Jerry Brewster (Thomas Hunter) and Ken Seagull (Nando Gazzolo) are two ex-Confederates who've successfully stolen some of the governments' money. Realizing that only one of them can make good his escape, they draw cards, and Ken, having drawn the higher card, is allowed to bail out with the money. Jerry is captured by Union forces and imprisoned for five years. Unfortunately, he learns after being released that his wife died poor because Ken hogged all the money for himself. And now Ken is a bigshot in the small community of Austin. It's a given that Jerry is going to be ripe for revenge...
"The Hills Run Red", as directed by former critic Carlo Lizzani, is no great shakes, but offers a decent amount of entertainment. Its pace is acceptable, its photography nicely done, and its action reasonably rousing. Using the pseudonym of "Leo Nichols", Ennio Morricone composes the score; it's definitely one of his lesser efforts, but even so, lesser Morricone is still pretty good. The songs are certainly sung with passion. The script by Piero Regnoli is mostly straightforward, but it's got one interesting detail up its sleeve: the character of Colonel Winny Getz, played engagingly by genre veteran Dan Duryea. You're never quite sure what this guy's deal is until the end.
The acting is variable. Some members of the cast come off fairly well, such as the beautiful ladies Nicoletta Machiavelli and Gianna Serra, Gazzolo as the understated villain, and Geoffrey Copleston as saloon owner Brian Horner. Hunter delivers a performance that is amusingly over the top at certain points. But the most entertaining acting to watch is courtesy of a hilariously hammy Henry Silva, playing Seagulls' minion Garcia Mendez. There's nothing subtle about this guy; even his wardrobe is all black.
"The Hills Run Red" kills time easily enough for those who are devotees of the Spaghetti Western genre.
Six out of 10.
