Week of September 7 - 13, 2019

To answer these trivia questions, please email me at scinema@earthlink.net.

Brain Teasers:

What South Korean film did many confused fans think was directed by Umberto Lenzi?

When VISITOR OF AMERICA was released in the U.S., it was retitled BRUCE LEE FIGHTS BACK FROM THE GRAVE and director Lee Doo-yong was renamed "Bert Lenzi".

Which Italian actress, who appeared in sword & sandal films, charted a number one record in Italy?
No one has answered this one yet.

Which Italian Western originally had an happy ending, but the American distributor cut it off to end the film tragically?

Rick Garibaldi knew that it was MINNESOTA CLAY.

Which Italian Western originally had a tragic ending, but the American distributor cut if off to give the film a seeming happy ending?

No one has answered this one yet.

Which Italian sword & sandal film is an ancient Roman remake of THE GUNS OF NAVARONE?

Charles Gilbert knew that it was I GIGANTI DI ROMA, aka GIANTS OF ROME.

And now for some new brain teasers:

Charles Gilbert asked, "Which Italian actress who appeared in movies with Mark Forest, Mike Lane and Gordon Mitchell appeared on Top of the Pops in 1978?"

Which American actor who appeared in Italian Westerns had the nickname "Piggy"?

Which Italian Western featured a hero nicknamed "Angel Face"?

Name the movies from which these images come.

Rick Garibaldi identified last week's frame grab of Robert Woods in EL PURO.

Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?

George Grimes identified last week's photo of Loredana Nusciak in IL CROLLO DI ROMA, aka THE FALL OF ROME.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?

George Grimes identified last week's frame grab of Franco Nero and Corinne Clery in AUTOSTOP ROSSO SANGUE, aka HITCH-HIKE.

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

George Grimes identified last week's frame grab from director King Hu's DRAGON INN.

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:

E! Celebrity Profile "Audrey Hepburn" (1999)

THE GREAT BUSTER: A Celebration (2018)

Wrestling with Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner (2006)

TOUGH ENOUGH (1982) - Why director Richard Fleischer is billed as Richard O. Fleischer here is a mystery. The film has some very nice character moments which make the corny bits less corny and easy to accept.

THE EXECUTIONER'S SONG (1982)

Mildly enjoyed:

MEET THE HITLERS (2014)

Law & Order "Empire" (1999) - Julia Roberts does well as a villain.

Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath "Waiting For Justice" (2019)

GRACE QUIGLEY, aka THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION OF GRACE QUIGLEY (1985)

URANUS (1990)

Did not enjoy:

THE FEMALE PRINCE (1964) - Chang Cheh is credited as the screenwriter of this "Huangmei Opera" musical film starring Ivy Ling Po and directed by Chow Sze-Loke. Like THE LOVE ETERNE, this is not the kind of film for which I have an affinity.

SANADA YUKIMURA NO BOURYAKU, aka RENEGADE NINJAS, aka THE SHOGUN ASSASSINS (1979) - Sadao Nakajima directed this all-star Toei samurai epic turning the story of Sanada Yukimura into a cartoony action flick.

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Charles Gilbert watched:

Movin' On:

    'The Price of Loving' S01E21 Sonny's trucker friend practices bigamy with wives Anne Francis and Kelly Jean Peters unaware of each other.

    ' Sing It Again, Sonny' S02E22 Grand Ole Opry talent scout Vera Miles thinks Sonny Pruitt has a promising career in Nashville.

     'Woman of Steel' S02E18 Sonny and Will encounter abuse from plant boss Joe Higgins in a steel mill in Georgia. A lady trucker is a victim.

      'Weddin' Bells' S01E22 Prurient middle age artist Janet Leigh entices Sonny into what would be her fifth marriage after only a few days acquaintance. Her daughter refers to her as an old age nympho. Will protests the marriage vehemently.

BETWEEN GOD, THE DEVIL, AND A WINCHESTER (1968) Oft compared in storyline to Treasure Island, this version unites Richard Harrison with Gilbert Roland in the Old West. Dominique Boshero is killed off early.

THE DEVIL'S HAND (1951) B&W. Robert Alda is drawn into the occult by temptress Linda Christian who is in league with doll shop proprietor Neil Hamilton, underground warlock.

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Shelley Winters on working with Tomas Milian and Claudia Cardinale

From SHELLEY II: THE MIDDLE OF MY CENTURY by Shelley Winters (1989)

I had left Cages to do a film called TIME OF INDIFFERENCE in Italy. Adapted from a book by Alberto Moravia, it was a penetrating study of the rise of Fascism. A new hot young Italian director by the name of Francesco Maselli was to direct. It was being produced by a famous Italian producer, Franco Cristaldi. I, Rod Steiger, Claudia Cardinale, Paulette Goddard, and Tomas Milian were to star in it...

I registered at the apartment hotel, the Residence Palace, where the production had reserved a two-room apartment for me. When I had been in Rome before, I had always stayed at the Hotel de la Ville, and of course I had stayed in our apartment when I was married to Vittorio (Gassman). The last time I had stayed in Rome, when I was married to Anthony Franciosa, I had stayed at the Excelsior....

