A moderately entertaining oater.

Cotten displays steely charisma in the role of a borderline madman with a dubious political agenda, his cruelty evident in the film's often shocking violence, and Bengell does well as the ruthless opportunist ultimately facing a moral conundrum.

Though ostensibly just a piece of violent Western pulp, Corbucci inadvertently revealed the rot at the heart of Confederate revisionism: they really were that twisted and evil.

**_The Cruel Ones: The madness of a lost cause_** Joseph Cotton stars as Colonel Jonas, an unrepentant Confederate who led a regiment called The Hellbenders during the Civil War. Lee surrendered and the war's over, but not for Jonas and his three sons. They ruthlessly rob a Union convoy in the Southwest carrying $1 million. The group not only has to evade the Union Army, but also a posse, Mexican bandits, vengeful Natives, and even each other if they are to get back East with the money. The ratings for this film are all over the place. Some viewers say it's trash whereas others grant it a surprisingly high grade; and I can see why on both counts. Let's look at the positives and negatives respectively. While some complain about Joseph Cotton's supposedly wooden performance, his deadpan expressions superbly capture his character's single-minded vision. Jonas' family is nigh insane because they refuse to admit that the Civil War has been lost. His ultimate harebrained purpose is to finance a renewed Civil War. Everything else is secondary, including life itself. Hauling their loot around in a coffin is a symbol for the hopelessness of their cause. You'll hear Jonas talk about God & Scripture now and then, but it's all outward adornment, even while I'm sure he's sincere. He justifies killing Union soldiers on the grounds that they're still at war while he rationalizes murderin…