To answer these trivia questions, please email me at scinema@earthlink.net.
Brain Teasers:
Which star of Italian Westerns did one film in which he faced off against his son, and then another film in which he faced off with his brother?
Tom Betts knew that it was Anthony Steffen in 7 DOLLARI SUL ROSSO, aka 7 DOLLARS TO KILL and 1000 DOLLARI SUL NERO, aka BLOOD AT SUNDOWN.
Under what name did Roberto Miali act in Italian Westerns?
Tom Betts, Bertrand van Wonterghem, Angel Rivera and George Grimes knew that it was Jerry Wilson, who appeared in both of the above mentioned Anthony Steffen Westerns.
By what name is Alberto Cardone better known?
Tom Betts, Bertrand van Wonterghem, Angel Rivera and George Grimes knew that it was Albert Cardiff, who directed both of the above mentioned Anthony Steffen Westerns.
And now for some new brain teasers:
Bertrand van Wonterghem asks, "Which Italian Western actor made five films with his biological son and two with his adopted son?"
The step-daughter of which Italian Western star performed nude at the age of 12 in an Italian movie?
The English version of which Italian Western ends with the line "The Red and the Black"?
Name the movies from which these images came.
George Grimes and Bertrand van Wonterghem identified last week's frame grab of Aldo Sanbrell in UN TRENO PER DURANGO, aka A TRAIN FOR DURANGO.
Above a new photo.
Can you identify from what movie it came?
George Grimes, Angel Rivera and Bertrand van Wonterghem identified last week's photo of Louis Jourdan and Sylvia Syms in LE VERGINI DI ROMA, aka AMAZONS OF ROME.
Above is a new photo.
Can you identify from what movie it came?
David Deal, Bertrand van Wonterghem, Angel Rivera and George Grimes identified last week's frame grab of Stuart Whitman in UNA MAGNUM SPECIAL PER TONY SAITTA, aka BLAZING MAGNUM, aka STRANGE SHADOWS IN AN EMPTY ROOM.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?
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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:
Highly enjoyed:
BAD REPUTATION (2018) - Writer/editor Joel Marcus and director Kevin Kerslake's documentary on Joan Jett delivers more than I expected. So quibbling about what's not there is sour grapes: there is hardly any mention of Jackie Fox and no mention of Vickie Blue. And there's no mention of the changing line-up of the Blackhearts, but there is so much stuff about Kenny Laguna that I never knew. What is golden, though, is the stuff about her collaboration with The Germs and the clip of her playing with Pat Smear and Nirvana at the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. Like many readers of Cream, Rock Scene and Circus in the 1970s, I thought of The Runaways as "manufactured punk", put together by the guy who wrote "Alley Oop", Kim Fowley. It wasn't until I picked up a U.K. Punk Rock compilation album called "New Wave" that included "Hollywood" by the Runaways that I started to take them seriously. Then I saw them as the opening act for The Ramones at the Santa Monica Civic - after Jackie and Cherie had left and they were a four piece - and I became a fan. As I've written before, I am a sucker for a band with a female drummer and Sandy West was mesmerizing. I was also surprised at seeing Joan Jett live, because often when I went to see bands at the Whiskey A Go Go, I thought it was cute that there was a little girl walking around who tried to look like her. Well, it was her. The documentary doesn't say much about her personal life, aside from that fact that she credits her parents for getting her that first guitar. I have a new found respect for Miley Cyrus as she credits Joan Jett as an inspiration and brought her together with Laura Jane Grace to sing a cover of "Androgynous" by The Replacements. How come the Magnolia Home Entertainment DVD doesn't include the "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)" video among the Special Features playlist? Is it because co-writer Gary Glitter is now a convicted sex offender?
Mildly enjoyed:
HOUSE OF DRACULA (1945) - I got over my disappointment in this film decades ago, so I could enjoy the gothic atmosphere which Universal Studios gave this low-budget flick. However, I am still unhappy with how hunchbacked Jane Adams is discarded when I find her so much more appealing that female lead Martha O'Driscoll. Was John Carradine using piano music to put O'Driscoll under his spell an inspiration for KISS OF THE VAMPIRE?