I had fittings with a famous Italian couturier, and the six costumes he made for me were gorgeous. Since I was playing a remittance woman, sort of Paulette Goddard's personal saleslady and cosmetologist, I couldn't understand why I was wearing these gorgeous clothes. TIME OF INDIFFERENCE was set in Italy in the middle thirties when the aristocracy and the rich were very rich and the poor were very, very poor. But these clothes were so classy and art decoish that I stifled my artistic truth and let the seamstresses work. They gave me these clothes after the filming and I have worn them in A PATCH OF BLUE, WILD IN THE STREETS, BLOODY MAMA, and a picture I recently completed called TOUCH OF A STRANGER. They have finally fallen apart, but the last was a black chiffon dress, bias cut a la Jean Harlow, with a white chiffon collar. It barely held together until the end of the filming. I wonder if Signore Cristaldi, the producer, or Signore Schubert knows that their wardrobe from TIME OF INDIFFERENCE was worn in several other American films. In fact, I wore one of these dresses, a black-and-white floral print, for the next decade, in A HOUSE IS NOT A HOME, HARPER, and DIAMONDS. In fact, the black-and-white print photographed in color kind of navy blue-and-white, so I insisted that Joe Levine, who produced HOUSE, rent me a real sapphire-and-diamond necklace, which I subsequently wore in all those films. After the many weeks of rental, Marvin Hime, jeweler to the stars, let me trade in my old diamond necklace and buy this one for a very few thousand dollars. Joe Levine, Paul Newman, and Menahem Golan don't know it, but they bought me a diamond necklace which I have worn to one Oscar-cast and a dinner for General Omar Bradley. Now it rests in the bank vault.

In those days, filming in Rome was more civilized than it was in Hollywood, or for that matter the way it is in Italy now. The studio car picked you up at nine. You drove to the set, you had a leisurely cappuccino while they made you up and then you reported for work about eleven or twelve o'clock. You acted till 1:00 P.M., had lunch until 4:00, slept or rested or whatever, and reported back to work until 8:00 P.M. Maybe the working hours are a little less than Hollywood, but I'm convinced they get more work done. When you get up at 5:00 A.M. and report for work at 6:00, you begin to fade after lunch and the afternoon seems endless. I hope that with the new independent spirit in Hollywood they will revert to Italian hours.

GLI INDIFFERENTI started in chaos and ended up in shambles. It seemed that the producer, Cristaldi, was making a film about a romance between Claudia Cardinale and Tomas Milian - and the director, Maselli, was making a political picture about the rise of Fascism. But this was sort of par for the Italian film scene in those days. Everyone in the film spoke a different language. Rod Steiger, Paulette Goddar and I sort of spoke English. Tomas Milian, who was Cuban, spoke Spanish, and Claudia Cardinale just made sounds. She had been born and raised in Tunisia, had spent a few years in Spain, and had arrived in Italy at eighteen. Of course, she was Cristaldi's girlfriend. That was the reason for the whole operation.

She was a lovely, sad girl, beautiful and quiet, rather stunned to find herself a "movie star." I once asked her why she always looked so unhappy. She smiled her Mona Lisa smile and said in some language, "That must be the mystique of female Italian movie stars. We must always appear to be suffering silently."

The film director, Francesco Maselli, barely spoke English and he had a British lady who was rather graying and spinsterish as his assistant and translator. The problem was, she had left England thirty years earlier, and during the thirties, forties, and fifties, the English language had changed. She spoke Italian like a native but her English was rather rusty. We were working from an Italian script but speaking our own languages since the film would be dubbed into the appropriate language of each country it was released in. There was such an ideological difference between the producer and the director that the words the actors spoke were being constantly changed and argued about.

A couple of years later when this picture was to be released in America, Rod Steiger and I had to dub it into English. That meant speaking into a microphone while you watched your lips move on the screen and trying to sync the sound with your lips. When we got ready to do it, we found that Maselli had stolen the sound track and we had no guide track to copy. We finally had to get someone from the deaf-and-dumb institute to read our lips and tell us what we had said on the film. It is always rather difficult for me to dub because I hesitate when I speak naturally, and I have irregular breathing and speaking patterns. Dubbing INDIFFERENTI was a nightmare. In fact, shooting the whole film was a nightmare.

The only relief was Tomas Milian, and we became fast friends and I do mean friends. He had lived in New York for a while and he was a member of the Actors Studio before he emigrated to Rome. He was doing lots of artistic pictures in those days but since has become a big Italian TV star. He made a lot of money doing a series about an undercover cop and I don't think he longs for the stress of acting deeply anymore. I know I certainly don't. Well, I think I don't.

Sometime in the middle of the shooting of INDIFFERENTI, I finally realized that Maselli was trying to make an important anti-Fascist statement. The film took place during the period when Mussolini used the indifference and greediness of the Italian people to grab power and became the dictator who eventually destroyed Italy. All the nouveau riche characters in the film were politically apathetic and only cared about material possessions and didn't pay attention to or give a damn about what was happening around them - rather like the American society of the eighties.

