To answer these trivia questions, please email me at scinema@earthlink.net.
Brain Teasers:
Which Italian actress, born in 1941, worked with directors Bernardo Bertolucci and Damiano Damiani, before making seven Westerns, followed by working with Federico Fellini and Sergio Corbucci?
Bertrand Van Wonterghem knew that it was Gabriella Giorgelli.
Which Italian Western featured American actors Gregory Walcott and Harry Carey Jr.?
Bertrand Van Wonterghem, Angel Rivera, George Grimes and Charles Gilbert knew that it was E POI LO CHIAMARONO IL MAGNIFICO, aka MAN OF THE EAST.
Which Italian stuntman born in 1934 Calabria, would become a supporting actor in over 71 movies?
Bertrand Van Wonterghem, Angel Rivera, George Grimes and Charles Gilbert knew that it was Riccardo Pizzuti.
And now for some new brain teasers:
The daughter of which Italian star of Sword and Sandal and Westerns reportedly worked as a stripper at The Body Shop on L.A.'s Sunset Blvd.?
In which Italian Western does everyone kill each other over a bag of gold, but we never get to see the contents of the bag?
Which actress, born in Italy, worked with directors Dino Risi, Sergio Corbucci, Duccio Tessari, Alberto De Martino, Bernard Toublanc-Michel and Andrzej Zulawski?
Name the movies from which these images came.
Bertrand Van Wonterghem, George Grimes and Charles Gilbert identified last week's frame grab of Kirk Morris as Django in LITTLE RITA NEL WEST, aka THE CRAZY WESTERNERS.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?
Charles Gilbert, Angel Rivera and George Grimes identified last week's frame grab of Liana Orfei and Aldo Giuffre in ERCOLE SFIDA SANSONE, aka HERCULES, SAMSON AND ULYSSES.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?
Bertrand Van Wonterghem and George Grimes identified last week's photo of Jeff Cooper, Luciana Paluzzi and possibly Gianni Pulone in LA ESCLAVA DEL PARAISO, aka 1001 NIGHTS.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?
George Grimes identified last week's photo of Melvin Wong and Biao Yuen in RIGHTING WRONGS.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?
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I am interested in knowing what movies you have watched and what you enjoyed or not. So please send me an email at scinema@earthlink.net if you'd like to share. Here's what I watched last week:
Enjoyed:
Sam Shepard: Stalking Himself (1998) - Director Oren Jacoby pulled together an incredible pile of clips to illustrate the playwriting career of a fellow who became better known as an actor. I didn't know that Shepard worked on the script for director Michelangelo Antonioni's ZABRISKIE POINT.
Mildly enjoyed:
SOME OF MY BEST FRIENDS ARE... (1971) - THE BOYS IN THE BAND was a successful Off-Broadway play in 1968 and became a successful feature film in 1970. Writer/director Mervyn Nelson seemed to have decided to skip the stage and to take his show directly to the silver screen. Unfortunately, he also seemed to worry that his show wasn't "cinematic" so the movie begins with a ten minute montage to the cringy song "Where Do You Go?" showing the various characters in their troubled lives. Once everyone began to filter into the Blue Jay Bar, the film settled down to being a portrait of an evening at a gay bar in New York City on Christmas Eve in the early 1970s. While the owner, who seemed to be a Mafioso paying off a cop, was happy to be making money from his gay patrons, many of his staff were opening contemptuous of the fags. Both of the women employees, Fannie Flagg and former jazz singer Sylvia Syms, love the boys which included former Rawhide cast member James Murdock, appearing under his real name David Baker. Future Buck Rogers Gil Gerard also appeared along with Dick O'Neill and Rue McClanahan as a "fag hag". Melodrama came into the bar with transgender Candy Darling who lived as a woman. Hustler Gary Sandy, of the future WKRP In Cincinnati, got very drunk and decided to prove himself superior to all of the fags. He decided that he wanted a woman and dragged Darling onto the dance floor. While Darling imagined that this was something out of an old musical, Sandy reached under her dress and discovered that she wasn't a woman. He then began to beat on her, while the other bar patrons tried to stop the violence. Eventually the crooked cop showed up and dragged Sandy out of the bar. Nelson's film was frequently irritating when it went for the obvious cliches, and seemed to want to be profound with an awful song, it had some moments from the cast that seemed truly alive.
