The Ugly Ones

1966 "For a bullet spent and a dollar earned he was the best in the business!"
6.3| 1h35m| en| More Info
Released: 01 September 1968 Released
Producted By: United Artists
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Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

Escaped outlaw Jose Gomez returns to his home town pursued by bounty killer Luke Chilson. The towns people protect Gomez, unaware, at first, that he is now a changed and dangerous man.

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Reviews

Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.
Joanna Mccarty Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.
Usamah Harvey The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Sabah Hensley This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama
FightingWesterner Using a pistol slipped to him by his sweetheart, bandit Tomas Milian escapes an armed transport before encountering hard-as-nails bounty hunter Richard Wyler in what's left of his nearly deserted hometown, where the people are squarely on his side.Although there's nothing much new here, there is a hard edge and a dead-serious nature to the proceedings that help make it enjoyable, along with Milian, who gives one of his typically offbeat performances, playing it cool and crazy! I wish I had a nickel for every time he basically played the same guy. Unfortunately though, Wyler is no match in the acting department and appears a little stiff.In an interesting reversal of what you normally see in western films, the town of basically law abiding people (including spaghetti western star Mario Brega) welcomes the villain and actively aids him against the hero!
ironhorse_iv It's doesn't stand out as much as the other Spaghetti Westerns movies, I have watch. Its story doesn't seem that interesting at first glance, but it is, once you get into it. It's just would be better told in a more enhanced writer's hands. Remind me of 1957's 3:10 to Yuma or Anthony Mann's 1953's The Naked Spur with its story. Though based on the western pulp novel by American Marvin Albert call 'Bounty Hunter', this movie follows the same basic patterns as other Italian flicks with the whole resurrection & insurrection plot line. That's if you can find this rare movie. It's badly damaged or cut by the years. Some versions are missing dialogue or violence key scenes. Some of the voice dubbing sound is missing, so that at these points the English audio with subtitles was used. There is also muffling and few background hiss. There are hints of very minor cropping at the sides of the print but seems to be original aspect ratio. It depends on what version, you end up getting. It doesn't help that 'The Ugly Ones' has many internationally re-released titles such as The Bounty Killer, The Days of the Guns, The Price of a Man, No Money equal no coffin, and etc. etc. It might get confusing, but all of those titles are the same movie. Directed by Eugenio Martín, the film marked the debut of Tomás Milián in the western genre playing the bad guy Jose Gomez, an outlaw treated and protected by his hometown from the law because they believe he is a local hero. Only one man, can be brave enough to risk the odds, and capture him; Bounty hunter, Luke Chilson (Richard Wyler). The pacing in the film is really slow, and stretch to near yawning point. The opening sequences of Luke Chilson catching another escapee, and Jose Gomez escaping could be cut out, and it wouldn't make any different in the end. The second half of the movie, more than makes up for it. The action scenes are pretty good. I do like the diner escape scene. The violence is not over the top, it's has some realistic looking dangerous stunt work. There's a scene where a guy gets shot off of his horse, and after he falls, that horse rolls right over him. That couldn't have felt very good. Also scenes of blood, bruising, and one shot kills that isn't fake looking. The acting is great. I'm overall impression of Milian committed to portrayal a man on a path of self-destruction. The film is loaded with interesting complex analysis of Jose's criminality ranging from his parent's violence death and land stolen by American raiders to racism by law enforcement. In the movie, violence and corruption traps Gomez, who led by his own good intentions, in the end become more corrupted and violent as those that brutalized him. By making Gomez more likable and romantic in nature. The audience is almost likely get sucker punched into rooting for him, until the evil fabric of his character becomes apparent. The film really hits the heights as the locals see the transformation of Gomez's dark side peeking out, more and more. Milian plays this villain role great, but in some scenes it seem like he is just murmuring nonsense. Wyler's bounty hunter is far more restrained subdued stoic good guy, yet apt for the character he portrays. Thank goodness, Chilson does not succumb to becoming a romantic lead in this. He is a well-drawn character rather than a stock heroic figure that you expect in a western. Surprising even the female role play by Halina Zelewska as Eden is never degrades her into a sex object due to her character's complex duality between Gomez and Chilson that causes her character conflict. Her decision play the biggest part of the ending in the film. It has weight with the black hat/white hat scenario. Some people see it as a right wing message that says the poor should look deeper into what they call these Robin Hood type heroes. I have to somewhat