Biyograficim
Bad Man's River

Bad Man's River

Movie · 1971 · 3 people

Comedy and Spaghetti Western meet in Bad Man's River, made in 1971 under the direction of Eugenio Martín. An Italian, Spanish and French co-production shot in English, it runs about 100 minutes. Mixing the Western tradition with comedy, it puts Lee Van Cleef, James Mason and Gina Lollobrigida in the same cast.

Alongside those three, the cast includes Sergio Fantoni, Simón Andreu, Diana Lorys, Gianni Garko, Aldo Sambrell, Jess Hahn, Eduardo Fajardo, José Manuel Martín, Dan van Husen and Claudia Gravy; Lone Fleming, the director's wife at the time, also appears. Martín wrote the screenplay with Philip Yordan. The score is credited to Tony Duhig, Jon Field, Glyn Havard and Waldo de los Ríos.

The film travelled under several titles: El hombre de Río Malo in Spain, Les Quatre Mercenaires d'El Paso in France, Matalo in Germany and E continuavano a fregarsi il milione di dollari in Italy, roughly “and they kept on swiping the million dollars”. It had its German premiere on 3 December 1971. Despite the star-heavy cast, it drew poor reviews and disappointed at the box office, and many critics count it among the weakest films of the genre.

DirectorEugenio Martín

Reactions

You can pick up to 3 reactions.

Cast

Only cast members with a profile on this site are listed.

Aldo Sambrell Aldo Sambrell Film actor · died at 79 Jess Hahn Jess Hahn Actor · died at 76 Claudia Gravy Claudia Gravy Actor · 81 years old

Titles sharing this cast

More from this director

Through different eyes

Action & Thriller Fan Puts pace, tension and set pieces first; little patience for slow drama.

Lee Van Cleef, James Mason and Gina Lollobrigida in one Western: a great line-up on paper. But the film leans on comedy more than tension, and over about 100 minutes the pace never quite settles. Its Italian title, roughly "and they kept on swiping the million dollars", is more fun than the film itself. It is easy to see why critics were harsh. Fans hunting for the tough side of the genre will not find it here.

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Bad Man's River shows that a big star cast cannot carry a film on its own. Eugenio Martín and Philip Yordan's script sets out to blend the Western tradition with comedy, but struggles to build a narrative spine that could hold the two tones together. Lee Van Cleef's hard screen presence, James Mason's refined acting and Gina Lollobrigida's star glow share the same cast list, yet these energies never seem to find a common rhythm. The way the film travelled under completely different titles from country to country is a small sign of how unclear its identity remained. Critics who rank it among the genre's weak links are not being unfair. Still, it is an instructive case for anyone curious about the international co-production model of its day.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

It mixes Western and comedy, so it was made to entertain rather than to be a serious drama. Being a Western, though, it is wise to expect guns and fights; take a look before watching with small children. At about 100 minutes it is not too long. Critics did not like it much, so keep expectations low. Grandparents who love the old stars may still enjoy it.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

Reviews (0)

Log in Log in to write a review.

Comments