Did not enjoy:
THE FIEND WHO WALKED THE WEST (1958) - I wasn't aware that there was a trend at one time to remake Crime movies as Westerns, but THE FIEND WHO WALKED THE WEST was a remake of KISS OF DEATH, written by Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer. The new writers were credited as Harry Brown and Philip Yordan - though with Yordan one can never be certain if he worked on this or if he had a blacklisted writer do the deed. On hiatus from The Life And Legend Of Wyatt Earp, Hugh O'Brian played a married man with a daughter and a pregnant wife. He agreed to participate on a bank robbery, for which he was the only one caught. (The lesson to learn is to never rob a vault into which you need to completely enter allowing the untied bank guard a chance to slam the door shut with you trapped inside.) Because he wouldn't give up the names of the other three robbers, O'Brian was sentenced to ten years even though this was his first offense. Inside, he became the cell mate to psychopathic Robert Evans. Evans' sentence ended and he left prison. Evans had figured out who the leader of the robbers was and immediately went to Ken Scott's home and killed Scott's mother, got the loot, and then killed Scott. Next he visited O'Brian's wife, Linda Cristal, and scared her so badly that she had a miscarriage. Marshal Stephen McNally visited O'Brian in prison to break the news with the hope that O'Brian would finally name the names inorder to get a pardon. O'Brian was now willing to give up the names only to be told that they were all dead. In an effort to get information on which to arrest Evans, McNally engineered a fake prison escape so that O'Brian could hopefully get the villain to talk. Unfortunately, though Evans was brought to trial, the jury did not convict him. Finally, O'Brian goads Evans into a gunfight which our hero won, even after being shot in the back. Also in the cast was Ron Ely, in his second film after SOUTH PACIFIC. Emile Meyer of RIOT IN CELL BLOCK 11, PATHS OF GLORY, BABY FACE NELSON and THE LINE UP played a prison guard. It would seem that 20th Century Fox didn't think that the music selected by Leon Klatzkin was scary enough, so they used some cues from Bernard Herrmann's score for THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, without Herrmann's permission. If you want to see a shirtless Hugh O'Brian sweating under the hot sun doing hard labor, this is the movie for you.
SCARLET DIVA (2000) - Shot on digital, Asia Argento's directorial debut is semi-autobiographical and probably did nothing to enhance her reputation in Italy. Not everything in the film is how it happened in her life, and the events in her real life after this movie was made hasn't changed the opinion of the baby doctor in the film who says that she lives irresponsibly. On the DVD commentary track, she reveals that finding Vera Gemma tied up and abandoned by her boyfriend for three days in the film is based on something that happened to Vera's sister. Asia then appologizes for having screwed up Vera's life with this movie. More disturbing is seeing Daria Nicolodi playing Asia's mother in a flashback verbally abusing Gloria Pirrocco, playing a young Asia. On the commentary track, Asia assures us that portraying this aspect of her childhood proved cathardic and that she and her mother have come to a better understanding. While it is convincing that what happens in this film is based on fact, the entire project seems a bit pointless except as therapy for Asia. As an actress, Asia can be commended for not being afraid to look and play an unattractive person. If you've been eager to see Asia shave her armpit, then this movie is for you.
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David Deal Enjoyed:
COBRA WOMAN (43)
OPERATION TITIAN (63)
THE FIFTH CORD (71) - So why is it called the fifth cord?
BLACK TEST CAR (62)
EUROCRIME! (12) - If you're interested in exploring Italian prime time crime, this is a good place to start.
RAZZIA SUR LA CHNOUF (55)
Mildly Enjoyed
MEXICAN SLAYRIDE (67)
THE BLACK ARROW (48)
ARROW IN THE DUST (54) - Sterling Hayden is an army deserter who impersonates an officer in order to accompany a wagon train through Indian territory. His plan is to reach a point where he can make a dash for Mexico. Routine, low-budget effort with many Indian attacks and subplots. The mismatched footage used (reportedly from New Mexico (51)) is jarringly different from the rest of the film. Hayden carries it but I'm not sure it would be worth a watch otherwise.
I, MARQUIS DE SADE (67) - A writer believes he can channel the Marquis de Sade and proceeds to act on these fantasies, torturing women within reach before he goes completely mad. Gritty, low-rent black & white exploiter that pretends to be high falutin but fails at both angles. There is a reason it's obscure.
CHRISTMAS EVIL (80) - Brandon Maggert was traumatized as a kid when he learned that Santa was not what he expected. Later in life, now working at a toy factory, Brandon loses it when he's mistreated by fellow employees. Cue the killing spree. Another in the psycho-Santa subgenre of horror films, this belongs in the pile of also rans.
