Sunday, August 22, 2010

Leone Prepping $5,000,000 Saga

From: Variety 1968
Rome, Jan. 9.

After three straight years of absolute boxoffice leadership with "For A Fistful of Dollars," "For A Few Dollars More" and "The Good, The Ugly, The Bad," Sergio Leone missed the marquee last Dec. 25 though indirectly represented by his ex-assistant Tonino Valeri, and a Leone-like western, "Days of Anger."
Prepared to abandon the school of Italoaters he brought to life, Leone last week discussed his return to coproduce and direct a $5,000,000 saga, "Once Upon a Time In the West," and explained his long absence since "The Good, The Ugly, The Bad" as a period filled with preparation to complete the screenplay commit a big cast and set locations in Arizona and Spain.
Partnering with Euro International Film, Leone signed Charles Bronson as the male lead (though billed below the title), Henry Fonda, Claudia Cardinale and Jason Robards (above the title) and a supporting cast including Enrico Maria Salerno, Frank Woolf, Robert Hossein, Robert Ryan, Jack Elam and Woody Strode.
Europe International prexy Count Giuseppe Cicogna said "Once Upon a Time" would enter production April 1 near Guadix in southern Spain for a two-month location period, then move to Monument Valley for four more weeks of exteriors and wind on interiors in Rome either in Cinecitta or Dinocitta.
Budget, he said, was over 3,000,000,000 lire ($5,000,000) an investment totally financed in Italy - the biggest project of its kind backed entirely by national capital. However, the investment risk is considerably lighter since Cicoqua's recent deal with Paramount topper Charles Bluhdorn for Yank release worldwide, less Italy where Cicogna hopes Leone will climb back in the b.o. saddle with another of his shattering grosses for the Euro distrib banner.
Yarn deals with three bandits (Bronson, Fonda, Robards) and prostie Cardinale in the '60s of the last century who find the West closing out on them with advent of the chemin de fer and unity between East and West. Film will retain the violence and irony that characterized Leone's earlier trio of school-founding oaters. But the director said he hopes to incorporate a big social vista of mid-18th century America.

[Again, I've reproduced the original article with mis-spellings and factual mistakes; i.e. the film takes place during the 19th century - the 1800s, not the 18th century - the 1700s.]

Thursday, August 12, 2010

The Official Foreign Zorro Films

From: ZORRO UNMASKED
by Sandra Curtis

APPENDIX C
ZORRO FILMS - FOREIGN

1952 Il Segno di Zorro (Zorro's Dream) - Italy - Mario Soldati - Walter Chiari
1958 El Zorro Escarlata - Mexico
1961 El Zorro Vengador (Zorro the Avenger) - Spain - Joaiquin Luis Romero - Luis Aguilar
1961 Zorro Nella Valle dei Fantasmi - Mexico - - Jeff Stone
1961 Espada del Zorro (retitled Zorro for American release in 1963) - Spain/France
1961 Zorro Contro Maciste (Zorro versus Maciste) (retitled Samson and the Slave Queen for American TV release in 1963) - Italy - Umberto Lenzi - Pierre Brice
1961 Zorro E I Tre Moschettiere (Zorro and the Three Musketeers) - Italy - Luigi Capuano - Gordon Scott
1962 Zorro Alla Corte di Spagna (Zorro at the Court of Spain) (American release, 1977) - Italy/Spain - Luigi Capuano - Giorgio Ardisson
1962 La Venganza del Zorro - Spain/Mexico - - Frank Latimore
1962 Il Segno di Zorro (retitled Mark of Zorro) - Franco/Italy - Mario Caiano - Sean Flynn
1963 La Tre Spade di Zorro - Italy/Spain - - Guy Stockwell
1963 L'Ombra di Zorro (Oath of Zorro) - Spain/Italy - Richard Blasco - Frank Latimore
1963 Shade of Zorro - Italy/Spain - Francesco de Masi
1964 Three Swords of Zorro - Italy - Richard Blasco
1964 Behind the Mask of Zorro - Italy - Richard Blasco
1964 Adventures of the Brothers X - Mexico - Frederic Curiel
1964 The Lone Rider - Mexico - Ralph Baledon
1964 The Valley of the Disappearing - Mexico - Ralph Baledon
1965 Il Giuramente di Zorro - Italy/Spain - - Tony Russel
1965 La Montana Sin Ley - Spain - Jose Suarez
1966 Zorro Il Ribelle (Zorro the Rebel) - Italy - Piero Pierotti - Howard Ross
1968 Nippotti di Zorro (Grandsons of Zorro) - Italy - Franco Franchi and Ciccia Ingrassia - Dean Reed
1968 Zorro il Cavaliere della Vendetta - Italy/Spain - - Charles Quiney
1968 El Zorro la Volpe - Italy - - Giorgio Ardisson
1969 Zorro il Dominatore (Zorro the Domineerer) - Italy/Spain - - Charles Quiney
1969 Zorro the Navarra Marquis (Zorro Marchese di Navarro) - Italy - Francois Monty - Nadir Moretti
1969 El Zorro - Italy - - Giorgio Ardisson
1969 Zorro alla Corte D'Inghilterra (Zorro at the English Court) - Italy - Franco Montemorro - Spyros Focas
1969 El Zorro Justiciero - Italy/Spain - - Martin Moore
1970 Zorro, the Knight of the Vengeance - Spain - Jose Louis Merion -
1970 Zorro la Maschera della Vendetta - Italy/Spain - - Charles Quiney
1972 Les Aventures Galantes de Zorro - Belgium - Jean -Michel Dhermay -
1973 El Hijo del Zorro - Italy/Spain - Gian Franco Baldanelle -
1973 El Figlio di Zorro - Italy/Spain - - Robert Widmark
1974 Zorro (American release by United Artists in 1975) - Italy/France - Duccio Tessari - Alain Delon
1974 El Zorro - Mexico - - Julio Aldama
1975 Il Sogno di Zorro - Italy - - Franco Fanchi

[I decided to copy this listing without making corrections just for the record.]