Les Tueurs de l'Ouest

¨The ugly ones¨ is a terrific example of the spaghetti western genre from Spain. Offbeat Paella-Spaghetti Western co-produced between Spain and Italy . The band ( Tito Garcia, Hugo Blanco) of a nasty Mexican frees Jose Gomez ( the Cuban Tomas Milian ); he and his bandits trespass the frontier and occupy a village .Escaped Jose Gomez goes back to his home town chased by a bounty killer . The towns people protect Gomez, unaware, at first, that he is changed and become an evil gunfighter . Our hero named Luke Chilson (Richard Wyler) is a bounty hunter riding on a robust horse and hunting outlaws . Gomez returns his ranch and seeks vengeance against Luke , while his hoodlums kill , mistreat countrymen . Meantime his former girlfriend (the Eurobabe Zalowska)double-crosses his friend .

It's an exciting western with breathtaking gun-play between the protagonist Richard Wyler against the heartless Tomas Milian and his hoodlums . Milian is fine, he ravages the screen, shoots, hit and run and kills . In the film premiere attained quite success and nowadays is well valued and I think it turns out to be a good Spaghetti Western. This movie is a lot of fun to watch. It's a fascinating story with a touch of peculiarity, some great characters, and an amazing music score.The picture also titled ¨The bounty killer¨is a tale of justice and revenge, as a man returns home to his village after his breakout and mistreats the townspeople . The basic plot is typical spaghetti western fare, but what makes this movie stand out is its style. Richard Wyler's performance in the movie is a bit wooden for the role of such an interesting character, but the fantastic performance by the always great Tomas Milian as the slimy, menacing outlaw and gang leader Gomez, make up for it. Appears as secondaries the habitual in Spanish/Italian Western such as Jose Canalejas , Luis Barboo, Ricardo Palacios , Mario Brega and Frank Braña , usual in Leone films. Special mention to Tito Garcia in his ordinary role as fatty Mexican bandit and in a cruelly baddie role , he is terrific, and bears a hysterical and mocking aspect , subsequently he would play similar characters .

The film packs violence , shootouts , high body-count and it's fast moving and quite entertaining . There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing some shoot'em up or stunts every few minutes. There is a very odd implementation of zoom shots in the camera work during some particular scenes as the film approaches its climax. Rather than the usual sustained, intensity-building close-ups that Sergio Leone was so fond of, the filmmaker here uses a rapidly zooming in and out camera for a more unsettling effect. The movie gets the usual Western issues, such as avengers antiheroes , violent facing off , quick zooms, exaggerated baddies, soundtrack with Morricone influence , among them . Good production design creating an excellent scenario with luminous outdoors, dirty and rocky landscapes under a glimmer sun and a fine set on the manor . The musician Stelvio Cipriani composes a nice soundtrack and well conducted , this turns out to be one of the most memorable parts of the movie; as it's full of strange sounds and haunting musical background . The opening theme is one of my favorites, and is one of those unforgettable tunes that will play in your mind over and over long after the movie is realized. The soundtrack contributes tremendously to the atmosphere of the film, including an emotive leitmotif, the music score is perhaps the best part of this film . Striking cinematography by Enzo Barboni , ¨Trinity and Bambino¨ films director though is necessary a correct remastering . Outdoor sequences with barren exteriors filmed in Spanish places located on desert of Tabernas , Almeria . This motion picture produced by Jose G Maesso (Gringo , Django, Tarantos) is professionally directed by Eugenio Martin and won prizes conceded by Spanish Spectacle Syndicate. Martin is a horror movies expert ( Hypnosis, A candle for the devil , The fourth Mrs Anderson ) and Spaghetti Western ( Requiem, for a gringo , Pancho Villa , The ugly ones , Bad man's river ). Rating : Acceptable and passable Spaghetti Western , well worth watching .

"The Ugly Ones" 1966 1h 35m Original title: El precio de un hombre AKA The Bounty Killer

This is a paella AND a spaghetti western. It was filmed in Spain, produced by Italians, and came in both Spanish and Italian, originally. It was released in the U. S. in 1968. The story is pretty good, but the cinematrography is lacking. The directing stinks. The photography is bad. The camera shots and setups are horrible. And the music is downright annoying in parts. Thomas Milian as the bad guy, Jose, is terrible. Richard Stapley as Luke, the bounty hunter, is actually pretty good and a likeable man. Halina Zalewska as Eden is acceptable, but mediocre.

The plot is shockingly cookie cutter and worn out.

The Bushwacker 12/26/2021.