I wondered why I, who usually research films so closely and often try to make a sociological or political statement with the role I am playing, had warded off the knowledge of what this film was really about. Perhaps it was because of the subtle blacklisting that was still going on in Hollywood.

I was attracted to the film and, on some unconscious level, afraid of it. When I faced this I began to help Maselli as much as I could. I stayed on the set and watched scenes that I wasn't involved in and translated for him into English as best I could what he had written in Italian.

Why this film has never been shown on American TV to my knowledge puzzles me. Rod Steiger gave a powerful performance in it, and I think my scenes with Paulette Goddard were very funny. I remember one in which I was giving her a facial. I had worked with her in THE WOMEN and she had worn different sets of jewelry every day and she did the same in this film. It was rather difficult to get around her diamond necklaces while I was giving her neck and face a facial, but we had very amusing scenes together. She was indeed fun to work with in this film, rather zany, and she would tell me long, rambling stories about how stingy Charlie Chaplin was, ignoring the fact that she was the only woman in his history who got a lot of money and jewels from him. I told her about the open house on Sundays at Charlie and Oona's that I had gone to. She was amazed.

"I can't believe he spent money on food for strangers, talented or not," she said.

...Tomas Milian was giving an end-of-the-picture party for the cast. He had many beautiful antiques and statues in his apartment off the Piazza di Spange. There was a torso of a beautiful young man that he told me Visconti had given him. He told me that he wanted to present it to my daughter because I had helped the director, Maselli, and him with the film TIME OF INDIFFERENCE. The bust was very old and it was almost illegal to send it out of Italy because there was a new "preservation of antiquity" law that had been passed in Italy in 1960, but legally he could send it to my daughter because she was half-Italian.

The statue was two feet high and so lovely it looked as if Michelangelo or one of his students could have done it. It was hardly chipped and very, very valuable. He told me he would take it to Naples and put it on a boat and the forwarder in New York would notify me when to pick it up. I thanked him and kissed all the actors goodbye and told Tomas I would see him at the Actors Studio in a couple of months, when he was planning to come to New York.

Week of August 31 - September 6, 2019

To answer these trivia questions, please email me at scinema@earthlink.net.

Brain Teasers:

In what movie does Richard Harrison and Wilbert Bradley appear as Western villains?

COLPO MAESTRO AL SERVIZIO DI SUA MAESTA BRITANNICA, aka MASTER STROKE, aka THE GREAT DIAMOND ROBBERY.

What South Korean film did many confused fans think was directed by Umberto Lenzi?
No one has answered this question yet.

Which Italian actress, who appeared in sword & sandal films, charted a number one record in Italy?
No one has answered this one yet.

Which French actress, who co-starred with Steve Reeves, also had a successful singing career?
George Grimes knew that it was Valerie Lagrange.

Which French actress, who co-starred with Steve Reeves, had surgery as a teen to stop being cross-eyed?
George Grimes knew that it was Mylene Demongeot.

And now for some new brain teasers:

Which Italian Western originally had an happy ending, but the American distributor cut it off to end the film tragically?
Which Italian Western originally had a tragic ending, but the American distributor cut if off to give the film a seeming happy ending?
Which Italian sword & sandal film is an ancient Roman remake of THE GUNS OF NAVARONE?

Name the movies from which these images come.

Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?

George Grimes identified last week's photo of Giuliano Gemma and brothers in ARRIVANO I TITANI, aka SONS OF THUNDER, aka MY SON THE HERO.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?

George Grimes identified last week's frame grab of Giuliano Gemma and Stefania Sandrelli in DELITTO D'AMORE, aka CRIME OF LOVE.

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

George Grimes identified last week's frame grab of Chun Shih in A TOUCH OF ZEN.

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:

7 UOMINI D'ORO, aka SEVEN GOLDEN MEN (1965) - With a magnificent music score by Armando Trovajoli, this heist comedy tops TOPKAPI as the pinnacle of this kind of film. Written, produced and directed by Marco Vicaro.


HALSTON (2019) - A CNN documentary.

Mildly enjoyed:

THE ROARING TWENTIES (1939)

IL GRANDE COLPO DEI 7 UOMINI D'ORO, aka SEVEN GOLDEN MEN STRIKE AGAIN (1966) - While the first film uses Spy movie gadgets to spice up a heist comedy, the sequel becomes a Spy movie spoof. This movie has too many twists for my enjoyment. Produced, written and directed by Marco Vicaro.

SETTE VOLTE SETTE, aka SEVEN TIMES SEVEN (1968) - Marco Vicaro only produced this film that isn't a sequel but is in a similar vein, except the characters are all new and there are no double-crosses. Michele Lupo directed.

NARROW MARGIN (1990) - Peter Hyams remade the 1952 movie playing with the expectations of those who've seen the earlier film. Most of his changes do not improve on the original, and many of them are rather silly.

The Pillars of the Earth (2010) - A marvelous cast and good production value do not overcome the rewrite of Ken Follett's novel.