PUNCH LINE (1988) - After a number of successes with films like THE OMEN and PROPHECY, writer David Seltzer decided to become a director with a sensitive high school comedy/drama called LUCAS. He followed that with a film about stand-up comedians which he actually wrote in 1979 and had been shelved numerous times until Sally Field saw it and said "yes". Field is a New Jersey housewife, who wants to try stand-up comedy in New York clubs. She has three daughters with husband John Goodman and he doesn't approve of his wife being out of the house at night. She meets promising comedian Tom Hanks who can't pay his rent and is hiding the fact that he's been kicked out of medical school from his father. After a failed attempt to sell Field jokes to cover his rent, Hanks decides to show Field what being a comedian is all about. This part of the film kind of feels like a new version of A STAR IS BORN with the addition of Field having family complications. Having Hanks fall in love with Field is an irritating plot turn, and, the film suddenly feels like it might go the way of Showtime's I'm Dying Up Here (2017) when Hanks starts to dance in traffic on a rainy night. Thankfully the melodrama calms down for a comedy contest that closes the movie. When this movie first came out, critics complained that it had too much drama and not enough laughs. They seemed to completely miss the point of the film, but the romantic melodrama was irritating. This marked another return to acting for director Mark Rydell, and for director Paul Mazursky. Also in the cast was Kim Greist, Taylor Negron, Damon Wayans and George Wallace (the black comic). Actor George D. Wallace also appeared as a medical doctor.
The Snow Queen (2005) - Paul K. Joyce was inspired to write seven operatic songs telling the story of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale due to the illness of a close friend. In Decembert 2003, the songs were performed at the Barbican Arts Centre in London with Juliet Stevenson performing as a narrator and Sydney Rae White as the lead girl soprano along with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Featured in this concert were computer generated images produced by Julian Gibbs of the U.K. based company Intro. The concert went so well, that Joyce and Gibbs decided to turn it into a TV movie. Sydney Rae White played the role of Gerda with Stevenson playing her mother. Shot in Canada against blue screen, the final film treated the actors as if they were animated in the computer generated surroundings. Pax Baldwin played Kay, the little boy stolen away by The Snow Queen, played by Tiffany Amber Knight. Helping White search for Baldwin was a Raven, voiced by Patrick Stewart, and others, including a King played by Kenneth Welsh. There was a lot of incident packed into a 60 minute running time, so things felt kind of rushed and undeveloped dramatically - like how come the Robber Girl didn't show up for the ending? However, watching Sydney Rae White was a joy in her first film. While she had made a number of other TV projects, she seemed currently concentrating on fronting the band The Wild Things with her brother Cameron White, her husband Rob Kendrick with Pete Wheeler on drums.
Did not enjoy:
RAW TARGET (1995) - The makers of low budget American martial arts movies seem to feel that it is more important to gather performers with physical skills together than to come up with a script that would make their efforts compelling. Dale "Apollo" Cook, Ron Hall and Nicholas Hill are all impressive fighters, but none of them are good enough actors to make the lines given them in Larry Maddox and Lawrence A. Maddox's script sound sensible. Tim Spring's direction mostly consists of keeping his shots wide enough to capture the fighters' movements. Staging most of the action either at night or in dark interiors may have been intended to have it seem dramatic, but mostly it just makes things difficult to see. After Dale Cook kills a man in the kickboxing ring, he gives up the fight game. Hearing that his brother has been killed, Cook hitchhikes back to town, and of course is soon set up on a team of muggers that he kicks to pieces. Arrested by cops, Cook is brought to police headquarters, where Cop Ron Hall is arguing with DEA agent Mychelle Charters about how her use of Cook's brother as an undercover operative got him killed. Charters then decides to use Cook in the same capacity, even though Hall wants to kill Cook because it was his brother that Cook killed in the ring. Luckily, cocaine dealer Nicholas Hill is such a scum bag that the three team up to bring him down. Charters proves to have an ample bosom which makes her bed scene with Cook enjoyable and she looks good in a simple white tee shirt while tied up spread eagle in the villain's lair. The film ends with a weird freeze frame before which Charters complains that she wanted to arrest the bad guy, and the other two reply "Not".