(1968) The Bounty Killer/ El precio de un hombre / The Ugly Ones DUBBED SPAGHETTI WESTERN

A very blatant beginning, but resonating after awhile. And I guess back on those days, 'aid and abetting' and 'accessory' wasn't considered a crime back then- not on this environment at least. Based on a novel written by Marvin H. Albert of the same name. Starring Richard Wyler as #1 Bounty Killer, Luke Chilson, who at first, is going after two escaped convicts with one of them escaping into a particular little town of a few houses, to give a lady named Eden(Halina Zalewska) a certain message. When it's all said and done, and by the time Luke shows up and leaves this town, he ends up killing one person, while capturing the other. The film then jumps to another felon, by the name of José Gómez (Tomas Milian) with several guards escorting him by wagon coach. And they coincidently stop at the same inn as Eve happens to be eating. Eve who's sitting right across from José then hands him a gun underneath a table, and then leaves. Chaos ensures with many people killed including the inn keeper. After bounty hunter Luke collects his reward from another town, he then hears about José's escape, and already knows where he's heading to without informing authorities about where José is going to show up. By the time he goes back to the small little town, it appears they don't like Luke at all and feel that they know José more than Luke does. But, by the time José shows up, it appears that he's just psychopathic as other people claim him to be, and that the people who were helping him were completely wrong. Much of this movie dwells on this set up. As I was watching this, the hero, Luke reminds me of "The Man With No Name' character created by Sergio Leone, since viewers no absolutely nothing about him except for what does for a living which is that he captures or kills wanted felons for a substantial reward. Had Leone gotten his hands of this script, it would've been an instant ingenious classic, but what we're left with instead is just an interesting premise with a not so interesting action sequences that could've been better.

Eugenio Martin's THE BOUNTY KILLER is another of those really impressive & highly professionally made overlooked Italian spaghetti western classics. Regardless of genre this is a highly entertaining film, imaginatively staged & filmed with stylistic flourish by "Trinity" creator Enzo Barboni. Based on the western pulp novel of the same name by Marvin H. Albert and boasting a robust Stelvio Cipriani musical score, the film has an authority to it's execution that belies the low budget origins of the production.

All of this realized by a first rate cast: Thomas Milian steals the show as a suave killer who devolves into a chattering psychopath after he & his gang of grubby unwashed cut-throats take over his former home village (which due to budget restraints is populated by all of six people, but never mind). The performance is measured against Richard Wyler's grim, laconic bounty hunter, determined to bring in Milian for bounty dead or alive. Frequent Margheriti actress Halina Zalewska with her glittering blue eyes plays the woman who is both the key to Milian's wanton freedom and his eventual demise. Mario "Mr. Fun" Brega plays the beefy lummox town blacksmith who makes a mistake by helping to free Milian and very quickly comes to regret it, with colorful supporting bit parts for familiar faces like Frank Braña, Luis Barboo, José Canalejas, Enzo Fiermonte, and paunchy Ricardo Canales who is never seen without a plate of stew.

Thomas Milian's performance is the key to the movie's success, specifically contrasted with Wyler's far more subdued good guy. By making Milian's character more likable and romantic in nature the audience is almost sucker punched into rooting for him, until the evil fabric of his character becomes apparent. Some of his schtick gets a bit tiresome towards the end -- he spends a lot of time murmuring what seem to be significant lines just below the audio threshold level -- but it is the first of countless tour-de-force performances by Milian. He's always a fascinating actor with a "love it or hate it" style, and I like to divide his career into a Pre-Funny Hat and Post-Funny Hat eras. This might be his best Pre-Funny Hat acting, though it's hard to beat THE BIG GUNDOWN.

Another interesting aspect of the movie is Halina Zelewska's role which never degrades her into a sex object. Yes she is undeniably attractive and costumed in a manner that enhances her overlooked cleavage, but she is an equal with the boys in this one and it's refreshing to see a spaghetti western heroine who isn't just a cheap lay for the lead actor. Her role is complex and laden with a duality that causes her character conflict: Does she side with the suave bandit or the cold bounty killer? Her decisions are the most important moments of the film, a significance rarely seen among western damsels from either side of the Atlantic.

Why has this film been so overlooked? Not only will western fans who scoff at spaghetti westerns find it interesting, but non-fans of the western genre will doubtlessly be drawn to the plotting and characterizations. The gunplay and bravado are just gravy on top of a wonderful concoction.

8/10

The film stars Richard Wyler as a 'bounty killer'--a term I can't recall having ever heard except in Italian westerns (the correct American term is 'bounty hunter'). He's looking for José Gómez (Tomas Milian)--a guy who has escaped thanks, in part, to assistance from his girlfriend (Zalewska). She believes he's an innocent man and does not realize he's really a two-bit murderer.

Having seen a lot of Italian westerns, I find a certain sameness to many of them. Sure, the plots are a bit different--but not remarkably so. It's not a bad western but it also doesn't stand out in any particular way. The music is nice, the action decent and the story reasonably interesting. But, on the other hand there is a certain 'sameness' to the film--as if I'd seen a lot of other films like it. Plus, although Halina Zalewska is absolutely gorgeous in the film, she looks right out of 1967--with lipstick, hair and makeup that you'd never have found on a woman of the late 19th century. Also, while I don't want to see gallons of blood, this was an odd film because you see absolutely none--and this made little sense. Nor, now that I think of it, did the escape--as there is no way all these federal agents could be killed without the bad guys (who were outnumbered) even losing a single man.