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Angel Rivera Enjoyed:
"I'LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS" (1951)
Caught this by accident when I was checking out the TCM channel and found this Doris Day/Danny Thomas musical-bio pic about Gus Kahn, the guy who wrote "It Had To Be You" among others. Great music and likeable performances by the cast. Interesting for Patrice Wymore, widow of Errol Flynn singing Gus Kahn tune, "Love Me or Leave Me".(Although Wikipedia says her singing voice was dubbed in this film, she was said to have a good singing voice and sang in other films.) The song was made famous by Ruth Etting, whom Day will play in the musical-bio pic, "Love Me or Leave Me" (1954). Has a lot of cameos by different well known character actors; like Jim Backus; Hans Conried; and featured actors like James Gleason and Mary Wickes. (Only drawback is Doris Day sings "Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goodbye)" in black face!)
Caught this by accident when I was checking out the TCM channel and found this Doris Day/Danny Thomas musical-bio pic about Gus Kahn, the guy who wrote "It Had To Be You" among others. Great music and likeable performances by the cast. Interesting for Patrice Wymore, widow of Errol Flynn singing Gus Kahn tune, "Love Me or Leave Me".(Although Wikipedia says her singing voice was dubbed in this film, she was said to have a good singing voice and sang in other films.) The song was made famous by Ruth Etting, whom Day will play in the musical-bio pic, "Love Me or Leave Me" (1954). Has a lot of cameos by different well known character actors; like Jim Backus; Hans Conried; and featured actors like James Gleason and Mary Wickes. (Only drawback is Doris Day sings "Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goodbye)" in black face!)
Mildly enjoyed:
"HEY THERE, IT'S YOGI BEAR!" (1964)
I can remember my brothers and I sending away Kellogg's cereal box tops for a copy of the promotional record tie-in for the movie. (I still have the record!) Mostly "cute" movie about Yogi Bear along with his pal Boo-Boo setting out to rescue Yogi's girlfriend Cindy Bear and has the characters singing songs while they go on their adventure. Also featured in the movie is a song sung by James Darren. The theme song, "Hey There, It's Yogi Bear" was written by David Gates of the pop group, Bread. Like I said "cute" movie!
I can remember my brothers and I sending away Kellogg's cereal box tops for a copy of the promotional record tie-in for the movie. (I still have the record!) Mostly "cute" movie about Yogi Bear along with his pal Boo-Boo setting out to rescue Yogi's girlfriend Cindy Bear and has the characters singing songs while they go on their adventure. Also featured in the movie is a song sung by James Darren. The theme song, "Hey There, It's Yogi Bear" was written by David Gates of the pop group, Bread. Like I said "cute" movie!
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Charles Gilbert watched:
THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE (1962) B&W. Firsr time viewing the entirety. Ambushing the villain (Lee Marvin) is not my idea of heroism.
CRAZY WESTERNERS aka LITTLE RITA OF THE WEST (1967) Musical spoof on the characters Ringo, Django and others stars Swiss-Italian singer Rita Pavone. Farcical.
Tales of Wells Fargo:
"Captain Scofield" S5E16 DeForest Kelly plays an AWOL union soldier with amnesia from a head wound. The army is looking for him and a missing stache of money.
"The Has-Been" S5E17 Outlaw Adam West boards a WF stage he knows plans to accept a transfer of gold. J. Pat O'Malley is the title character who has taken to the bottle since his days of entertainment on stage have ended.
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Bertrand van Wonterghem Enjoyed:
Ling wan sin sang / Mr Vampire 3 ( 1987, Ricky Lau)
Santa Fe (1951, Irving Pichel)
Alias Smith & Jones – episode «The great shell game» (1971, Richard Benedict)
Gyeonuwa Seonnyeo / Head over heels (2025, Kim Yong Wan) – episodes 3 to 5
Father Ted – season 1 (1994) episodes 1 to 4
Les nuits de Montmartre (1955, Pierre Franchi)
Mildly enjoyed
The world's greatest lover (1977, Gene Wilder)
The package (1989, Andrew Davis)
The Doc / Doc Holliday (2024, Brett Bentman)
Spartan (2003, David Mamet)
Apocalypto (2006, Mel Gibson)
Che, part one (2008, Steven Soderbergh)
Did not enjoy:
Dört hergele / Four for all (1974, Yilmaz Atadeniz & Jerry Mason aka Giulio Giuseppe Negri)
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