New poll for the Hellbenders up top. 
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Just watched this one for the first time today!
For most of its runtime āThe Hellbendersā is a 4.5 out 5 star spaghetti western from Sergio Corbucci, but then the ending happens and my jaw drops on the floor and it becomes a 5 star classic even if its not as good as something like āDjangoā or āThe great silenceā!
It all plays out like an even meaner post-django spaghetti western version of the Anthony Mann western āman of the westā (1958) or a lower key western version of Mario Bavaās āRabid Dogsā (1974)!
All together great stuff, another banger from Sergio Corbucci!
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Ha, I like those comparisons!
Quite a few SW fans donāt like The Hellbenders very much (possibly because there is no lone gunman in it, no proper duel, quite different style of music?) but I always thought itās one of the best examples of those that stray from the standard formulas.
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Just rewatched this last night. Was one of the first non Leone spaghettis I ever saw and itās still one of my favorites. I agree with the consensus that it feels more American than most, as well as not being very Corbucci like, but something about it just really works for me.
I think Cotten is a very solid, above average lead but admittedly the rest of the cast isnāt particularly impressive (outside of Norma Bengell). Al Mulockās cameo is great and one of the major highlights; love the way his character fools the group.
(Spoilers in the next paragraph in case anyone hasnāt seen this yet)
The final twist isnāt exactly unpredictable but itās still executed very well. I love that itās Sanbrell in the coffin, after the exchange he had with Cotten at the fort; a nice little touch that I somehow didnāt pick up on until this rewatch.
Is the fort where they buried the coffin the same one that was used in the Deserter? It looked very similar to me but I couldnāt say for sure.
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Itās a different location - āThe Deserterā fort is in the south of Spain, in the Almeria desert ā¦ and the āHellbendersā location is somewhere around the north of Madrid.
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Ahh got it, thanks for the info. I feel like Iāve definitely seen the Hellbenders fort in another spaghetti but I could be wrong.
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Itās been in lots of other SW ā¦ and a few non westerns too.
I quite enjoyed this although a lot of the incidents were contrived (I guess deliberately so). The English soundtrack is pretty good. Cotten dubs his own voice and his dialogue sounds naturalistic American (the way he calls Bengell ādaughterā all the time for example) rather than a translated version. I noticed also that a lot of the supporting cast seemed to be mouthing English rather than Spanish or Italian. There is a ādialogue coachā credited - presumably to facilitate this - and an additional dialogue credit as well.
So I conclude that Band was deliberately tailoring this for the American market - released by Joe Levineās Embassy Pictures. The Italian box office results were terrible L174m I think which is way below average and in the bottom quartile. Though I suppose the money was in the American sales.
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Spoilers.
Hi I watched this on Saturday night having previously seen it maybe 15 years ago on a satellite channel. I had moderately enjoyed it first time and expectations were exceeded this time. I remembered only parts of it from before which helped me enjoy it more. Cotten is great as the family patriarch; a driven fanatic who will stop at nothing. The ambush is vicious and also the shooting of the two gang members they wanted rid of. The first widow is a major liability, unstable and heavy drinking none the less an interesting character, who sets up some great lines of dialogue.
I enjoyed the scene were Ben goes to the saloon and finds Claire, with a great bar room brawl to follow. Claire is a great character and is the moral compass of sorts, despite being less than angelically honest herself. She quickly realises she is in danger with the crew, particularly with the fanatical father and one of the brothers a deviant.
The various patrols that stop the wagon add to the suspense and i really enjoyed the scenes in the town with the priest setting up the service and the former comrade of the ādeceased soldierā.
Aldo Sambrell and Al Mulock have great cameos.
Look I enjoyed this very much. A great signature theme tune from Morricone, enough plot and suspense to drive the movie and something a little different from many staple spaghetti fare. Some great lines of dialogue mixed in with some corny ones. The ending a little reminiscent of Werner Herzogās āAguirre, Wrath of Godā perhaps!
A strong 4 stars for me - I donāt even respect the living!
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