Kill Them All and Come Back Alone (1968)

Chuck Connors plays Clyde MacKay, a Confederate soldier who has rounded up a gang of five ruffians and specialists to go on a mission for the the South.

That mission: Rob the gold hidden in cases of dynamite in a Union stronghold at Todo Santos.

MacKay’s to tell no one that his orders come from Gen. Hood. If caught, he’s a thief, not a soldier,

Oh, MacKay has another, special instruction: Return alone. The fewer witnesses to this thievery the better.

Capt. Lynch (Frank Wolff) goes along for the ride, and the little gang overcomes huge odds to grab and gold and escape the Union camp unscathed.

Only instead of killing his colleagues, Ma Kay leaves them behind, fleeing in a gold-laden wagon.

They catch up with him at a river crossing. But so does the Union army.

Now that just might complicate matters.

Review:

If you like your Spaghetti Westerns full of action and little else, this film is for you.

Director Enzo G. Castellari serves up one action scene after another, several on pretty grand scales in this tale of “The Dirty Dozen” gone West.

Clyde MacKay’s small band includes a dynamite expert, a knife expert, a strong man, a guman and a baby-faced killer, the latter known as “The Kid,” of course.

Ah, but if you like some plot and character development mixed with your action — or even the sight of a lovely lady or two — look elsewhere.

This is a film with a razor-thin plot, other than a couple of double crosses, which is exactly what you’d expect with $1 million at stake.

The problem with that is you’re going to be very hard pressed to care who lives or who dies.

By the end, you might conclude the best thing about the film is Francesco de Masi’s rousing score and title song.

Directed by:
Enzo G. Castellari

Cast:
Chuck Connors … Clyde Mac Kay
Frank Wolff … Capt. Lynch
Franco Citti … Hoagy
Leo Anchoriz … Deker
Giovanni Cianfriglia … Blade
as Ken Wood
Alberto dell’Acqua … Kid
as Robert Widmark
Hercules Cortes … Bogard
Furio Meniconi … Buddy
as Men Fury

Also with: Antonio Molino Rojo, Alfonso Rojas, Ugo Adinolfi, John Bartha, Osiride Pevarello, Giancarlo Bastianoni

aka:
Ammazzali tutti e torna solo
Go Kill Everybody and Come Back Alone

Score:
Francesco de Masi
Song: “Gold” sung by Raoul

Memorable lines::

Clyde to Lynch: “You know, captain, as a southerner, you made me sick.”
Lynch: “Thank you.”
Clyde: “But as a northerner, you make me vomit.”

Gen. Hood to MacKay: “That boy. What’s he doing with you?”
MacKay: “That boy as you call him, general, is kid. He moves like a monkey, and he’s almost as bright. He’s got one virtue: He’s a pure killer.”

Gen. Hood: “Remember, the Confederate Army has never assigned you to this mission.”
MacKay: “You mean, officially, I’m the only thief.”

Cap. Lynch: “You know, Clyde, uniform don’t make any difference. I’ve had many. It’s money that matters.”

Trivia:

Chuck Connors stood 6-foot-5 and played basketball for the Boston Celtics and baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Chicago Cubs before making his screen debut in the Tracy Hepburn film “Pat and Mike” (1952) as a police captain. He devoted himself to acting from that point on and gained famed as TV’s The Rifleman, which debuted in 1958.

Connors only other true Spaghetti Western was 1972’s “Pancho Villa,” which also featured Telly Savalas, Clint Walker and Anne Francis. He appeared in other films with clear Spaghetti influences, including “The Deserter” and “The Proud and the Damned.”

Hercules Cortes, who plays Bogard, was the world wrestling champion in 1962, the world heavyweight champion in 1965 and won the world heavyweight tag team championship with Red Bastien in 1971. Six weeks later, he was killed in a car accident in Minnesota, where he and his family lived. He was 39.