Did not enjoy:

DER TURM DER VERBOTENEN LIEBE, aka TOWER OF SCREAMING VIRGINS (1968) - An incredibly tiresome swashbuckler supposedly based on a novel by Alexandre Dumas pere, this flick directed by Franz Antel was sold in the U.S. as an Horror flick. I suppose the distributor felt that alot of female nudity would distract viewers from the deception. Teri Todai starred as the Queen of France who invited young men to rendevous with her and her maids of honor in the "tower of sin". After a night of pleasure, the young men are murdered and thrown into the river. Jean Piat played a war hero who unmasked the evil plot with the help of Uschi Glas.

A WARTIME ROMANCE (1983) - The 1983 Soviet submission to the Academy Awards, this black&white film is well-made but not compelling.

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David Deal enjoyed:

BULLDOG DRUMMOND STRIKES BACK (34) - Ronald Coleman and Loretta Young in a highly entertaining example of the series.

HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (81) - I like this lively Russian version.

SHANGHAI COBRA (45)

Charles Gilbert watched:

STRAIT-JACKET (1964) B&W. Not as disturbing as the first viewing. A young Lee Majors is the first victim of the ax.

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea television:

    'The Deadly Dolls' S04E02. Racconteur Vincent Price entertains the men of Seaview with his puppet show but quickly reveals a sinister side when the dolls become evil doubles for the crew.

   'Flaming Ice' SO4E22. Cryoaliens at the Arctic ice cap menace the crew. Michael Pate is the guest star in frosty blue makeup.

   'Abominable Snowman' SO4E18. One of the scientists picked up by the Seaview near Antarctica has mutated into a white furry creature.

Movin' On television:

   'Landslide' S01E16. Cameron Mitchell and John Ritter guest star as alcoholic father and medic son among a group of travellers detoured into back country where they encounter a landslide.

   'Fraud' S01E17. Barry Sullivan and daughter Jenny play father and daughter in a caper implicating Sonny and Will (Claude Akins and Frank Converse) for arson.

   'Ammo' S01E18. Loading at a meat plant the two truckers discover there's no ham in the cans but ammunition stolen from the U. S. Navy intended for a revolution.

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SPAGHETTI CINEMA back issue listing

SPAGHETTI CINEMA
A photocopy fanzine investigating Italian and Spanish popular cinema, S.C. began in 1984 and continues to come out as often as possible.

Order from: 
William Connolly
1763 Pinnacle Way
Upland, CA 91784-9251

All back issues are kept available. It is $10 per issue - postage included.

 #1 (May 1984) Personal History of Italian Westerns/GOLIATH AND THE VAMPIRES/YOJIMBO Vs. A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS

 #2 (Sept 1984) Richard Harrison/Chang Cheh/CLEOPATRA'S DAUGHTER/THE FOUR ASSASSINS/YOR

 #3 (Dec 1984) HERCULES: Reeves vs. Ferrigno/Franco Solinas/TEPEPA/A BULLET FOR THE GENERAL

 #4 (Jan 1985) Reeves vs. Ferrigno II/Anthony M. Dawson/Lo Lieh/HORROR CASTLE/KILLER FISH

 #5 (Feb 1985, 90pages) Michele Lupo/Sid Pink/Ennio Morricone/Richard Harrison/Chang Cheh

 #6 (May 1985) Ferdinando Baldi/Marcello Baldi/Ennio Morricone/KING DAVID/SAUL AND DAVID

 #7 (July 1985) Ennio Morricone interview/Steve Reeves/Aldo Sambrell/A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS

 #8 (Oct 1985) Steve Reeves 2/Laura Gemser/Ennio Morricone party/TRAP THEM AND KILL THEM

 #9 (Jan 1986) Steve Reeves 3/SANDOKAN THE GREAT/MR. MEAN/DEATH KISS/WHITE WARRIOR

#10 (March 1986) Jose Antonio de la Loma/Lang Jeffries/Lamberto Bava/THE BARCELONA KILL

#11 (April 1986) Personal History of Italian Epics/Guido & Maurizio De Angelis

#12 (May 1986) Italian Western Comic Satire/Antonio Molino Rojo/TAUR/MANOS TORPES

#13 (June 1986) Gordon Scott/More Steve Reeves/Don Taylor/Tetsuro Tamba/5 MAN ARMY

#14 (Aug 1986) Gordon Scott 2/Frank Wolff/Video Reviews/A FEW DOLLARS FOR DJANGO

#15 (Nov 1986) Gordon Scott 3/Frank Wolff 2/ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST/THE TRAMPLERS

#16 (Jan 1987) Gordon Scott 4/Frank Wolff 3/WHEN WOMEN HAD TAILS/COBARI/LION OF ST. MARK

#17 (Jan 1987) Luigi Cozzi interview/VAMPIRE OF THE OPERA/THE TEXICAN/ADVENTURES OF HERCULES

#18 (March 1987) Gordon Scott 5/Riccardo Freda interview/SARTANA checklist/I VAMPIRI

#19 (May 1987) Gordon Scott 6/Riccardo Freda 2/Nico Fidenco/WITCHES' CURSE/THEODORA

#20 (July 1987) Monsters of Hercules/Gordon Scott 7/Riccardo Freda 3/DANGER! DEATH RAY

