Das Gold von Sam Cooper

Sam Cooper, (Van Heflin) was a gold prospector all his life and he finally found a good gold mine and one of his partners decided to kill him in order to keep it all for himself. However, Sam Cooper manages to blow up the mine and bury his partner instead, meaning that Sam Cooper had to hide the gold because it was too heavy to carry back by horseback through a desert area. Sam Cooper gets back in town and gathers up a group of guys, some he did not care to tag along. One guy was Mason, (Gilbert Roland) who knew Sam Cooper in past years and Sam figured he could trust him. There is one gal who appears in the town named Anna, (Sarah Ross) who is a sexy bar girl who gives Sam and eye full of her female charm. Brent the Blonde, (Klaus Kinski) is dressed up like a preacher but is a human rattlesnake who will give you one look and blow you away the next second. This film is very much like the Humphrey Bogart film, "Treasure of Sierra Madre", but this film is full of cruel evil men lusting for gold and gold only.

Though I love spaghetti westerns enough that I can often tolerate seeing the same plots and characters over and over, I do like it when I come across one that is quite different - which "The Ruthless Four" is. One surprise is that in some aspects it seems to be trying to be more American than European, such as the musical score and the fact that there's a lot less action and more character development than many other spaghetti westerns. It's also a lot more leisurely paced, often taking its time when even an American western would have sooner gone to serious business. But the movie is never dull even during the slower moments. It gets you wondering just how it's going to end up, and that leads to a lot of tension and suspense. You can also feel the agony the characters go through at various points in the movie. While you shouldn't watch this spaghetti western if you are in the mood for action, it is a fine choice when you are in the mood for something quite different.

This is a very good western with an excellent story and a great cast.

Klaus Kinski, George Hilton, Gilbert Roland, and Van Heflin are all superb, as one would expect, in this film. Kinski is perfect for the part of "The Blond," a bizarre sadistic character who dresses like a preacher because he likes to- not because he's trying to pose as one. Nobody else in the film seems to think this is odd, although Hilton's character snickers a little when an old woman calls Kinski "Father." Odd characters like this are a big part of what makes Italian westerns so entertaining to me. It sure as hell ain't a John Wayne flick, and that's a good thing.

The score is OK, although it could have been better. It's good in a few parts when it sounds like it belongs in a spaghetti western, but too much of it sounds more Hollywood than Rome.

The plot is excellent, and keeps you engaged until the very end. It's not an epic, but it is a tight little story with all the grittiness and violence one expects from a Eurowestern made in the 1960's.

I recommend this one to all Eurowestern fans if you can find it.

Weather-tattered but hearty and belligerent gold-digger Sam Cooper hits the motherlode after twenty tired years of pickaxing the hills only to find his gold-digging partner gunning for his ass. Having taken care of his treacherous partner by means of exploding his own gold-mine, he returns to town through the desert, parched and terrible-looking, with plans of getting back to the goldmine and mining the gold with a partner he can trust, a hard enough prospect in a town full of greedy, backstabbing sons of bitches. For that purpose he sends word for a child he once took care of back in Denver, who arrives promptly in the slick and suave shape of George Hilton. Along the way and before they have even left town, two become four (the titular ruthless), and none has any more trust for the other three than he has for his own self getting out of this alive.

Thus begins a tale of greed and betrayal not unlike John Huston's gold-digging landmark TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE, the impeccable characterization somewhat toned down in favor of gunfighting. Director George Holloway doesn't miss the occasional false note, such as the terribly ill-conceived oriental 'epic music' that accompanies the gaunt and exhausted quartette as they travel back from the goldmine through the deathly desert, music that would have been at home in a sword and sandal epic or a religious movie but not a gritty western; these guys aren't Moses crossing the Red Sea. For the most part however he retains a constant level of intensity and intrigue, the four protagonists characterized in broad strokes yet enough for them to have something to play on.

Giallo casanova George Hilton is the weak link in the cast, his overacting bound to elicit a smile or two, but Klaus Kinski fans will be pleased to know the eccentric German and his half-mad stare have plenty of screen time. Unlike the myriad walk-through cameos he's done in other spaghetti westerns, he's one of the main guys here – always a sneaky villain of course, here as the Blonde, a cut-throat, milk-drinking thug dressing like a reverend. The German print I saw was called The Gold of Sam Cooper and was not terribly pristine but overall this one's a must-see for spaghetti western fans.

I had been looking for a copy of this film for a long time and finally found one. I wasn't disappointed as it is a well-written and directed film.

Van Heflin stars as a down and out prospector who finally strikes it rich. After surviving a double-cross attempt by a partner, he decides to look up an old friend to help him retrieve the remainder of his fortune. Through various situations the group expands to four - Heflin, George Hilton (his old friend), Klaus Kinski (who has a strange hold over Hilton) and Gilbert Roland (hired by Heflin as insurance against future double crosses), and the four then begin the trek to retrieve the gold. What happens along the way will hold your interest as there are some unusual plot twists.

As for the performances, Heflin and Kinski are remarkable. Heflin looks like he sat in the hot desert sun for weeks to prepare for this role, and his craggy voice and features are perfectly suited for his character. As for Kinski, dressed mostly in black, he is evil incarnate, with his cold stare, flashing eyes and creepy voice. Roland is also excellent, as an old army buddy of Heflin's who suffers from malaria. Hilton is good, too, although his performance pales in comparison to the others.

The direction is some areas is inventive, with good use of scenery, and the music score is impressively spare with only acoustic guitars for much of it.

If you enjoy realistic Westerns that don't romanticize the Old West, this comes highly recommended.