Don Carlos (Telly Savalas), the bandit ruler, calls the town Bastardo, and it’s certainly got its share of problems. The peasants are poor and starving. Don Carlos robs everyone who stops by. Most strangers wind up in the cemetery.
The one man Don Carlos can’t control is the priest (Robert Shaw), though he can summon him to perform a funeral for his latest victim by ringing the church bell with a gunshot.
Into this little corner of hell arrives a lovely young woman (Stella Stevens) and her supposedly mute friend. She’s looking for Aguilar, the killer of her husband, once a leader of the Mexican revolution. And she’s willing to pay $20,000 to the person who turns him over to her.
That’s too much temptation for Don Carlos, who decides she just might part with the money in return for safe passage out of Bastardo, if threatened enough. And when the Mexican army arrives, it’s too much temptation for the colonel (Martin Landau), who decides he’ll hang peasants until someone, perhaps the reluctant priest, turns over Aguilar.
Review:
Certainly bizarre enough to grab your attention. And you’d better pay close attention, otherwise you’ll have trouble following along, though an extended flashback sequence helps immensely.
Stevens arrives in Bsstardo riding in a hearse; she sometimes sleeps in the coffin inside. But Shaw has the most interesting role, that of a former revolutionary who once shot up the very church he now inhabits.
He spends much of his time trying to mend that church, patching bullet holes and doing his best to avoid the violence that surrounds him.
Robert Shaw as The Priest in A Town Called Hell (1971)
Telly Savalas as Don Carlos in A Town Called Hell (1971)
Directed by:
Robert Parrish
Cast:
Telly Savalas … Don Carlos
Robert Shaw … The Priest
Stella Stevens … Alvira
Fernando Rey … Blind man
Michael Craig … Paco
Martin Landau … The Colonel
Al Lettieri … La Bomba
Aldo Sambrell … Spectre
Dudley Sutton … Alvira’s driver
Paloma Cella … Paloma
aka:
Una citta chiamata bastarda
A Town Called Bastard
Score: Waldo de los Rio
Runtime: 94 min.
Stella Stevens as Alvira in A Town Called Hell (1971)
Dudley Sutton as Alvira’s Driver in A Town Called Hell (1971)
Memorable lines:
Alvira: “The devil always wants to play God.”
The Priest: “The devil has the largest congregation.”
Colonel: “So, you’re trying to crawl back to God?”
The Priest: “I would, if I knew where to find him.”
Colonel to The Priest: “I have no sentiment, old friend. I have squeezed the last rebel dust from my very bones. So don’t count on the good old times, because they were mean and rotten. And I was poor then, old friend. These are the good times. And I am rich.”
Martin Landau as The Colonel in A Town Called Hell (1971)
Michael Craig as Paco in A Town Called Hell (1971)
Trivia:
This was one of the last films directed by Robert Parrish. His other efforts include a pair of 1950s Westerns, “The Wonderful Country” starring Robert Mitchum and the superb “Saddle in the Wind,” starring Robert Taylor.
Stella Stevens was married at 15, a mother at 16 and divorced at 17 and was “discovered” modeling in a department store in Memphis, Tenn. She would later model for Playboy, becoming Playmate of the month in January 1960.
Al Lettieri as La Bomba in A Town Called Hell (1971)
Fernando Rey as The Blind Man in A Town Called Hell (1971)
Paloma Cela as Paloma in A Town Called Hell (1971)
Stella Stevens as Alvira in A Town Called Hell (1971)
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