#21 (July 1987) Gordon Scott 8/Dean Reed/Sean Flynn/SON OF CAPTAIN BLOOD/Video Reviews

#22 (Aug 1987) Italian Soundtrack Albums/TRINITY Checklist/More Video Reviews

#23 (Oct 1987) Joe D'Amato/More Italian Soundtracks/More Video Reviews/5 GIANTS FROM TEXAS

#24 (Nov 1987) Joe D'Amato 2/Richard Harrison interview/THE INVINCIBLE GLADIATOR

#25 (Jan 1988) Joe D'Amato 3/Richard Harrison 2/More Soundtracks/STAGEFRIGHT/

#26 (March 1988) Richard Harrison 3/Joe D'Amato 4/Carlo Rambaldi and Son/

#27 (April 1988) Richard Harrison 4/KOMMISAR X/SEVEN DOORS TO DEATH/Brad Harris

#28 (May 1988) Joe D'Amato 5/Joe Robinson interview/ATOM AGE VAMPIRE

#29 (June 1988) Joe D'Amato 6/ Richard Harrison 5/EROTIC NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD

#30 (July 1988) Richard Harrison 6/Joselito/NIGHT OF THE SHARKS/HIS NAME WAS KING

#31 (Aug 1988) Mark Forest Interview/Joselito 2/Joe D'Amato 7/WARRIOR QUEEN/SON OF SAMSON

#32 (Nov 1988) Mark Forest 2/Richard Harrison 7/Christopher Mitchum/THE MAGNIFICENT GLADIATOR

#33 (Dec 1988) Mark Forest 3/Enzo G. Castellari interview/GO KILL AND COME BACK/LION OF THEBES

#34 (March 1989) Richard Harrison 8/John Dulaney interview/Mark Forest 4/Making ROBOWAR

#35 (June 1989) Sergio Leone obits/Reg Park interview/Robert Woods interview/

#36 (Aug 1989) Richard Harrison 9/"Castle of Frankenstein" reprints/NINJA TERMINATOR

#37 (Nov 1989) Reg Park 2/Jacinto Molina-Paul Naschy interview/John Steiner/Robert Woods 2

#38 (Jan 1990) Richard Harrison 10/Lee Van Cleef filmography/Diana Conca interview

#39 (March 1990) Gordon Mitchell interview/Salvador Sainz/Fred Olen Ray on Lee Van Cleef

#40 (July 1990) Gordon Mitchell 2/Sergio Corbucci/Tony Anthony and Friends

#41 (Aug 1990) 1968, Cinema's Greatest Year?/BEYOND THE LAW/COMMANDOS/BANDIDOS

#42 (Nov 1990) Brad Harris interview/Victor Israel interview/THE REBEL GLADIATORS

#43 (Jan 1991) Reg Lewis interview/Antoni Ribas/Robert Woods 3/Sergio Corbucci 2

#44 (April 1991) Serge Gainsbourg/Donald Pleasence/"CoF" reprints/THE FURY OF HERCULES

#45 (July 1991) Richard Harrison 11/Reg Park 3/Carlo Vanzina/VOODOO BABY/MY BEAUTIFUL LIFE

#46 (Sept 1991) Belinda Lee/Walter Barnes/Bigas Luna/CONSTANTINE AND THE CROSS/

#47 (Dec 1991) Gordon Mitchell 3/Tony Anthony and Friends 2/Cowboy Gangsters/

#48 (Jan 1992) Ed Fury interview/Janet Agren filmography/ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA

#49 (June 1992) A Random Review Issue with Ed Fury filmography/INQUISICION/MIGHTY URSUS

#50 (Sept 1992) A Special Anniversary Issue On the People In S.C. History

#51 (Oct 1992) Donald Pleasence 2/Paul Muller filmography/Figures in Greek Cinema

#52 (March 1993) Sergio Corbucci 3/DUEL OF THE TITANS/Goodbye to Dana Andrews and Chuck Connors

#53 (June 1993) Robert Woods 4/Italian Epics Released In the USA/UNFORGIVEN/$5,000 ON THE ACE

#54 (Nov 1993) Richard Harrison 12/THE THREE SERGEANTS OF BENGAL/SCALPS/THE TWO GLADIATORS

#55 (Jan 1994) Pietro Francisci/TV Prologue For A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS/ATTILA/WARRIOR EMPRESS

#56 (May 1994) Walter Barnes 2/CAPTAIN SINDBAD/FRONTIER HELLCAT/THE BIG GUNDOWN

#57 (Aug 1994) A Visit To the Western Locations In Almeria, Spain

#58 (Oct 1994) Duccio Tessari Interview and Filmography/Italian Sword And Sandal trivia

#59 (Dec 1994) Dancing Girls In Epic Films/Gordon Mitchell 4/ACHILLES/THE CENTURION

#60 (Feb 1995) Dancing Girls In Epic Films 2/Sylva Koscina/UNCLE WAS A VAMPIRE/

#61 (June 1995) Dancing Girls In Epic Films 3/Woody Strode/Another Visit To Almeria

