The Righteous and the Wicked (2010)

Craig Myers is Hoss Williams, the last remaining member of the West Mountain Boys outlaw gang.

He might only be worth $60 dead or alive, but he’s planning a big job — the heist of a mine payroll worth at least $7,000.

To help pull it off, he’s relying on a crooked mine guard named Peter Mason, a crooked deputy named Leonard Cross and a crooked locksmith named Hermann Wenkel.

And then there are the two cowpokes who hate one another — Lionel Gage and Joe Vargas. They’re supposed to distract everyone in town by getting into a mock gunfight while the mine office is being robbed.

With Cross as part of the gang, Hoss figures he won’t have to worry about being tracked down by the law.

What no one counts on is the mysterious, shovel toting stranger, who seems intent on tracking down and killing every member of that old West Mountain Boys gang.

Craig Myers as Hoss Williams, leader of a gang planning to steal a mining payroll in The Righteous and the Wicked (2010)

Jeremy Owen as Leonard Cross, watching Vargas and Gage in what’s supposed to be a mock shootout in The Righteous and the Wicked (2010)

Review

Done Spaghetti Western style with a great opening scene as we’re introduced to Marion, the mysterious gunman, played by Justin Tade. This is a character straight out of Spaghetti, decked out mostly in black, looking a little like a preacher, carrying a shovel to bury the men he kills.

Unfortunately, the director and cast can’t maintain that sense of style for the entire length of the 90-minute film. But there are enough twists and good moments to make it worth watching once, and to make it stand out above many of the on-the-cheap independent Westerns made these days.

Particularly effective in addition to Tade are Billy Garberina as the cowboy who bedded and impregnated Vargas’ daughter and Alexander Thome as the bank expert from the East eager to get his loot and return before anyone suspects he’s turned outlaw to make a quick buck.

But, alas, there are some groan-worthy moments. The gang decides that no one should know the mine guard is in on the job. But the next thing you know, he’s holding a gun during the robbery.

Phil Duran as Joe Vargas, ready to defend his daughter’s honor in The Righteous and the Wicked (2010)

Crystal Thomas as Mireya Vargas, the daughter with a child born out of wedlock in The Righteous and the Wicked (2010)

Directed by:
Craig A. Butler

Cast:
Craig Myers … Hoss Williams
Billy Garberina … Lionel Gage
Jeremy Owen … Leonard Cross
Phil Duran … Joe Vargas
Alexander Thorne … Hermann Wenkel
A.J. Rome … Peter Mason
Justin Tade .. Marion
Allan Edger … Sheriff
Crystal Thomas .. Mireya Vargas
Dusty Webb … Bill Hobbs

Runtime: 96 min.

Billy Garberina as Lionel Gage, ready for a showdown with the man whose daughter he soiled in The Righteous and the Wicked (2010)

Justin Tade as Marion, a bounty hunter ready to dispense justice with his guns and shovel in The Righteous and the Wicked (2010)

Memorable lines:

Hoss Williams, remembering a former colleague: “Sometimes he’d get this funny look in his eyes. Like the human part of him had gone away. Never knew what damn thing he’d do then.”

Joe Vargas, calling out Gage: “Come on, you cowardly son of a pox-ridden whore. Dying like a pig is all you deserve.”

Alexander Thorne as Hermann Wenkel, the man Hoss hires to crack the payroll safe in The Righteous and the Wicked (2010)

A.J. Rome as Peter Mason, the payroll guard who helps plan the heist in The Righteous and the Wicked (2010)

Allan Edger as a sheriff looking to hire deputies and winding up with a member of an outlaw gang in The Righteous and the Wicked (2010)

Craig Myers as Hoss Williams, losing his patience during the payroll heist in The Righteous and the Wicked (2010)