Los endiablados

The Hellions is a great film and Richard Todd is very convincing. I have seen this film only once and that was about 30 years ago on British television. I too, have searched for a video but have been unable to find any although Posters do appear on ebay from time to time. Most people say it is a High Noon and in some respects it is similar as a lone lawman, in this case a South African Constable has to face the bad guys alone out of his personal sense of duty. It is dissimilar to High Noon in that the action is more spread out as a sequence of events. It is most similar to Firecreek which was made 7 years later and stars James Stewart and Henry Fonda and I think this was a copy of the Hellions script adapted as a Western. In Firecreek James Stewart plays a honorary sheriff of a small town of losers which becomes a place for the bad guys led by Henry Fonda to hold up in. Fonda leads a gang of gunmen who take part in Range Wars. So if you can't watch the Hellions get a copy of Firecreek.

Jeff Herbert

As with previous posts I agree that Lionel Jeffries was superb in this role playing a part far removed from what we are used to from him. James Booth also good, These were two of the 'baddies' and as such had strong roles. Richard Todd gave a good restrained performance in the leading role. Directed by Ken Annakin, one of my all time favourite directors, or at least partly directed by him. In his autobiography he reveals that well into the filming he was taken quite seriously ill and the remainder of the film was directed by Harold Huth and Clive Reed. Ken had given the cast 'carte blanche' to play the film as a tongue in cheek spoof and most were up to it but the rest of the film was directed with everyone playing straight. The critics panned the film for being 'uneven' - they knew nothing of Ken's illness. Ken also states that 'Irwin Allen's(the producer)girlfriend played the female lead - the less said about her the better' He doesn't elaborate Fortunately he recovered fully after his long illness and is still alive well into his 90s. I have just received a DVD of the film and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

It is strange that most of the reviewers of this film who have given this a high score haven't seen it for over 30 years.If they get to watch it now they will be in for a shock.If it is a comedy western Richard Todd is in the wrong film.For some reason he allows the Hellions to humiliate him then disappears from the film till near the climax.Lionel Jeffrey's goes a bit over the top whilst James Booth seems to be rehearsing for his part in On The Double.Carry On Cowboy is a more authentic western and funnier.

I recall seeing The Hellions on TV some 30 years ago (I think). It was like most of our Westerns, Hign Noon or My Darling Clementine best comes to mind. Yet it is different for it reminded me that there were other countries outside of the US that shared similar themes as our westerns. Richard Todd is good but a little wooden and unemotional. The brothers are weird but terrifying and so is Lionel Jefferies. The thing I recall with the greatest fondness are the opening lines of the theme song. "Here they come and may they soon be gone: Matthew, Jubal, Mark and Luke and John." Too bad the movie has not been shown for so long. Should be on DVD.

This film is being shown in England on the Talking Pictures TV channel this week. Not seen it as yet.....but I await.... eagerly!!