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March 28, 2024, 06:56:47 AM
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Badmovies.org Forum  |  Movies  |  Bad Movies  |  A Town Called Hell (1971) « previous next »
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Author Topic: A Town Called Hell (1971)  (Read 4953 times)
trekgeezer
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We're all just victims of circumstance


« on: June 13, 2006, 02:31:28 PM »

Helluva a mess is what it should be called.

The intro is a group of Mexican revoluntionaries led by Robert Shaw and Martin Landau mowing down a church full of people and the priest. Flash ten years ahead and we see the same town being run by a bunch of outlaws led by Don Carlos (Telly Savales). Robert Shaw is hiding out there as a priest.

After Telly gets his kicks robbing, torturing, and killing a couple of captured gringos, Stella Stevens shows up offering twenty grand to whoever can tell her who killed her husband. Telly tortures a few more folks trying to get someone to confess so he can collect the money, but is taken out by his right hand guy (I think).

Martin Landau shows back up and is now a colonel in the Mexican army. He's looking for a guy named Aguila (which might be Robert Shaw) and commencing to kill innocent folks until someone tells him who is Aguila.

This is a confusing movie, it seemed to make some sense until a weird flashback of a dance where they were dancing to The Battle of New Orleans (you know, In 18 'n 14 we took a little trip, along with Col. Jackson down the mighty Mississip'). From there I lost interest.

The best part of the movie is about the first 25 minutes with Telly as the evil mayor Don Carlos. Only Telly could torture and kill folks with so much glee, all the while shirtless and chomping a cigar butt.  Like when I watched Horror Express, I was disappointed at Telly's lack of screen time.

I'm glad this one only cost me three bucks.
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Scott
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« Reply #1 on: June 13, 2006, 06:11:46 PM »

Trek Geezer I liked the first 25 minutes as well and was disappointed in seeing Savalas departing from the movie so early. Your comments on the film are very accurate. The whole Shaw as priest thing just wasn't interesting.

I would love to see Telly Savalas in BEAU GESTE again some day and I'm still waiting to see him in LAND RAIDERS.

If you ever get the chance to pick up one of those $1 copies of BORDER COP starring Telly Savalas do it. It's a good one for the price. There are a couple companies who have this film on DVD for about $1.

As you said HORROR EXPRESS is also a very good film with Telly Savalas with a good role at the end. He is just a great character actor.

You might see another Savalas film out there called PANCHO VILLA, but it's not that good, but perhaps worth it if you want to hear him sing at the end of this Spaghetti Western film that also ends on a train. He must have liked train films during that time.



Telly Savalas is in a couple other good Westerns MCKENNA'S GOLD and THE SCALPHUNTERS. Check them out if you get the chance. THE SCALPHUNTERS is a good rare film.You don't hear much about that one.

Savalas also is in A REASON TO LIVE, A REASON TO DIE where he is the fort commander again only at the end of the movie. He seems to like doing short roles in film. I wonder if that's by choice?
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trekgeezer
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« Reply #2 on: June 13, 2006, 08:47:34 PM »

I saw McKenna's Gold many, many moons ago. I like Telly a lot, but he always seemed to be what I would call a little Shatneresque. I know he had a song in a least one Kojak episode and I remember him doing the song "If " (originally performed by a group called Bread) on a special back in the 70's. His renditions come a little closer to actual singing than Shatners, but I put them in the same class.


Have you ever noticed that he is missing the index finger on his left hand?
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Scott
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« Reply #3 on: June 13, 2006, 09:17:32 PM »

Never noticed the finger Trek Geezer, but now that I recall that you like Shatner "singing" you might want to take a look at PANCHO VILLA during the closing moments when Telly rides away on a train.
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Shadowphile
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« Reply #4 on: June 15, 2006, 07:46:10 AM »

He also did 'The Dirty Dozen' and 'Kelly's Heroes', two WW2 movies where he has a relatively large role in two 'ensemble movies.  Paired with Donald Sutherland in both, oddly enough.

Until I saw the above picture I was unaware of the missing finger as well.  Indeed it needed to be pointed out before I noticed.  James Doohan (Scottie from Star Trek) also had a missing finger, left on the beach during the D-Day invasion.  They do a good job of hiding that as well.
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Scott
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Hey, I'm in the situation room ! ! !


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« Reply #5 on: June 15, 2006, 03:20:35 PM »

"pointing it out"
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