The Ugly Ones

This film was oh so close to nearly losing me. Maybe my attention span was limited - it had been a pretty tiring day after all (but thats another - and highly uninteresting - story!). But anyway, for pretty much the first third of the movie I was convinced that it was notable purely for being Tomas Milian's first foray into the Spaghetti Western genre that he is so renowned for (and rightly so).

Milian plays Jose Gomez, an outlaw treated with reverence by the small population that make up his hometown. He is freed from captivity by Eden (Zalewska), who looks at Gomez with wanting eyes, seeing him as a local hero. However, bounty hunter Luke Chilson (Wyler) is on his trail, and arrives at the town ahead of the escapee, to the wrath of the very protective townsfolk. When Gomez does arrive in town, with a group of bandits at the helm, the locals begin to experience that he is no longer the great man that they believed him to be, and begin to witness first hand why he has the bounty on his head.

Whilst the opening sequences are slow and stretched to near yawning point (even for me and, hey, I like slow films!), the second half of the movie more than makes up for it. The film really hits the heights as the locals witness the transformation of Gomez' character. Milian plays this role expertly, demonstrating clearly the promise that was to blossom fully in the very near future. Wyler's bounty hunter on the other-hand is far more restrained, yet apt for the character he portrays. There is also a fine supporting cast that includes Spaghetti favourites Mario Brega and Frank Brana, and a pretty powerful soundtrack provided by Cipriani.

All in all, I am relieved that I sat through the slow beginning, because the film does have so much going for it once it does get going. May day improved considerably. Well worth viewing.

(1968) The Bounty Killer/ El precio de un hombre / The Ugly Ones DUBBED SPAGHETTI WESTERN

A very blatant beginning, but resonating after awhile. And I guess back on those days, 'aid and abetting' and 'accessory' wasn't considered a crime back then- not on this environment at least. Based on a novel written by Marvin H. Albert of the same name. Starring Richard Wyler as #1 Bounty Killer, Luke Chilson, who at first, is going after two escaped convicts with one of them escaping into a particular little town of a few houses, to give a lady named Eden(Halina Zalewska) a certain message. When it's all said and done, and by the time Luke shows up and leaves this town, he ends up killing one person, while capturing the other. The film then jumps to another felon, by the name of José Gómez (Tomas Milian) with several guards escorting him by wagon coach. And they coincidently stop at the same inn as Eve happens to be eating. Eve who's sitting right across from José then hands him a gun underneath a table, and then leaves. Chaos ensures with many people killed including the inn keeper. After bounty hunter Luke collects his reward from another town, he then hears about José's escape, and already knows where he's heading to without informing authorities about where José is going to show up. By the time he goes back to the small little town, it appears they don't like Luke at all and feel that they know José more than Luke does. But, by the time José shows up, it appears that he's just psychopathic as other people claim him to be, and that the people who were helping him were completely wrong. Much of this movie dwells on this set up. As I was watching this, the hero, Luke reminds me of "The Man With No Name' character created by Sergio Leone, since viewers no absolutely nothing about him except for what does for a living which is that he captures or kills wanted felons for a substantial reward. Had Leone gotten his hands of this script, it would've been an instant ingenious classic, but what we're left with instead is just an interesting premise with a not so interesting action sequences that could've been better.

Escaped outlaw Jose Gomez returns to his home town pursued by bounty killer Luke Chilson. The towns people protect Gomez, unaware, at first, that he is now a changed and dangerous man.

The Ugly ones, based on Marvin H Albert's The Bounty Killer, is an above average Spaghetti western with a good plot, nifty camera work, excellent cast , gritty action and some good atmosphere- the isolated station is well depicted adding to the tension. The protagonist and Antagonist are different as night and day, one is very thorough in his job as a Bounty Hunter, questioning every stranger and the other looks innocent one minute and then giggles when he gets psychotic urges - the premise of town folk thinking that a bandit is just an innocent victim of circumstances is interesting. The finale is quite tense and action-packed.

"The Ugly Ones" 1966 1h 35m Original title: El precio de un hombre AKA The Bounty Killer

This is a paella AND a spaghetti western. It was filmed in Spain, produced by Italians, and came in both Spanish and Italian, originally. It was released in the U. S. in 1968. The story is pretty good, but the cinematrography is lacking. The directing stinks. The photography is bad. The camera shots and setups are horrible. And the music is downright annoying in parts. Thomas Milian as the bad guy, Jose, is terrible. Richard Stapley as Luke, the bounty hunter, is actually pretty good and a likeable man. Halina Zalewska as Eden is acceptable, but mediocre.

The plot is shockingly cookie cutter and worn out.

The Bushwacker 12/26/2021.

Great opening and closing shots, and everything wonderful in between as the camera captures both the wide open spaces and the claustrophobic confines of the station and its various buildings where much of the action in THE UGLY ONES takes place.

For a change well drawn characters rather than a catalogue of stock figures that you expect in a western. Unusually the female lead is a strong individual; the villain of the piece remains the most interesting and complex, and thankfully the bounty hunter does not succumb to becoming a romantic lead.

This film is violent for its time and I enjoyed the reliance on fisticuffs, rather than just gun-play.

The soundtrack is exceptional with a score by STELVIO CIPRIANI that exemplifies the unique qualities of the Euro western.

This is a film I would recommend to any film-goer, and equally important, certainly one that I would watch again (8 out of 10 for this genre).