Chacun pour soi

Fair prospector named Sam Cooper (good lead from Van Heflin) in search of gold in West find treachery , suspicion and greed . Sam is a man who has struck a rich vain of gold. The problem is one man can't get enough out and back, he needs a partner. Circumstances conspire to land him with three. Sam calls his pupil who he raised as his son called Manolo Sanchez (George Hilton) who is accompanied by a rare person , a forth partner named Brent the Blonde (played by Werner Herzog's Best Fiend Klaus Kinski) . Old prospector Sam Cooper meet up with a grizzled gunslinger named Mason (Gilbert Roland), a man who holds a grudge against Sam believing he double crossed him some years earlier and decides to join with them in search of gold in the desert . They form a quartet of unlikely mining pals ; both of whom match wills and wits and fight outlaws , elements and ambition among them . Through enormous difficulties, they eventually succeed in finding gold, but also bandits , elements, and most especially greed threaten to turn their success into disaster . As they struggle among themselves to unearth a fortune in gold from a remote Southwestern mine without falling prey to each other's bullets.

Entertaining Spaghetti Western with shootouts , action ,violence and amusement . The story is similar to previous classic ¨The treasure of the Sierra Madre¨ but realized in Spaghetti style . The film contains action-Western , gun-play , fist-play and is pretty bemusing . Giorgio Capitani's spaghetti western, probably won't be making too many top ten lists, but its an agreeable flick . It's an exciting western that scrutinizes the greed and paranoia that afflicts a misfit group , including breathtaking showdown between protagonists and the enemies that stalk to them . The film blends violence , thrills , high body-count and it's fast moving and exciting . There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing shootouts or stunts every few minutes , including a spectacular final confrontation . Although by many to be director Giorgio Capitani's finest film , this is a tale of fear , greed and murder , as four partners fall out over the gold they have clawed out of the inhospitable and bandit-ridden deserts and mountains . It also has probably the most brutal bar fight ever put on film along with Treasure of the Sierra Madre by John Huston . Overrated by some reviewers , but till interesting to watch . It above all things mostly also remains a real characters movie, in which the four main roles are the essentials. Their dynamic together is also great and is what mostly keeps this movie going. They are three totally different characters, which is the foremost reason why they work out so great together on film. Van Heflin is superbly believable and gives a nice portrait of an increasingly unhinged prospector , Gilbert Roland is very good as a cunning gunfighter and the strange couple formed by George Hilton and Klaus Kinski are pretty well . The musician Carlo Rustichelli composes a vibrant soundtrack and well conducted by Bruno Nicolai ; including a catching leitmotif and considered to be one of the best . Atmospheric scenario with barren outdoors , dirty landscapes under sunny exteriors and a glimmer sun and fine sets with striking cinematography by Sergio D'Offizi . The picture resulted to be shot entirely on location in Almeria , Spain , where in the 60s and 70s had been shot innumerable Ravioli/Paella Westerns .

The motion picture was well directed by Giorgio Capitani . Giorgio is an expert on all of type of genres such as comedy : ¨Lobster for breakfast¨ (1982) , ¨I hate blondes¨ (1983) , ¨Sex Pot¨ (1975) , Musclemen tales : ¨Samson and his mighty challenge¨ or Western like this ¨Sam Cooper's gold¨ also titled ¨Each man for himself¨, Every man for himself¨ or ¨Each one for himself¨ . Rating : above average Spaghetti , superior Western that will appeal to aficionados .

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.

It's Brokeback Mountain - The Western!

Four strong leads all out for the same gold make this a Western worth tracking down. George Hilton has basically confirmed in an interview that he and Kinski are supposed to be gay lovers in this film too, which lends a unique angle to the film.

Van Helfin plays Sam Cooper, a gold prospector who, after searching for decades, finally finds gold out in the middle of nowhere and is immediately double-crossed by his partner. One dead partner and a blasted mine entrance later, Cooper heads across the endless landscape and finally makes it back into town, where he sends for surrogate son and ex-partner Georgel Hilton.

Hilton worked with Cooper for years but gave up the search to go off and do something else. Cooper reckons that Hilton is the only guy he can trust, and while having a sauna together (more homoeroticism here as they spot two semi-naked blonde gunslingers), Cooper bumps into another ex-partner, Gilbert Roland, who has a major chip on his shoulder with regards to Cooper.

Stranger still is the blonde, milk drinking preacher who has started hanging around the place, staring at Hilton. It turns out that Hilton and Kinski have some sort of relationship but judging by the body language it's an intimate one, and not a fair balanced one as Hilton seems to be Kinski's 'b*tch'. Cooper isn't too happy to have this weirdo come along with him, but Hilton tells him a third pair of hands is better than two. Cooper then hires Gilbert to watch his back, saying that four pairs of hands are better than three. I'm detecting some trust issues here...

While basically a film where four guy stare at each other mistrustingly, the film is fascinating due to the actors involved. Van Heflin literally looks like someone's hung him to dry in the sun for several months, while Gilbert Roland alternates between being immaculately turned out to shivering with Malaria tremors, and gives us a little dance right before a gunfight that wouldn't be out of place in a Tarantino film! Kinski keeps himself restrained and that's what gives his character so much menace. He uses those crazy guy to glare at everyone without expression, but you know there's murderous thoughts going on in there. His understated, hinted relationship with Hilton just adds another layer to this outstanding film.

Nice cinematography too. I hadn't heard of this one until last week. How many other gems are out there?

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.

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.