In this seventh edition of Western Wednesday, the career of Craig Hill will be under the microscope, with various of his spaghetti western based flicks being reviewed. It’s important to note that this post will continue to grow over time, with new Craig Hill reviews added as more of his spaghetti western based films are watched. As with every article and review on the website, this entire series will be spoiler-free.

The Craig Hill Edition

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Craig Hill Fowler, better known to audiences simply as Craig Hill, was born on March 5, 1926, in Los Angeles, California, USA. Early in life, he served in the United States Navy before embarking on an acting career that would span nearly fifty years, beginning in the early 1950’s.

In the 1960’s, however, Hill made the bold decision to relocate to Europe, more specifically Spain, where he would consequently gain a new legion of fans while spearheading several Spaghetti Western flicks. As the genre began fading, he successfully transitioned into the European Horror scene, maintaining a steady presence for quite some time.

It’s worth noting that Craig Hill died in Barcelona on April 21, 2014, at the age of 88.

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15 Scaffolds for a Murderer – 1967

Directed by Nunzio Malasomma in his only outing in the spaghetti western genre, 15 Scaffolds for a Murderer follows two ruthless gangs who are framed for a triple murder they insist they didn’t commit. Hunted by an angry lynch mob, they hide out in an abandoned fort and take two hostages. It’s a unique idea and a welcome change of direction for the genre, but the filmmakers ultimately struggle to execute their ideas into anything worthy of a rewatch.

As touched upon, the film deserves some credit for trying something new, but its strengths rarely go much further than the original story. Several problems hold it back, including uneven pacing, too many supporting characters, and the fact that most of them are difficult to care about. There are also plenty of naive choices and questionable actions throughout. Because of this, the one-hundred minute runtime starts to feel overly long, and what could have been an interesting, unusual spaghetti western ends up feeling more like a missed opportunity.

Some of the filming locations may be considered as noteworthy to some viewers, with Almeria, Spain, taking responsibility for a large majority of the desert scenes which were utilised heavily. Unfortunately, not a flick I’d recommend to anybody beyond the purist.

Bury Them Deep – 1968

Directed by Paolo Moffa, Bury Them Deep centers around Clive Norton (Craig Hill), a man tasked with recovering stolen loot with the help of another man, named El Chaleco (Ettore Manni). A flick that sadly, comes across as very much below-par for the genre in general, with very little to offer on the dialogue front in terms of quality and at times, quantity.

Another minor flaw worth highlighting would be the extremely drawn out and slow scenes in certain parts. The runtime manages to clock in at nearly one hundred minutes, but it feels considerably longer, weighed down by the occasional filler scene that manage to add very little to the characters or story itself.

Additionally, the sheer number of characters thrown into the mix is also a strong negative, making things rather messy and difficult to follow in patches. With that being said, there are a few nice moments, especially when it comes to the well-executed and memorable action sequences that the filmmakers create. Sadly, however, these scenes don’t come across as strong enough to save it from being labelled as below average in my eyes.

And the Crows Will Dig Your Grave – 1971

Directed by Juan Bosch, And the Crows Will Dig Your Grave, is based around the transportation company Wells Fargo that hire some ‘Pistoleros’ to protect themselves against the frequent ambushing that they are experiencing. One of the men hired, Jeff Sullivan (Craig Hill), has particular passion for the matter because he’s hoping to extract revenge on one of the bandits responsible for leading the heists. For the most part, the story is easy to follow, though there are moments that feel a little convoluted and lacking in direction, which can be somewhat frustrating.

With that said, there are some solid acting performances that make the flick worthy of a watch, those stem from Craig Hill himself with his portrayal of Jeff Sullivan, as well as Angel Aranda portraying Dan Barker, while Maria Pia Conte also gave a great performance as Susan. The overall authenticity of the costume and set designs also come across as adequate in nature, albeit not exactly ground-breaking within the genre.

All in all, And the Crows Will Dig Your Grave comes across as a rather average Spaghetti Western – easy to follow, with some decent acting performances as well as fun elements too. One I’d recommend to fans of the genre, but probably not to general film lovers.