Ognuno per sé (1968)

Gold prospector Sam Cooper finally finds a rich gold deposit in a mine, but his partner Slim betrays him and tries to kill him. Sam brings the mine down with a charge of dynamite, killing Slim, and then returns to town. Looking for a trustworthy partner to help him extract the gold and transport it, Sam sends a telegram to his adopted son, Manolo Sanchez. Unbeknownst to Manolo, however, he is being followed by a mysterious, sinister figure dressed as a priest. This man has had dealings with Manolo for a long time, ever since Sam abandoned him to go in search of gold. The Blond Priest seems to have influence over Manolo (although it is never stated outright, the implication is that they are lovers), and manages to get him to reveal the mine’s secret and to join the group. Not trusting the Blond Priest, Sam brings Mason into the group, an old friend who served with him in the army. Mason agrees to become Sam’s partner and watch his back in exchange for half the profits. But Mason harbors a grudge against Sam: years earlier, the two had deserted the army with the regiment’s money and split up to cover their tracks. Mason escaped with the money, but was caught and sentenced to several years of forced labor in the Florida swamps, where he contracted malaria. He became convinced that Sam had sold him out to the soldiers so he could get away, and has now agreed to help Sam only so he can find proof of his betrayal and kill him. Sam, Manolo, Mason, and the Blond Priest set off for the mine, but near an abandoned church they are ambushed by a group of thieves working for shopkeeper Lancaster, who intend to steal the supplies the four men have bought and take them back to the store. The four gunmen manage to drive off the attackers with ease, killing all but one. As the journey continues, their pasts and the hardships they encounter deepen the distrust among the four. The Blond Priest’s attempts to kill the others further strain their relations: first, he removes the supports and brings the mine down on Cooper and Manolo; then he tries to steal Mason’s quinine so he will die from withdrawal. One night, a badly wounded and dehydrated man crawls into the four men’s camp, and Cooper gives him some water. During his watch, the Blond Priest confronts the battered man, who turns out to be a sheriff searching for “a thief and murderer disguised as a priest.” The Blond Priest smiles at the sheriff and shoots him. After extracting the gold and loading it onto the horses, Cooper decides to confiscate the others’ guns. Back at the abandoned church, the Blond Priest steals Cooper’s pistol and tries to kill Mason, only to discover in horror that Cooper had removed the bullets from his own gun. Learning that the false priest had caused all the incidents that had befallen them, Mason decides not to shoot him with the derringer he had kept as a backup, but to kill him slowly by beating him with his fists. Manolo picks up the derringer and tries to avenge the Blond Priest by killing Mason, but Cooper reluctantly shoots his adopted son to defend his friend. Manolo dies cursing the day he met Sam. Cooper and Mason then face the killer brothers Al and Fred Brady, whom Mason had previously hired as assassins and reinforcements. In the shootout, Fred wounds Cooper in the leg; Mason kills Fred and is in turn shot fatally by Al, whom Sam then kills. Mason spends his final moments making peace with his old friend, and dies. Left alone, Sam heads for town with the gold from the mine.