stare, flashing eyes and creepy voice. Roland is also excellent, as an old army buddy of Heflin's who suffers from malaria. Hilton is good, too, although his performance pales in comparison to the others.

The direction is some areas is inventive, with good use of scenery, and the music score is impressively spare with only acoustic guitars for much of it.

If you enjoy realistic Westerns that don't romanticize the Old West, this comes highly recommended.