#62 (Aug 1995) Dancing Girls In Epic Films 4/Tony Anthony and Friends 3/BLINDMAN/GET MEAN

#63 (Jan 1996) Alan Steel/HERCULES AGAINST THE MOONMEN/FAST-HAND IS STILL MY NAME

#64 (March 1996) Dancing Girls In Epic Films 5/Guy Madison/Martin Balsam/"Castle of Frankenstein"

#65 (Aug 1996) Dancing Girls 6/Sergio Corbucci 4/Lucio Fulci & Luigi Pistilli Obits & Filmographies

#66 (Jan 1997) Dancing Girls 7/Obituary and Filmography for Bruno Corbucci/COP IN BLUE JEANS

#67 (July 1997) Dancing Girls 8/Giulio Questi Interview and Filmography/DJANGO KILL!/Franco Arcalli

#68 (Oct 1997) The Siegfried Movies/Mike Monty Profile/The Films of David Warbeck/Mirella Panfili

#69 (July 1998) Walter Barnes 3 and obituary/THE RAPE OF THE SABINES/GARTER COLT/MOMENT TO KILL

#70 (Jan 1999) More On Almeria, Spain/SIGFRIDO/Don Taylor & Vittorio Cottafavi Obits & Filmographies

#71 (Oct 1999) Rossano Brazzi and Horst Frank Obituaries and Filmographies/Lee Van Cleef on the set

#72 (July 2000) Sword and Sandal Directors Talk #1/Richard Wyler Interview and Filmography/Steve Reeves Obit

#73 (July 2001) Sword and Sandal Themes/Monte Hellman Interview/Tiberio Mitri Obit/Manuel Cano #1

#74 (Feb 2003) Sword and Sandal Directors Talk #2/Manuel Cano #2/Italian Westerns On DVD #1

#75 (June 2004) Arianne Ulmer Cipes on Edgar G. Ulmer/Samson Burke Talks/Thomas Hunter Talks

#76 (Feb 2006) The Beasts of Hercules/Manuel Cano #3/Italian Western Directors Talk #1


#77 (Jan 2008) The Monsters of Hercules/Italian Western Directors Talk #2/Mickey Hargitay filmography

TWENTY FAVORITE ITALIAN/SPANISH WESTERNS
by William Connolly

This listing has an historical, both personal and chronological, perspective because that is often what I most enjoy - when and how I experienced something often times is more important to me than what others may judge as objective criteria. This listing also changes. Films that were favorites in the past may fall out of favor after re-seeing them.
Growing up an Army brat on Okinawa, I had access to the movies which played at the on-base theaters, and those which played at the off-base theaters. I think I was 8 when I saw APACHE GOLD, aka WINNETOU 1. TEIL, and my older brother Patrick told me that it was a German Western. When I was 10 and my family went to see A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, we all knew that it was an Italian Western. My mother embraced the critical opinion that FISTFUL was too violent, so I accepted that it wasn't any good. Around this time, I saw a Spy movie at an off-base theater and witnessed the preview for DJANGO. I thought it was the most ridiculous-looking movie ever with people being machine-gunned right and left. I recounted my memory of that trailer many times, but my curiosity was arroused by seeing the 45rpm single on the jukebox at the Daimaru Bowling Alley. Then came the fateful day I went to see MODESTY BLAISE at a movie theater in Futenma. I arrived early and so caught the last half of THE RETURN OF RINGO.

1) IL RITORNO DI RINGO, aka THE RETURN OF RINGO - This was the movie which changed my attitude toward Italian Westerns and it remained my favorite Giuliano Gemma film. I had never seen a Western which had the romantic impact that this film had. And having the hero go into the final fight with a broken gun hand was bracing. I later found out that director Duccio Tessari and star Gemma made one of my favorite mythological films, ARRIVANO I TITANI, aka SONS OF THUNDER, aka MY SON THE HERO.

2) PERCHE UCCIDI ANCORA, aka WHY GO ON KILLING? - This was the first Italian Western I went to see because it was an Italian Western - though as the director was Jose Antonio de la Loma perhaps I should say it was a Spanish Western. The casual brutality of the opening execution was shocking and the persona of star Anthony Steffen was something I hadn't before seen. This was the first Western in which the ending was suspenseful as I wasn't certain our hero would win.

3) DEGUEYO - Having seen John Wayne's THE ALAMO four times, I understood what the title of this movie meant and it was the second Italian Western that I went to see because it was an Italian Western. Again the casual brutality of the film was shocking, as was the fact that the heroine didn't survive. With both of his hands damaged by rope burns, Giacomo Rossi Stuart went into the final battle with Dan Vadis crippled and I wasn't certain that our hero would win. This was something that I had never experienced in an American Western.

