50th Anniversary of “Companeros”

 

Today marks the 50^th Anniversary of Rome, Italy the premier of “Companeros”. Directed by Sergio Corbucci and starring Franco Nero and Tomás Milian. It tells the story of Yodlaf the "Swede" (Nero) who arrives in San Bernardino, which is occupied by Mongo Alvarez's (Francisco Bódalo) band, and meets El Vasco (Milian), a young Mexican who thinks he is fighting on the right side of the revolution. In fact, the real revolutionaries are the supporters of Prof. Xantos (Fernando Rey), who is away in America. Yodlaf accepts the task of returning him, and Vasco joins him, although he doesn't share Xantos' theories on non-violence. Yod instead wants quite a different thing: he is only interested in the combination of the safe in which the town's treasure is concealed, and which only Xantos knows. With a gunman named John (Jack Palance) on their trail, out for revenge on Yodlaf, they have to work together to survive while travelling back to San Bernandino and learn many things on the way.

 

Vamos a matar, companeros! – Italian title

Los Compañeros – Spanish title

Laßt uns töten, Companeros – German title

Zwei Compañeros – German title

Vamos a matar compañeros! – Brazilian title

Petturit hirteen Companeros – Finnish title

Companeros – French title

Les compagnons de la gloire – French title

Petturit hirteen Companeros – French title

Companheiros – Portuguese title

Död åt Companeros – Swedish title

Companeros, ro hit med stadskassan – Swedish title

Companeros! – U.S.A. title

 

A 1970 Italian, Spanish, German film co-production [Tritone Cinematografica (Rome),

     Atlántida Films S.A. (Spanish), Terra-Filmkunst (Berlin)]

Producer: Antonio Morelli

Director: Sergio Corbucci

Story: Sergio Corbucci

Screenplay: Sergio Corbucci, Massimo De Rita, Fritz Ebert, Dino Maiuri (Arduino

     Maiuri)

Dialogue: José Frade (José Almohalla) [Spanish]

Cinematography: Alessandro Ulloa (Alejandro Ulloa) [Technicolor, Techniscope]

Music: Ennio Morricone

     Song: “Vamos a matar companeros” sung by I Cantori Moderni

Running time: 118 minutes

Cast:

Yodlaf ‘Penguin’ Petersen - Franco Nero (Francesco Sparanero)

El Vasco - Tomás Milian

John Svedese - Jack Palance (Volodymyr Palahniuk)

Zaira Harris - Karin Schubert

Professor Vitaliano Xantos - Fernando Rey (Fernando Arambillet)

Colonel - Eduardo Fajardo

Lola - Iris Berben

Pepito Tigrero/Tiger - Tito García (Pablo Gonzalez)

Tournier - Luigi Pernice

Cantina barman - José Luis Lizalde

General Mongo Alvarez - Francisco Bódalo (Francisco Zuffoli)

Patrol lieutenant - Joaquin Parra

Lieutenant - Gérard Tichy (Gerhard Wondzinski)

Captain Jim - Lorenzo Robledo

Mongo’s henchmen - Simón Arriaga, Rafael Albaicin (Ignacio-Rafael Escudero), José

     Canalejas, Antonio Padilla

Rosenbloom henchmen - Victor Israel (José Vilanova), Vicente Roca

John’s man - Álvaro De Luna (Álvaro Blanco)

Corporal - José Marco (José Roselló)

Xanista - Jesús Fernández (Jesús García), Ramón Fernández Tejela (Jorge Tejela)

Border officer - Giovanni Petti (Giovanni Petrucci)

With: Gianni Pulone (Giovanni Pulone), Claudio Scarchilli, Pablo González