The Relentless Four(I Quattro Inesorabili)1965

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Adam West

THE RELENTLESS FOUR features a pre-Batman Adam West, coming the year before he assumed that mantle. Curiously enough, or maybe not, there was no interest in U.S. play for the film until Batman took off.

West is Ranger Sam Garrett who, at the start of the film, is pursuing two men on foot(how they ended up on foot is never explained). They think he wants to take them in even though he’s a friend. The kid wants his companion, Rex Calhoun(José Canalejas), to surrender. But Sam is looking for them to tell them that Calhoun has been cleared and the reward withdrawn.

But the two run into the title characters, bounty hunters, just before Sam catches up. Allen(Claudio Undari, billed as Robert Hundar) is their leader. The other three are Troy(Renato Rosini, billed as Red Ross), Jeffrey Anders(Roberto Camardiel), and Moss(Raf Baldassarre, billed as Ralph Baldwin). The four cut down Calhoun just as Sam arrives.

He informs them there will be no reward, so Allen shoots Sam’s horse with the idea of claiming the five hundred before he can alert the Sheriff(Luis Induni) about it. Didn’t work as Sam arrives just as the money is being paid out. The four men are not happy. Neither is the deputy( Lorenzo Robledo) working with them.

At that same time, A rich rancher, John(John Bartha, billed as Janos Barta) has sold his herd off and is in the saloon playing poker and flashing a fat roll around. Sam gets into a poker game with him as John’s wife and daughter arrives with hands to stop the game, literally picking up John in his chair and toting him out to the wagon. Sam’s a friendly type and ends up the same way, picked up in his chair along with the poker table to conyinue their game at the ranch.

The four bounty hunters want that roll and invade the ranch house late, slugging Sam from behind, then Allen donning his vest and hat to kill John and be seen riding away. The other three had already taken Sam away where they poured enough liquor down his throat to make him pass out. Sam didn’t drink.

It’s a neat frame and Sam is sentenced to hang the next morning.

Sam has to figure out how to escape and clear his name, secretly aided by Allen. Hey, another big reward.

Primo Zeglio directed and provided the story, co-writing the script with Manuel Marcello De Caso, Federico De Urrutia, Marcello Fondato, and an uncredited Manuel Sebares. Despite all the hands, it wasn’t a total bad job.