4) DJANGO - After ridiculing it for about a year, this Sergio Corbucci directed flick was re-released at the off-base theaters on a double-bill with PER UN PUGNO DI DOLLARI. This was my first experience seeing an Italian Western in Italian with Japanese subtitles, but it did not harm my enjoyment of the action. Again our hero goes into the final fight with crippled hands and the suspense was intense. I am now grateful that I didn't first experience this movie with the English dialogue track, because that version ruins the ending. The elegance of Major Jackson shooting with "In the name of the Father (bang), and of the Son (bang), and of the Holy (bang) Ghost (bang)" was brilliant and the fact that the English dubbers didn't use that was criminal. Thankfully, the Blue Underground DVD allowed Americans to watch the movie in Italian with English subtitles. I found out later that Corbucci had directed by favorite mythological film, ROMOLO E REMO, aka DUEL OF THE TITANS.

5) PER UN PUGNO DI DOLLARI, aka A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS - Rewatching this movie in Italian with Japanese subtitles helped me to re-evaulate Sergio Leone's first Western. However, I was such a fan of DJANGO, that I convinced myself that DJANGO came first and that Leone had ripped off Corbucci. That made four out of five films in which our hero goes into the finale with a wounded hand, though I suppose we should all thank director Akira Kurosawa with that plot element from YOJIMBO. I found out later that Leone had directed another of my favorite sword and sandal films, IL COLOSSO DI RODI, aka THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES.

6) PER QUALCHE DOLLARI IN PIU, aka FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE - When the second of the Sergio Leone/Clint Eastwood collaborations came out, I was primed and rushed to the theater. With a bigger budget, Sergio Leone enriched his approach to Westerns, introduced Lee Van Cleef as a lead, and popularized the term "bounty killer".

7) EL PRECIO DE UN HOMBRE, aka THE BOUNTY KILLER, aka THE UGLY ONES - While this was directed by a Spaniard, Eugenio Martin, the film played the Japanese circuit in Italian with Japanese subtitles. Luckily I had already fallen in love with the movie before the American version with the title THE UGLY ONES came to Okinawa because that version had dialogue so out of sync that the audience laughed. Tomas Milian may have played the bad guy, but all of the publicity material showcased him and helped to make him a star.

8) SE SEI VIVO SPARA, aka IF YOU LIVE, SHOOT!, aka DJANGO KILL - Director Giulio Questi and Tomas Milian got the money to make a Western and the result was a perverse art film. Again I was lucky to have orginally watched this in Italian with Japanese subtitles because the English language version ruins the film. Again, thankfully, the Blue Underground DVD can be seen in Italian with English subtitles.

9) UN DOLLARO TRA I DENTI, aka A STRANGER IN TOWN - Director Luigi Vanzi and star Tony Anthony showed how to do A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS on an even lower budget, and Anthony's connections to Allen Klein got a U.S. distribution deal with MGM which proved so successful that sequels were ordered.

10) LE COLT CONTARONO LA MORTE E FU... TEMPO DI MASSACRO, aka MASSACRE TIME, aka THE BRUTE AND THE BEAST - Director Lucio Fulci emphasized the gothic elements which directors Leone and Corbucci infused their Westerns, solidified Franco Nero's star status and introduced George Hilton.

11) IL BUONO IL BRUTTO IL CATTIVO, aka THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY - Leone took on the epic adventure and changed American culture.

12) FACCIA A FACCIA, aka FACE TO FACE - Director Sergio Sollima brought an intellectual element to the Italian Western with Gian Maria Volonte, Tomas Milian and William Berger. Carole Andre as Cattle Annie made an indelible impression.

13) NAVAJO JOE - Director Sergio Corbucci, star Burt Reynolds and composer Ennio Morricone brought an intense physicallity to this revenge tale which made for exhilarating viewing.

14) QUIEN SABE?, aka A BULLET FOR THE GENERAL - Director Damiano Damiani's film set during the Mexican Revolution introduced the idea of using popular action stories to spread political ideas.

15) 2 ONCE DI PIOMBO, aka MY NAME IS PECOS - I didn't see this until the 1980s, but this tale of a Mexican gunman getting revenge on racist gringos was a welcome change of pace and was probably Robert Woods' best Western.

16) VAMOS A MATAR, COMPANEROS, aka COMPANEROS - Director Sergio Corbucci did two films about a mercenary trying to make a buck during the Mexican Revolution. I prefer this one over IL MERCENARIO, aka A PROFESSIONAL GUN, because of the interplay between Franco Nero and Tomas Milian and the fact that our hero commits to the cause in the end.

17) TEPEPA - Another film dealing with the Mexican Revolution, TEPEPA offered Tomas Milian a opportunity to create a character of depth under the direction of Giulio Petroni and able support by John Steiner.

18) IL GRANDE SILENZIO, aka GREAT SILENCE - With Jean-Louis Trintignant, Vonetta MacGree, Klaus Kinski and Frank Wolff, director Sergio Corbucci made the ultimate statement about an hero going to the final shootut with crippled hands.

19) GIU LA TESTA, aka DUCK YOU SUCKER - Reacting to the "political Westerns", director Sergio Leone did his own take on the Mexican Revolution and the result was the most emotionally engaging film of his career.

20) BLINDMAN - Adding Ringo Starr to the company, Tony Anthony brought in director Ferdinando Baldi to make his most expensive and most outrageous Western.

