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Bad Man's River

Bad Man's River

Movie · 1971 · 3 people

Comedy and Spaghetti Western meet in Bad Man's River, made in 1971 under the direction of Eugenio Martín. It is an Italian, Spanish and French co-production. Mixing the Western tradition with comedy, it puts Lee Van Cleef, James Mason and Gina Lollobrigida in the same cast.

Alongside those three, the cast includes Sergio Fantoni, Simón Andreu, Diana Lorys, Gianni Garko, Aldo Sambrell, Jess Hahn, Eduardo Fajardo, José Manuel Martín, Dan van Husen and Claudia Gravy; Lone Fleming, the director's wife at the time, also appears. Martín wrote the screenplay with Philip Yordan. The score is credited to Tony Duhig, Jon Field, Glyn Havard and Waldo de los Ríos.

The film traveled under several titles: El hombre de Río Malo in Spain, Les Quatre Mercenaires d'El Paso in France and E continuavano a fregarsi il milione di dollari in Italy, roughly “and they kept on swiping the million dollars”. Despite the star-heavy cast, it drew poor reviews and disappointed at the box office, and many critics count it among the weakest films of the genre.

DirectorEugenio Martín

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Cast

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Also in the cast: Lee Van Cleef, James Mason, Gina Lollobrigida, Sergio Fantoni, Simón Andreu, Diana Lorys (Dolores), Gianni Garko, Eduardo Fajardo, José Manuel Martín, Dan van Husen, Lone Fleming (Conchita)

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Through different eyes

AI-assisted editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives. They are not reader reviews; those are below.

Action & Thriller Fan Puts pace, tension and set pieces first; little patience for slow drama.

Lee Van Cleef, James Mason and Gina Lollobrigida in one Western: the cast alone promises a lot. But the film leans on comedy more than tension, and the pace never quite settles. Its Italian title, roughly "and they kept on swiping the million dollars", is more fun than the film itself. It is easy to see why critics were harsh. Fans hunting for the tough side of the genre will not find it here.

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Bad Man's River shows that a big star cast cannot carry a film on its own. Eugenio Martín and Philip Yordan's script sets out to blend the Western tradition with comedy, but struggles to build a narrative spine that could hold the two tones together. Lee Van Cleef's hard screen presence, James Mason's refined acting and Gina Lollobrigida's star glow share the same cast list, yet these energies never seem to find a common rhythm. The way the film traveled under completely different titles from country to country is a small sign of how unclear its identity remained. Critics who rank it among the genre's weak links are not being unfair. It is an instructive case for anyone curious about the international co-production model of its day.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humor and heart.

It mixes Western and comedy, so it was made to entertain rather than to be a serious drama. Being a Western, though, it is wise to expect guns and fights; take a look before watching with small children. It is not too long either. Critics did not like it much, so keep expectations low. Grandparents who love the old stars may still enjoy it.

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