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The Hellbenders

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The Hellbenders

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Summary

A former Confederate soldier becomes determined to continue fighting even though the Civil War has ended. Western, starring Joseph Cotten, Norm Bengell and Al Mulock

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IMDB

Review

A star rating of 3 out of 5.

Terry Staunton

Joseph Cotten brings a touch of old-school Hollywood class to this Spanish-Italian spaghetti western. He plays a Confederate colonel with a outlandish plan to finance fresh offensives to the recently ended American Civil War. Aided by his three sons, he massacres a 30-strong troop of Union soldiers transporting a large consignment of bank notes, before hiding the loot in a coffin. He then enlists a saloon hostess and cardsharp (Norma Bengell) to play the grieving widow of a supposedly fallen comrade, to avoid detection as he makes his way cross country. Director Sergio Corbucci, who made the previous year's cult favourite Django, employs the same stylistic flourishes (fast zooms, extreme close-ups) favoured by Sergio Leone, but with less confidence and a heavier hand than his more celebrated fellow Italian. However, Cotten displays steely charisma in the role of a borderline madman with a dubious political agenda, his cruelty evident in the film's often shocking violence, and Bengell does well as the ruthless opportunist ultimately facing a moral conundrum.

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6.7/10

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Credits

Cast

rolenameColonel JonasJoseph CottenClaireNorma BengellBenJulián MateosJeffGino PerniceNatAngel Aranda

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Crew

rolenameDirectorSergio Corbucci

Details

Languages

Italian | Spanish

Guidance

Violence

Formats

Colour

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