Broxton Comment-MB-003-38

I CRUDELI [THE HELLBENDERS] (1967)

I Crudeli, released in English as The Hellbenders, is an influential spaghetti western directed by Sergio Corbucci, with whom Morricone collaborated on Navajo Joe, Il Mercenario, Il Grande Silenzio, and Vamos a Matar Compañeros, among others. The film stars Joseph Cotten as Colonel Jonas, the former leader of a notoriously vicious platoon in the recently-defeated Confederate Army, who finds a hoard of Union gold and – with the help of his greedy and villainous sons – plans to use it to revive the Confederacy.

The main title theme, “I Crudeli,” is an effortlessly cool theme for a lazy, jazzy trumpet over rattling metallic percussion, which gradually picks up an undercurrent of soothing voices and, eventually, an urgent piano rhythm. It sounds more like something Lalo Schifrin might have written for an urban crime thriller than a civil war-era revenge movie, but Morricone was never one to make the obvious choice. The theme anchors several additional cues, with variations that range from a downbeat acoustic guitar version in “The Widow” to the more impressive statements in the score’s finale.

The action and suspense music, in cues like “Prima dell’Assalto,” “La Conguira,” “Dopo la Congiura,” “Attesa del Nulla,” and others, tends to be tight and sparse and edgy, making use of rattling tick-tock percussion, staccato guitar licks, and jittery piano chords that emerge from the low end of the keyboard. Elsewhere, the various versions of the solemn “Un Monumento” all feature a typically iconic trumpet solo and, often, a soaring soprano solo vocal, but these are among the few melodic high points of a score which mostly seems to favor the creation of a relentlessly uneasy mood than impressing the listener with recurring bold themes or moments of notable beauty.

The somewhat restrained, sparse, and nervous sound that permeates the score for I Crudeli does make it difficult to appreciate, but Morricone certainly captures the tone of darkness and immortality that permeates the film with his music, and that’s certainly worth something. The score for I Crudeli has been released several times over the years, both as a standalone album, and as part double-feature released combined with the score for Revolver, among others. My personal recommendation – and the score being reviewed here – is the 2017 release from Dagored Records, which includes the score as a standalone album, and includes additional music and outtakes not featured on other releases.

Track Listing: 1. I Crudeli (2:38), 2. Prima Dell’Assalto (1:58), 3. Un Monumento (2:33), 4. Minacciosamente Lontano (2:43), 5. La Congiura (3:37), 6. Dopo La Congiura (2:00), 7. I Crudeli 2° (1:20), 8. Attesa Del Nulla (4:03), 9. Monumento 2° (2:20), 10. Seconda Congiura (2:15), 11. I Crudeli (The Widow) (2:06), 12. La Congiura (#2) (2:49), 13. Un Monumento (#2) (1:56), 14. I Crudeli (#2) (1:50), 15. La Congiura (#3) (3:12), 16. I Crudeli (#3) (2:26), 17. Un Monumento (#3) (1:55). Dagored RED-176, 41 minutes 00 seconds.

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