Macho Killers (1977)

Carlos Monzon plays El Macho, a gambler who just happens to look amazingly like a bandit named Buzzard, found dead during a stage holdup.

So the banker and law in a nearby town come up with a clever idea: Have El Macho pretend to be Buzzard, infiltrate “The Duke’s” gang and recover the stolen loot.

El Macho is reluctant until he hears the rest of their offer: He’ll walk away with a cool $10,000, a handsome reward for a man who cheats fellow card players for a living.

Of course, fooling everyone into believing he’s Buzzard won’t be easy. Girlfriend Helen (Melisa Longo) picks up after one night in bed with El Macho.

He supposes he did something wrong. Nope, she replies, he did about 100 things right. She agrees to guide him to The Duke’s hideout, for a share of the reward, of course.

But the biggest problem for El Macho is that Buzzard — often called Worm or Snake — was a mild-mannered, bullied man who never got angry or retaliated regardless of how badly he was treated by The Duke’s gang members.

El Macho is considerably more hot-tempered. It’s only a matter of time before he strikes back. And realizes that this quest to recover the gold isn’t all it seems.

Carlos Monzon as ‘El Macho in Macho Killers (1977)

George Hilton as ‘The Duke’ in Macho Killers (1977)

Review:

This film came late in the Spaghetti game. Unfortunately, it comes off like a tired rehash of many films that came before it.

Argentine boxing champ Carlos Monzon brings some charisma to the role, and he shares the screen with a pair of fetching ladies, Melisa Longo, who plays the girlfriend, and Susanna Giminez, who plays Duke’s girl.

Susanna’s after the gold too, or at least a share of it. And she’s willing to offer up her feminine charms to get El Macho to play along.

Having seen one man strung up with his eyes poked out for just looking at her, El Macho’s a bit reluctant. Which causes him problems when Susanna cries rape.

Hilton’s role is secondary in nature, and a bit confused. He’s something of a dandy. He doesn’t come off as particularly smart. Or the kind of man dozens of bandits would follow. Particularly when he’s prone to gun down his own men in a fit of rage.

Melisa Longo as Helen in Macho Killer (1977)

Susanna Giminez as Susanna in Macho Killers (1977)

Directed by:
Marcello Andrei

Cast:
Carlos Monzon … Kid “El Macho” / Buzzard
George Hilton … “The Duke” Hidalgo
Melisa Longo … Helen
Susanna Giminez … Susanna
Giuseppe Castellano … Ross
Benito Stefanelli … Sheriff
Bruno di Luia … Gunner
Gilberto Galimberti … Deputy
Vittorio Fanfoni … Angel
Enzo Maggio … Sam

Other credited cast: Maria Marselli, Attilio Severini, Michele Brance, Lorenzo Bruni, Alfonsina Cotungo, Giuseppina Grimaudo, Bruno Arie, Sergio Serafini, Calisto Calisti

Runtime: 107 min.

aka
El Macho

Music: Marcello Ramoino
Song: “El Macho” sung by Sammy Bardot

Bruno di Luia as Gunner in Macho Killers (1977)

Giuseppe Catellano as Ross in Macho Killers (1977)

Memorable lines:

Posse: “This here was the Buzzard, sheriff. He got his feathers plucked.”

Card player: “You’re luck is no lady, Macho. She’s a two-bit whore, and I don’t like it!”

Helen: “You were gone more than three whole hours.”
Buzzard: “We had to wait to make sure the drug took effect.”
Helen, jealous of Susanna: “And while you waited, you recited verses out of the Bible?”

Carlos Monzon as ‘El Macho’ in Macho Killers (1977)

Carlos Monzon as ‘El Macho’ with Melisa Longo as Helen in Macho Killers (1977)

Trivia:

* At a slender 6-foot-2, Monzon became known as one of the greatest middleweights in boxing history. He won the world middleweight crown with a win over Italy’s Nino Benvenuti in November 1970 and went on to successfully defend that title 14 times, retiring from boxing in 1977 still the champ with a career record of 87-3-9.

* Boxing turned Monzon into a jet-setting celebrity. He was romantically linked with Susana Gimenez, his Argentine co-star in this film, who was reportedly a repeated victim of domestic violence at his hands. As of 2018, she was still an active actress on TV in Argentina.

* In 1989, Monzon was found guilty of homicide in the death of another lover, the mother of one of his five children. He reportedly strangled her and threw off a balcony during a domestic dispute. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison, but died in a car accident while on a January 1995 weekend furlough from prison. He was 52 at the time.