The Ruthless Four

This is a very good western with an excellent story and a great cast.

Klaus Kinski, George Hilton, Gilbert Roland, and Van Heflin are all superb, as one would expect, in this film. Kinski is perfect for the part of "The Blond," a bizarre sadistic character who dresses like a preacher because he likes to- not because he's trying to pose as one. Nobody else in the film seems to think this is odd, although Hilton's character snickers a little when an old woman calls Kinski "Father." Odd characters like this are a big part of what makes Italian westerns so entertaining to me. It sure as hell ain't a John Wayne flick, and that's a good thing.

The score is OK, although it could have been better. It's good in a few parts when it sounds like it belongs in a spaghetti western, but too much of it sounds more Hollywood than Rome.

The plot is excellent, and keeps you engaged until the very end. It's not an epic, but it is a tight little story with all the grittiness and violence one expects from a Eurowestern made in the 1960's.

I recommend this one to all Eurowestern fans if you can find it.

It's Brokeback Mountain - The Western!

Four strong leads all out for the same gold make this a Western worth tracking down. George Hilton has basically confirmed in an interview that he and Kinski are supposed to be gay lovers in this film too, which lends a unique angle to the film.

Van Helfin plays Sam Cooper, a gold prospector who, after searching for decades, finally finds gold out in the middle of nowhere and is immediately double-crossed by his partner. One dead partner and a blasted mine entrance later, Cooper heads across the endless landscape and finally makes it back into town, where he sends for surrogate son and ex-partner Georgel Hilton.

Hilton worked with Cooper for years but gave up the search to go off and do something else. Cooper reckons that Hilton is the only guy he can trust, and while having a sauna together (more homoeroticism here as they spot two semi-naked blonde gunslingers), Cooper bumps into another ex-partner, Gilbert Roland, who has a major chip on his shoulder with regards to Cooper.

Stranger still is the blonde, milk drinking preacher who has started hanging around the place, staring at Hilton. It turns out that Hilton and Kinski have some sort of relationship but judging by the body language it's an intimate one, and not a fair balanced one as Hilton seems to be Kinski's 'b*tch'. Cooper isn't too happy to have this weirdo come along with him, but Hilton tells him a third pair of hands is better than two. Cooper then hires Gilbert to watch his back, saying that four pairs of hands are better than three. I'm detecting some trust issues here...

While basically a film where four guy stare at each other mistrustingly, the film is fascinating due to the actors involved. Van Heflin literally looks like someone's hung him to dry in the sun for several months, while Gilbert Roland alternates between being immaculately turned out to shivering with Malaria tremors, and gives us a little dance right before a gunfight that wouldn't be out of place in a Tarantino film! Kinski keeps himself restrained and that's what gives his character so much menace. He uses those crazy guy to glare at everyone without expression, but you know there's murderous thoughts going on in there. His understated, hinted relationship with Hilton just adds another layer to this outstanding film.

Nice cinematography too. I hadn't heard of this one until last week. How many other gems are out there?

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.

Weather-tattered but hearty and belligerent gold-digger Sam Cooper hits the motherlode after twenty tired years of pickaxing the hills only to find his gold-digging partner gunning for his ass. Having taken care of his treacherous partner by means of exploding his own gold-mine, he returns to town through the desert, parched and terrible-looking, with plans of getting back to the goldmine and mining the gold with a partner he can trust, a hard enough prospect in a town full of greedy, backstabbing sons of bitches. For that purpose he sends word for a child he once took care of back in Denver, who arrives promptly in the slick and suave shape of George Hilton. Along the way and before they have even left town, two become four (the titular ruthless), and none has any more trust for the other three than he has for his own self getting out of this alive.

Thus begins a tale of greed and betrayal not unlike John Huston's gold-digging landmark TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE, the impeccable characterization somewhat toned down in favor of gunfighting. Director George Holloway doesn't miss the occasional false note, such as the terribly ill-conceived oriental 'epic music' that accompanies the gaunt and exhausted quartette as they travel back from the goldmine through the deathly desert, music that would have been at home in a sword and sandal epic or a religious movie but not a gritty western; these guys aren't Moses crossing the Red Sea. For the most part however he retains a constant level of intensity and intrigue, the four protagonists characterized in broad strokes yet enough for them to have something to play on.

Giallo casanova George Hilton is the weak link in the cast, his overacting bound to elicit a smile or two, but Klaus Kinski fans will be pleased to know the eccentric German and his half-mad stare have plenty of screen time. Unlike the myriad walk-through cameos he's done in other spaghetti westerns, he's one of the main guys here – always a sneaky villain of course, here as the Blonde, a cut-throat, milk-drinking thug dressing like a reverend. The German print I saw was called The Gold of Sam Cooper and was not terribly pristine but overall this one's a must-see for spaghetti western fans.

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.