The Hellbenders
Encyclopedia
The Hellbenders is a Spaghetti Western
directed by Sergio Corbucci
in 1966
.
who led a regiment called the Hellbender
s in the recently ended War Between the States. Similar to Edmund O'Brien's character in Rio Conchos, he is determined to reorganise the Southern Army and defeat the Union
. With his sons Ben, greedy Nat, and rapist Jeff, he massacres Union soldiers transporting a consignment of banknotes and conceals the loot in a coffin supposedly belonging to a deceased Confederate officer, Captain Ambrose who was killed in the Battle of Nashville
.
A drunken prostitute, Kitty, pretends to be the officer's widow. When Kitty is killed attempting a double-cross, Ben persuades Claire, a combination saloon hostess and professional gambler, to take Kitty's place - they fall in love. They consummate their love during a gunfight between Jonas and a local bounty hunter.
The cool Claire proves her worth when feigning grief to a sheriff's posse who stop the wagon and wish to search the coffin suspecting the party may have been responsible for the theft and massacre. The party has another close shave when they stop in a town where the local minister who knew the late Captain Ambrose forces the party to stay for a memorial service where the town can pay their respects.
Later the party is attacked by Mexican bandidos but is rescued by the US Cavalry who capture several of the Bandidos. Heeding Claire's wishes, the soldiers escort the wagon to the fort where Captain Ambrose was a former commander.
Claire, resentful of Jonas' fanaticism, arranges for the coffin to be buried in 'her' husband's fort. Jonas orders his sons to sneak back into the Union fort, dig up the coffin, and return the money to the buckboard; in the meantime, he whips Claire and makes her stay outside of the cave where the group takes shelter in the storm, leading Claire to become deathly ill from pneumonia
.
The group moves on - but their horses are killed what appears to be a mad beggar but is a thief who wishes to rob them. They later fall afoul of Indians who were thought to be 'friendly' and would be agreeable to selling horses to the Hellbenders. The chief demands that Jeff (who raped and murdered his daughter with a bayonet when he should have been buying horses) be handed over to him. Ben denounces his family's fanaticism and offers the Indians all the money in the coffin, only to be caught in the crossfire between his arguing brothers, who shoot each other over the money; satisfied, the Indians ride away. The mortally wounded Jonas discovers that he has dug up the wrong coffin that contains the remains of the Chief Bandido who promised Jonas they would meeta gain. Jones crawls away like a real hellbender dragging the coffin which falls into the river, as the flag of the fictional Hellbenders regiment floats down the river to the Jonas ranch.
in a similar role.
The film has a plot similar to Vera Cruz
, in which Burt Lancaster
, a dandy gunfighter, and Gary Cooper
, a former Confederate Colonel, team up to escort a carriage with a French countess to Vera Cruz, for the Emperor Maximilian. In fact, a hoard of gold is hidden aboard the carriage.
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
directed by Sergio Corbucci
Sergio Corbucci
Sergio Corbucci was an Italian film director. He is best known for his very violent yet intelligent spaghetti westerns...
in 1966
1966 in film
The year 1966 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Animation legend Walter Disney, well known for his creation of Mickey Mouse, died in 15 December 1966 of acute circulatory collapse following a diagnosis of, and surgery for, lung cancer...
.
Plot
Colonel Jonas is a fanatical and unrepentant ConfederateConfederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
who led a regiment called the Hellbender
Hellbender
The hellbender , also known as the hellbender salamander, is a species of giant salamander that is endemic to eastern North America...
s in the recently ended War Between the States. Similar to Edmund O'Brien's character in Rio Conchos, he is determined to reorganise the Southern Army and defeat the Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
. With his sons Ben, greedy Nat, and rapist Jeff, he massacres Union soldiers transporting a consignment of banknotes and conceals the loot in a coffin supposedly belonging to a deceased Confederate officer, Captain Ambrose who was killed in the Battle of Nashville
Battle of Nashville
The Battle of Nashville was a two-day battle in the Franklin-Nashville Campaign that represented the end of large-scale fighting in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. It was fought at Nashville, Tennessee, on December 15–16, 1864, between the Confederate Army of Tennessee under...
.
A drunken prostitute, Kitty, pretends to be the officer's widow. When Kitty is killed attempting a double-cross, Ben persuades Claire, a combination saloon hostess and professional gambler, to take Kitty's place - they fall in love. They consummate their love during a gunfight between Jonas and a local bounty hunter.
The cool Claire proves her worth when feigning grief to a sheriff's posse who stop the wagon and wish to search the coffin suspecting the party may have been responsible for the theft and massacre. The party has another close shave when they stop in a town where the local minister who knew the late Captain Ambrose forces the party to stay for a memorial service where the town can pay their respects.
Later the party is attacked by Mexican bandidos but is rescued by the US Cavalry who capture several of the Bandidos. Heeding Claire's wishes, the soldiers escort the wagon to the fort where Captain Ambrose was a former commander.
Claire, resentful of Jonas' fanaticism, arranges for the coffin to be buried in 'her' husband's fort. Jonas orders his sons to sneak back into the Union fort, dig up the coffin, and return the money to the buckboard; in the meantime, he whips Claire and makes her stay outside of the cave where the group takes shelter in the storm, leading Claire to become deathly ill from pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
.
The group moves on - but their horses are killed what appears to be a mad beggar but is a thief who wishes to rob them. They later fall afoul of Indians who were thought to be 'friendly' and would be agreeable to selling horses to the Hellbenders. The chief demands that Jeff (who raped and murdered his daughter with a bayonet when he should have been buying horses) be handed over to him. Ben denounces his family's fanaticism and offers the Indians all the money in the coffin, only to be caught in the crossfire between his arguing brothers, who shoot each other over the money; satisfied, the Indians ride away. The mortally wounded Jonas discovers that he has dug up the wrong coffin that contains the remains of the Chief Bandido who promised Jonas they would meeta gain. Jones crawls away like a real hellbender dragging the coffin which falls into the river, as the flag of the fictional Hellbenders regiment floats down the river to the Jonas ranch.
Production
I crudeli was made back-to-back, in Spain and Italy, with The Tramplers, with Joseph CottenJoseph Cotten
Joseph Cheshire Cotten was an American actor of stage and film. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original productions of The Philadelphia Story and Sabrina Fair...
in a similar role.
The film has a plot similar to Vera Cruz
Vera Cruz (film)
Vera Cruz is a 1954 American Technicolor Western starring Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster, and featuring Denise Darcel, Sara Montiel, and Cesar Romero. The movie was directed by Robert Aldrich from a story by Borden Chase...
, in which Burt Lancaster
Burt Lancaster
Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
, a dandy gunfighter, and Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper
Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
, a former Confederate Colonel, team up to escort a carriage with a French countess to Vera Cruz, for the Emperor Maximilian. In fact, a hoard of gold is hidden aboard the carriage.
External links
- DVD Review Review of the film & DVD at Vista Records