The Relentless Four / I quattro inesorabili (Primo Zeglio, 1965)

Database page: Quattro inesorabili, I - The Spaghetti Western Database

I caught the very end of ā€œA Reason to Liveā€¦ A Reason to Dieā€ on TV last night and was astounded by the fact I was seeing another SW besides the man with no name trilogyā€¦ on TV! Checked the on screen guide to see that it was followed by ā€œThe Relentless Fourā€ with Batman (Adam West) and Robert Hundar. I was pretty excited, never in my life have I see this stuff on TV. Well, my excitement dwindled when it started. Itā€™s an early spaghetti western and it clearly shows. Pretty boring and american-ish. The short synopsis on the database sums it upā€¦ Batman is framed for murder and he sets out to prove heā€™s innocent. The only good thing about it, in my opinion, is Robert Hundar (Iā€™ll forget it he $100,000 for Lassiter) but even his performance isnā€™t spectacular. If youā€™re a fan of the early SWs, then you might like it, if you like the later dirty onesā€¦ I doubt you will.

Thankfully, I like both.
Havenā€™t seen TR4 in a while but I quite enjoyed it as I recall. Although I seem to remember it suffering a common ā€˜early spaghettiā€™ fault of a little too much expositionary dialogue. Nice to see Adam West without tights though.

I enjoyed the story and West in this one. Very bitter woman in this, even though her husband has just been killed. Like the scene where West and Camardiel play cards at a table mounted on a wagon.

Glad you guys like itā€¦ maybe Iā€™m just too critical as I personally donā€™t like that early spaghetti feel. They just seem like little-house-on-the-prairie meets lone-ranger-little-boy-hero stuffā€¦ To me, this is deep in that category, haha. Again, Iā€™ll at least give Robert Hundar credit.

Iā€™ve only seen the opening of this, it seemed really cheap, the editing was strange. Ennioā€™s enjoyment has peaked my interest though.

Well my enjoyment last time was helped by watching a 2.35 T.V print, and always tend to enjoy films more on the second viewing like this one. And like pointed out depends whether you like the early Spaghetti westerns aswell.

Thank goodness Adam West has had a renaissance in recent years - the mad mayor of Quahog is one of Family Guyā€™s finest assets.

Iā€™m disappointed that I missed this one on movies4men today. I caught some of it and it looked pretty good.

Yes, I watched the whole ting. First time viewing it for me. I liked it, pretty average, but was disappointed West was dubbed by someone else.

Hopefully theyā€™ll play it again so I can tape it. I hope they play When Heroes Die again, as well.

Just had a look at their website. The Relentless Four is playing again on Saturday at 5:15pm. :slight_smile: Taste of Killing is on today, as well. I think that The Relentless Four was released on video in the UK as The Bad Bunch. I could be mistaken.

Looks a rare U.K vhs release that one !

I didnā€™t really like the early SW feel either, Robert Hundar has the power to make it feel like I am watching oneā€¦ thought the husbandā€™s wife might have been in on it, why she wanted to kill him so badly and didnā€™t have any proof?

The film has a decent story if a bit drawn out. The most noticeable thing for me was Westā€™s hesitating to speak during conversations with other actors who were probably speaking Spanish or Italian. He hesitates a second before responding as heā€™s not aware when their lines end and his begins. He also doesnā€™t look to good in the fight sequences with his outstretched arms swinging in the wind.

According to the TV listings, ā€˜Movies4Menā€™ will be re-showing ā€˜THE RELENTLESS FOURā€™ tomorrow, Wednesday, 15th Feb., at - I think - 1.05pm.

Iā€™m hoping to watch it, myself, as Iā€™ve never seen itā€¦

THE RELENTLESS FOUR (1965), starring ā€˜Batmanā€™ā€¦ in a pink shirt.

Well, I did actually get to sit down and watch the film, on ā€˜Movies4Menā€™, this afternoon; albeit, with an ā€˜intermissionā€™ half-way through, because prune-brained ā€˜cold-callersā€™ rang my door-bell!

As an early example of ā€˜Spaghettiā€™, I actually enjoyed it, and can agree with practically all the comments that have already been made on the topic. Like Phil H, I donā€™t mind both the early ā€˜Americanisedā€™ examples, and, also, the later down-right dirty ones, that weā€™ve all come to love.

Because I love the ā€˜Spaghettiā€™ genre, Iā€™ve always found it necessary to concentrate not only on the ā€˜dirty, traditional gemsā€™, but also the Italian/Spanish/German, early Genesis at adopting what was, in essence, an ā€˜American Institutionā€™.
For the film companies, this was a learning curve, and one which they were tentatively still exploring.
The process of viewing the early ā€˜attemptsā€™, and then comparing them to the later ones, is a process that Iā€™d compare to watching a new-born baby grown into adolescence, and then adult-hood.

As for ā€˜The Relentless Fourā€™ā€¦I was surprised that there were NO screen credits, of any kind - either at the beginning of the film, or, at the end. Also, there was no opening theme.
It was a great shame that Adam West did not dub his own voice; but, then again, neither did James Coburn, in ā€˜A Reason To Live, A Reason To Dieā€™.
It was also strange to see the ā€˜townā€™ action situated at ā€˜Mini Hollywoodā€™, in Almeria (Southern Spain); and yet, all the other scenes were filmed in Northern Spain. However, this is something that we have come to accept, as ā€˜Spagā€™ fans.

It didnā€™t bother me that Adam West was starring as the leadā€¦I didnā€™t, surprisingly, associate him with ā€˜Batmanā€™. After all, he didnā€™t even begin to play the role of the ā€˜Caped Crusaderā€™ until a year after this film.

As for Adam Westā€™s attire in ā€˜Relentless Fourā€™ā€¦a white hat, and pink shirtā€¦make of that as you will. I believe that someone, somewhere, made a comment that it could be a nod to homosexualityā€¦

Personally, Iā€™d say that West was wearing the eye-catching pink shirt, and white hat, because it was important (for the plot), that his character ā€˜stand-outā€™ from the crowd. Bear in mind, that during the film, he is knocked unconscious, a man is murdered, and the real killer has purposely worn the same pink shirt and white hat, so as to implicate Adam West in the murderā€¦a ā€˜frame-upā€™ā€¦
However, thatā€™s just my take on it.

All in all, ā€˜The Relentless Fourā€™ is an enjoyable ā€˜earlyā€™ Spaghetti.

The credits are cut from the movies4men print. I have a DVD-R with Spanish credits and the German DVD with German credits. I recommend buying the German DVD.

Thank you, amigo. Iā€™ve been checking out the German DVD for the past few days, plus a few Anthony Stiffensā€¦this week I may take the plunge and buy them.

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