Quatre hommes à abattre

I'm a big fan of the Italian spaghetti western genre as I think there are plenty of above average films made during the era that scream entertainment value. Unfortunately this is one of the lesser entries, a rather predictable and long-winded tale that feels more like an ordinary American oater instead of the stylish violent stories that the Italians usually made.

A pre-Batman Adam West is the hero, the sheriff of a small town desperately trying to keep things together; unfortunately he falls foul of the titular gang and is framed for a crime didn't commit. The rest of the film involves him trying to prove his innocence. The most offensive thing about all this is that West doesn't change his outfit once and he's wearing the ugliest pink shirt you'll ever see.

THE RELENTLESS FOUR is a pretty dull western without much action and a below average script to boot. The storyline seems to drag on endlessly with lots of padding instead of excitement. It's a definite B-movie rather than a film with anything remotely original to say.

I've only seen Adam West in one other western, the painfully boring "Outlaws is Coming," which he did with the three stooges. After seeing his performance in that one, I was kind of expecting another yawner, but this movie proves once again that the Italians really knew how to make em' right!

This film has great camera work, suspenseful fights, an awesome music score, and an excellent story that is actually kind of original for a spaghetti western. The acting is funny in a couple of parts, but that just adds to the charm. This is, after all, a spaghetti western. If you're expecting a Gary Cooper or John Wayne movie, then stay away from this one and leave it to those of us who appreciate and understand the appeal of the Italian westerns.

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

"The Relentless Four" in English. However I couldn't tell you by watching it who the "Four" are. It's great if you like lots of rocks, dirty cowboys, guns, sweat, deserts, sparse dialog, lame stunts and bad dubbing then this movie is for you. Adam West (TV Batman) is noticeably uncomfortable on a horse, shooting at bad guys or being tied up which happens a lot.

The only thing worse than the cinematography and dubbing is the plot and acting. The same townspeople who want to kill Batman for allegedly stealing some money will later thank him then give him a standing ovation as he rides out of town - this is a low budget spaghetti western, that you just can't pay enough for.

If you want a good laugh and aren't too serious about it this steaming pile of .... then it can be semi-entertaining. The last scene with the main bad guy being dragged by his horse is hilarious because his pant leg is empty and stretching as the horse gallops out of town towing him by the stirrup... the 'special' effects are funny.

* Thought: Why do all spaghetti western bad guys talk like they've smoked 9 packs of cigarettes and drank five bottles of whiskey everyday for 20 years? Whatever the reason this is a real stinker that goes beyond bad to the point that I'll watch it just to see what the director and writer will come up with next. Probably should be rated a 2 but it's comedic factor alone rates it a... 1.

Four greedy bounty hunters kill a rewarded man , Rex Calhoun (Jose Canalejas) who flees along with his brother Bobi (Jaime Blanch) but this one results to be innocent . When Texas Ranger Sam Garrett (Adam West) proves his innocence and thwarts the quartet of nasty bounty hunters (The title , ¨The relentless four¨ refers : Ralf Baldassarre , Howard Ross , Robert Hundar , Jose Jaspe) from collecting the loot , they seek revenge . Meanwhile , a cattle baron called Terry (Roberto Camardiel) arrives in a little town , he gets into a game of exciting poker with Garrett after he has paid off his drovers , and he loses money steadily until his obstinate spouse (Paola Barbara wife to director Primo Zeglio) shows up in the place and takes him back to the ranch . At the ranch , Garrett and the cattle baron keep on playing after everybody else has gone to bed . As the cut-throat gunslingers enter secretly and rob his six-gun , and murder the cattle baron (Roberto Camardiel) with it in cold blood . The daughter (Dina Loy) and wife awaken in time to watch the chief of the villains ride off on Sam's white horse and vest , so that they assume that Sam is the murderer . Later on , the Rural Agent Sam is accused of killing , and he is detained by the sheriff (Luis Induni) and corrupt deputy (Chris Huerta) . All of them frame him for the death of the cattle baron .