TWENTY GREATEST ITALIAN/SPANISH WESTERNS
by William Connolly

William Ferguson challenged me to list the 20 greatest Italian/Spanish Westerns. I tend to shy away from the term "greatest" because that suggests a more objective criteria than I usually want to deal with. I prefer considering my favorites, but for this exercise I'll attempt "greatest". To be great a film has to be exceptional; to be first - to have a noticeable impact - to have imitators.

1) SAVAGE GUNS - While Spanish filmmakers had already been using Almeria to play the American southwest, this was the first English language production to show what it could do - though Sidney Pink prefers to think that his FINGER ON A TRIGGER did the job.

2) GRINGO, aka GUNFIGHT AT RED SANDS - Here's an example of Italian producers and a Spanish director making a Western before Sergio Leone got his chance. And it is the first Western scored by Ennio Morricone. It also introduced Richard Harrison as a Western star.

3) PER UN PUGNO DI DOLLARI, aka A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS - If it isn't for this movie, this list probably wouldn't exist.

4) MINNESOTA CLAY - Here's the production that got director Sergio Corbucci away from Yugoslavia, where he made MASSACRE AT THE GRAND CANYON, to make Westerns in Spain.

5) PISTOLEROS DE ARIZONA, aka $5,000 ON AN ACE - This establishes the Balcazar studios as an alternative to Almeria and introduces Robert Woods to Western stardom.

 

6) UNA PISTOLA PER RINGO, aka A PISTOL FOR RINGO - Duccio Tessari brings his sense of ironic humor to the Western and helps to establish Giuliano Gemma as the first home grown star of Italian Westerns, behind the name Montgomery Wood.

7) PER QUALCHE DOLLARI IN PIU, aka FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE - With a bigger budget, Sergio Leone enriches his approach to Westerns, introduces Lee Van Cleef as a lead, and popularizes the term "bounty killer".

 

8) IL RITORNO DI RINGO, aka THE RETURN OF RINGO - Duccio Tessari is able to inject a sense of mythology into his Westerns, and Giuliano Gemma starts to use his real name.
9) DJANGO - Director Sergio Corbucci decides to follow in Sergio Leone's footsteps with a lower budget, more graphic violence and a sense of exuberance that creates a new trend. This film also gave Franco Nero his first starring role.

10) UN DOLLARO TRA I DENTI, aka A STRANGER IN TOWN - Director Luigi Vanzi and star Tony Anthony show how to do A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS on an even lower budget, and Anthony's connections to Allen Klein gets a U.S. distribution deal with MGM which proves so successful that sequels are ordered.

 

11) LE COLT CONTARONO LA MORTE E FU... TEMPO DI MASSACRO, aka MASSACRE TIME, aka THE BRUTE AND THE BEAST - Director Lucio Fulci emphasizes the gothic elements which directors Leone and Corbucci infuse their Westerns, solidifies Franco Nero's star status and introduces George Hilton.

12) IL BUONO IL BRUTTO IL CATTIVO, aka THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY - Leone takes on the epic adventure and changes American culture.

13) FACCIA A FACCIA, aka FACE TO FACE - Director Sergio Sollima brings an intellectual element to these kinds of movies.

14) VADO... L'AMMAZZO E TORNO, aka ANY GUN CAN PLAY - Ditching the E.G. Rowland name and adopting the Enzo G. Castellari credit, Enzo Girolami makes George Hilton a star and takes these movies down the thorny path from being ironic commentary on American Westerns to satirizing European Westerns.

15) EL PRECIO DE UN HOMBRE, aka THE BOUNTY KILLER, aka THE UGLY ONES - Tomas Milian gives a movie career one last try and takes work in a Western shot in Spain. The result is a classic of its type.

16) SE SEI VIVO SPARA, aka IF YOU LIVE, SHOOT!, aka DJANGO KILL - Director Giulio Questi and Tomas Milian get the money to make a Western and the result is a perverse art film.

17) 7 PISTOLI PER I MACGREGOR, aka SEVEN GUNS FOR THE MACGREGORS - Director Franco Giraldi establishes his career with a film that acknowledges the influence of SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS on Italian filmmakers and continues Robert Woods' Western career.

18) QUIEN SABE?, aka A BULLET FOR THE GENERAL - Director Damiano Damiani says that this isn't a Western; it's about the Mexican Revolution. The Mexican Revolution has been a plot element in alot of Westerns, including GRINGO, so attempting to make this a seperate category doesn't seem worthwhile. In any case, this movie introduces the idea of using popular action stories to spread political ideas.

19) SE INCONTRI SARTANA PREGA PER LA TUA MORTE, aka IF YOU MEET SARTANA, PRAY FOR YOUR DEATH - Director Gianfranco Parolini makes Gianni Garko a star with a Western spoof of the James Bond gadget-filled movies, though with less bedroom action.

20) LO CHIAMAVANO TRINITA, aka THEY CALL ME TRINITY - Though they had already teamed-up for director Giuseppe Colizzi, Terence Hill and Bud Spencer become superstars under the direction of Enzo Barboni with this slapstick comedy that spoofs European Westerns even more strongly than ANY GUN CAN PLAY.