A SIMPLE WISH (1997) - In 1973, Sid Sheinberg became president and chief operating officer of MCA, Inc. and Universal Studios. During his time, MCA became a major player with the highest grossing films of the 1970s, 80s and 90s. After the Seagram Company took over MCA, Sheinberg left, and like many former studio heads got a deal to deliver films as an independent producer. His new company was called The Bubble Factory, which determined to provide family films. A SIMPLE WISH was their fifth release, and its box office failure led to Seagram ending their deal. I'm not a fan of Martin Short, and director Michael Ritchie seemed to have given him free reign to do what he wanted with the story of an incompetent male "fairy godmother" who fails to get to the annual meeting of the North American Fairy Godmother Association. This turned out to be a good thing, as the former "fairy godmother" turned evil witch Kathleen Turner had trapped all of the attendees inside and had stolen their wands. Turner was trying to find her old wand, which had been taken away from her when she turned to evil magic and given to Short. Short missed the meeting because he was answering a desire from little girl Mara Wilson. She wanted her handsome-cab-driver-father Robert Pastorelli to win the audition for the lead role in the new Broadway musical TWO CITIES - based on the Charles Dickens' novel A TALE OF TWO CITIES. Things got really complicated when Short forgot his wand in Wilson's bedroom, and it got broken by Wilson's brother Francis Capra. Unfortunately, what seemed intended to be amusing soon became irritating, but some of the other performers were fun, including Ruby Dee, Amanda Plummer and Teri Garr. Fans of director Richie wondered if his dealing with prostate cancer, which ended with his death in 2001, had something to do with how poor this movie turned out.
The White Lotus season one (2021) - Well, I don't understand the acclaim this show got. In many ways it reminds me of Mad Men, which I also didn't enjoy. Here's a collection of characters I don't like doing awful things to each other and some people find this humorous? The show begins with a mystery. Jake Lacy is at the airport watching a dead body being loaded on a flight. The suggestion is that it is his new bride. You have to watch about six hours of the program to discover that it wasn't Alexandra Daddario who was killed, though I spent the entire series waiting for her to die. The lesson of the show seems to be that those rich people on vacation are really messed up people, and that the people catering to them are messed up, too. Wow, what insight! I've never been a fan of humor based on anxiety and this is so tedious.
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David Deal Enjoyed:
WAR OF THE ZOMBIES (63) - This horror peplum needs a decent presentation.
RAIDERS OF THE SEVEN SEAS (53)
ROUGH SHOOT (53) - While in England, US military man Joel McCrea shoots at a poacher and thinks he killed him. Panicked, McCrea tries ot cover his tracks, but this action throws him into an espionage plot much larger than poaching. This exciting British spy tale, cut from British cloth, maintains logic and creates complex characters. Key among these is Herbert Lom as a former Polish commandant, a dangerous dandy. Good fun with a Hitchcockian flavor.
DUEL (71) - See Television Fright Films of the 1970s for a complete review of this famous film.
THE SQUEAKER (63)
RUSTIN (23)
KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL (53)
SECRETS OF THE LONE WOLF (41) - A foreign country brings a cache of jewels aboard a yacht to sell as a defense fund. The cops want the Lone Wolf (Warren William) to tell them how he would steal the jewels so they can better protect them. A gang of jewel thieves wants the same from LW but kidnap his valet (Eric Blore) by mistake. So begins another twisty, funny entry in the series. This time Blore gets more screen time which is good for everyone.