agree. Altogether, this creates an interesting story that is very sophisticated for what is, basically, a B-List movie. The camera work is pretty good, and captured both the wide open spaces and the claustrophobic confines of the buildings where much of the action in takes place. Once again, watch the diner scene again. There is a very abnormal implementation of zoom shots in the camera work during some particular scenes as the film approaches its climax use as a dreamlike intoxicated, surreal fragmentation of Gomez's mind. Rather than the usual sustained, intensity-building close-ups that Sergio Leone was so fond of, the filmmaker here uses a rapidly zooming in and out camera for a more unsettling effect. It's somewhat annoying and headache to watch. The soundtrack is exceptional with a score by Stelvio Cipriani that exemplifies the unique qualities of the Euro western score. Overall: it's worth the watch if a Spaghetti Western's fan, but a bit forgettable compare to the other flashy Spaghetti Westerns, I'm used to.
Steve Nyland (Squonkamatic) Eugenio Martin's THE BOUNTY KILLER is another of those really impressive & highly professionally made overlooked Italian spaghetti western classics. Regardless of genre this is a highly entertaining film, imaginatively staged & filmed with stylistic flourish by "Trinity" creator Enzo Barboni. Based on the western pulp novel of the same name by Marvin H. Albert and boasting a robust Stelvio Cipriani musical score, the film has an authority to it's execution that belies the low budget origins of the production.All of this realized by a first rate cast: Thomas Milian steals the show as a suave killer who devolves into a chattering psychopath after he & his gang of grubby unwashed cut-throats take over his former home village (which due to budget restraints is populated by all of six people, but never mind). The performance is measured against Richard Wyler's grim, laconic bounty hunter, determined to bring in Milian for bounty dead or alive. Frequent Margheriti actress Halina Zalewska with her glittering blue eyes plays the woman who is both the key to Milian's wanton freedom and his eventual demise. Mario "Mr. Fun" Brega plays the beefy lummox town blacksmith who makes a mistake by helping to free Milian and very quickly comes to regret it, with colorful supporting bit parts for familiar faces like Frank Braña, Luis Barboo, José Canalejas, Enzo Fiermonte, and paunchy Ricardo Canales who is never seen without a plate of stew.Thomas Milian's performance is the key to the movie's success, specifically contrasted with Wyler's far more subdued good guy. By making Milian's character more likable and romantic in nature the audience is almost sucker punched into rooting for him, until the evil fabric of his character becomes apparent. Some of his schtick gets a bit tiresome towards the end -- he spends a lot of time murmuring what seem to be significant lines just below the audio threshold level -- but it is the first of countless tour-de-force performances by Milian. He's always a fascinating actor with a "love it or hate it" style, and I like to divide his career into a Pre-Funny Hat and Post-Funny Hat eras. This might be his best Pre-Funny Hat acting, though it's hard to beat THE BIG GUNDOWN.Another interesting aspect of the movie is Halina Zelewska's role which never degrades her into a sex object. Yes she is undeniably attractive and costumed in a manner that enhances her overlooked cleavage, but she is an equal with the boys in this one and it's refreshing to see a spaghetti western heroine who isn't just a cheap lay for the lead actor. Her role is complex and laden with a duality that causes her character conflict: Does she side with the suave bandit or the cold bounty killer? Her decisions are the most important moments of the film, a significance rarely seen among western damsels from either side of the Atlantic.Why has this film been so overlooked? Not only will western fans who scoff at spaghetti westerns find it interesting, but non-fans of the western genre will doubtlessly be drawn to the plotting and characterizations. The gunplay and bravado are just gravy on top of a wonderful concoction. 8/10
Blaise_B This one starts out slow but gets good. It is reportedly Tomas Milian's first western. He turns in one of his best performances as an escaped convict who returns home, where the "bounty killer" of the title lies in wait for him. The townsfolk side with their old friend Milian, only to watch his behavior degenerate into that of the miscreant he's become. Soon his entire gang of freaky looking b**tards (the alternate title is "The Ugly Ones") has trickled into town and the villagers are at their mercy.This film is the ideological opposite of "The Great Silence" in that everyone hates the bounty hunter, but in the end he turns out to be right. Just the same it's quite entertaining when it gets going and features the best "outlaws terrorizing the townsfolk" sequence of any western I've seen. Rivals the one in the first "Mad Max," which isn't even a western. One of the terrorizing outlaws is the drunk from "Cutthroats Nine." Actually, the cast all around is great, with more than one familiar face. The musical score works well once you get used to it, though it sounds a lot like a cross between a Morricone rip-off and something by that guy who did the "Brady Bunch" music. Eugenio Martin's direction, while it has some slow spots and flaws, shows true inspiration.All in all, worth seeing for genre fans and a must for those of Tomas Milian.