It is a thrilling western that packs a story full of violence with four maniacal man hunters , fights , killings and subsequent suspense , choreographic duels , good dramatic pace , plot twists and slick direction . It is a medium-budget spaghetti western contains an intriguing premise in which a Texas Ranger is accused of murder , imprisoned and condemned to death penalty , escaping to investigate and to discover true killers , including red herrings , and results to be moderately entertaining , though drags at times , balancing ups and downs . Agreeable Chorizo-Spaghetti Western mostly produced by Spain and important Italian participation , being rightly shot by the Italian professional Primo Zeglio ; it doesn't follows the Sergio Leone wake , and being proceeded in American style , resembling USA westerns from the forties and fifties . Acceptable action sequences with rousing crossfire and spectacularly bloody shootouts . Charismatic performance for whole casting . ¨The Relentless Four" was performed by Adam West of Batman series , who also acted in another Spaghetti titled ¨Outlaws is Coming¨. And also starred by Robert Hundar who played a lot of Spaghetti/Paella Westerns such as "Man and a Colt" , "Three Ruthless Ones" , ¨Sabata¨, ¨Dallas¨, ¨California¨, ¨Brandy¨ and especially ¨cut-throats nine¨ . There appears the habitual secondaries in Spanish/Italian Western such as Luis Induni , José Jaspe , Raf Baldassarre , John Bartha , Fernando Bilbao , Jaime Blanch , Cris Huerta , Roberto Camardiel , José Canalejas , Lorenzo Robledo , Francisco Sanz , among others . Enjoyable and attractive musical score by Marcello Giombini . Atmospheric cinematography by Miguel Fernández Mila , but a perfect remastering is necessary . Being shot on location in Manzanares Del Real , Colmenar Viejo , Madrid , and Almería where in the sixties and seventies were shot lots of Paella/Spaghetti Western .

Slickly produced by Ricardo Sanz who also produced other Westerns as "I'll Kill Him and Return Alone" , "God in Heaven.. Arizona on Earth" , "My Horse, My Gun, Your Widow" and "Awkward Hands" . The pic was written by two Spaghetti experts , Federico De Urrutia and Marcello Fondato ; being professionally directed by Primo Zeglio . Primo was married to Paola Barbara who usually plays his films in secondary roles . He was a good professional , a craftsman who wrote and directed all kind of genres as Adventure : "Seven Seas to Calais" , ¨Genoneva De Bravante¨ , "Revenge of the Pirates", "Son of the Red Corsair" ¨, ¨Captain Ghost¨, ¨Morgan the pirate¨ , Sci-Fi : "Mission Stardust" , Peplum : "I Am Semiramis" , ¨Nero and Messalina¨ , ¨Rosmunda e Alboino¨ and Spaghetti : "Texas Ranger" and ¨Winchester One of One Thousand¨ also titled ¨Winchester Justice¨. "The Relentless Four¨ is mainly for fans of spaghetti westerns .

Before gaining lasting iconic fame as the 60's Batman, Adam West starred in other things. One of those was this spaghetti western whose story is about a Texas ranger who is framed for a murder he did not commit by four corrupt bounty hunters who have a grudge against him.

The Relentless Four was an Italian western that came quite early in that cycle. This is part of the reason that it is pretty unlike most spaghetti westerns and in fact shows more of an influence of the traditional American western. This is partly due to its story-line whose hero is a lawman unfairly wronged, as opposed to the more usual anti-heroes who dominated the genre in later years. Consequently, it has much less of the cynicism and violence we normally see as well, although it admittedly does depict the townspeople as being very keen on lynching but that is about as transgressive as it gets. Ultimately, it is not a particularly great example of the genre but it is certainly a solid and entertaining enough entry. Its mostly interesting, though, as an example of one of the early entries in this celebrated Italian film cycle.