Half Way to Hell (1960)

Caroll Montour is Maria San Carlos, a Mexican senorita fleeing a promise of marriage to a revolutionary named Escobar.

Once upon a time, Escobar (Lyle Felice) was a wealthy landowner. But dictator Porfirio Díaz has seized his family’s land and that of many other families.

Now, Maria views Escobar as a vicious rebel, willing to rob and pillage with his gang of ruffians, all in the name of a revolution.

So she sets out through northern Mexico to the U.S. in search of freedom, accompanied by a friend named Joanne (Shirley Teague) and a small band of guards.

Those guards prove no match for an outlaw Wesson and his gang, They’ve been hired by Escobar to bring back his estranged fiancée.

Maria has two hopes for escape. Escobar’s younger brother Manuel has fallen in love with her. And a cowboy miner named Jeff Lawton feels a debt of gratitude to Maria and her friend, who once refused to leave him stranded in the desert.

Caroll Montour as Maria San Carlos, finding new hope in life in Half Way to Hell (1960)

Lyle Felice as Escobar, the revolutionary leader who wants Maria for his own in Half Way to Hell (1960)

Review:

According to IMDb, this film was considered lost until 2019, when a badly deteriorated 35mm print was discovered during work on a documentary about co-director Al Adamson’s death.

It could have stayed lost, because it’s a bland Mexican revolution film filled with second-rate performances.

That’s especially true of female lead Caroll Montour, whose character narrates the tale. This was her only screen credit.

Even the action scenes are unconvincing, which is a shame because the plot includes two duels with whips and a fistfight atop a hazardous cliff.

The documentary that led to this film’s rediscovery is titled: “Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life and Ghastly Death of Al Adamson.”

Adamson was murdered in 1995 at age 65 by a live-in contractor who then buried his body beneath the floor of Adamson’s bathroom.

Adamson directed two other Westerns, “Five Bloody Graves” (1969) and “Jessie’s Girls” (1975).

David Lloyd as Jeff Lawton, the cowboy who comes to the women’s rescue in Half Way to Hell (1960)

Caroll Montour as Maria San Carlos and Shirley Tegge as Joanne, watching a duel with whips in Half Way to Hell (1960)

Directed by:
Victor Adamson and Al Adamson

Cast:
Lyle Felice … Escobar
Caroll Montour … Maria San Carlos
Sergio Virel … Manuel
Shirley Tegge … Joanne
David Lloyd … Jeff Lawton
Don Carlos … El Chato
Gene Sterling … Wesson
Al Adamson … Slade
as Rick Adams
Monte Joe Oyler … Blackie
Gene Walker … Diego
Jone Lane … Driver
Alfred Shelly … Guard
Bob Regas … Guard

Runtime: 75 min.

Sergio Virel as Manuel, the young man who has fallen for Maria in Half Way to Hell (1960)

Gang members Slade (left, Al Adamson) and Wesson (Gene Sterling) in a disagreement with El Chato (Don Carlos) as Joanne (Shirley Tegge) looks on in Half Way to Hell (1960)

Memorable lines:

Wesson to Escobar: “The prize is safe, senor. There were difficuties, yes. Many of them. It was a hard trip. But the merchandise is safe. Perhaps a little dusty and saddle worn. ”
Escobar: “If you refer to the young lady, Mr. Wesson, please, refer to her by name. Otherwise, you will confuse us both.”

Maria: “You think you talk of love to me? You think this is love? This is a bargain, a business arrangement. I am to make you happy now, and a gentleman later. And in return, you will see that I live as a fine lady. You speak of compromise. This is the worst kind of compromise. I will not be part of it. Or your fine lady.”

Escobar: “You know, I never thought I’d see it. But now, even for me, our cause is more important than my own selfishness.”

Don Carlos as El Chato, Escobar’s right-hand man in Half Way to Hell (1960)

Caroll Montour as Maria San Carlos and Shirley Tegge as Joanne, friends bound for the security of the United States in Half Way to Hell (1960)