KISS OF THE VAMPIRE (62)
Mildly Enjoyed
RIO (39) - First class confidence man Basil Rathbone finally runs out of luck and is sentenced to a prison island off the coast of Rio. This leaves his wife, Sigrid Gurie, to fend for herself singing in nightclubs and falling for Robert Cummings. These two strands wind together toward a tragic end. Like most movies, there are parts you like and parts you don't like as much. The noir elements in this Universal crime story are strong as is Cummings in his cynical role but Gurie is less appealing and her songs are highlighted more than twice. Over all, this is worth watching for the dark side of the coin.
THE MAGIC SWORD (50) - No, not the Basil Rathbone movie, this fairy tale comes from what was then Yugoslavia. It is certainly well-crafted; cinematography, costumes, Gothic atmosphere, all departments excel here. This rare and good example of Mid-European fantasy is worth seeking out for fans. Features a young Rade Markovic (Operation Titian).
ISLAND OF LOST GIRLS (68) - See The Eurospy Guide for a complete review of this Kommissar X entry.
SAVAGE FRONTIER (53) - Late cycle Allan "Rocky" Lane series entry amps up the violence as Lane tracks psychotic killer "Cherokee" and the upstanding citizens harboring him. "Cherokee" likes to empty his gun into his victims, especially from the back. Strong stuff for a 1950's juvenile audience. Veteran star cowboy Bob Steele is on hand to lend some gravitas.
THE SARACENS (63) - Turkish pirates invade the Dalmation coast. Richard Harrison and Walter Brandi lead the rebellion against them. Director Roberto Mauri (Three Golden Serpents), not known to produce masterworks, manages to drag a well-mounted, action packed movie with unusual locations down to the level of a dull, generic programmer.
THE SILENT WITNESS (32) - In a moment of madness at his spurning by his lover, Bramwell Fletcher (The Mummy [32]) strangles the girl. His father (Lionel Atwill) tries to take the rap for him but things are not as simple as they seem. Adapted from a play, this stagebound version is for Atwill completionists only.
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Angel Rivera Enjoyed:
THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER (1937) When I was a kid, I vaguely remembered seeing this movie. But besides the twins, I only remembered the soldier of fortune who protects the king with what was in my memory, having a name that I remembered as one word, "Mileshendon". Seeing it again after all these years, I now learned the character's name is Miles Hendon and he was portrayed by that swashbuckler supreme, Errol Flynn! The Mauch twins, Billy and Bobby were adequate as the title characters. Clause Rains performs one of his villainous roles, Earl of Hertford. A role similar to his portrayal of Prince John in "The Adventures of Robin Hood"(1938) [Both characters angling for the power of the monarchy.]The film also features Alan Hale. Here in their first picture together, Hale and Flynn are adversaries as opposed to the buddies they usually play in most of the films they were in together. A childhood favorite that still holds up.
ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES (1971) I remember seeing this movie as part of the "Go Ape-Day" marathon, back in 1974, when the original film and its sequels where shown in theatres one after another, for one day only. The original is of course, a classic and on my list of the best SF films of all time. Possibly the best sequel is "Escape from the Planet of the Apes". At least in my opinion. Of all the sequels it is my favorite. Before the end of the world as shown in "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" (1970), our favorite "apes" Cornelius and his wife, Zira (portrayed by Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter) "escape" the explosion along with their friend, the unfortunate Dr. Milo (Sal Mineo) in the ship which brought, Taylor (Charlton Heston) originally to "the Planet of the Apes" (1968) and they land on Taylor's "Earth" in the year, 1971. Great satire! Great comedy! Great drama! Great fun!
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Bertrand van Wonterghem Enjoyed:
The night they come home (2023, Paul G. Volk)
Chien et chat (2023, Reem Kherici)
The invaders – episode “The spores” (1967, William Hale)
Amhaengeosa / Royal secret agent (2020, Kim Jung-min) (tv serie) episode 4
Extraordinary – season 1 (2022) (8 epis)
Onueldo sarangseureobgae / A good day to be a dog (2023, Kim Dae-woong) (tv serie) episodes 1 to 4
Oegye + in 1bu / Alienoid (2022, Choi Dong-hoon)
Mildly enjoyed:
Amjeon / Warning: do not play (2018, Kim Jin-won)
Madame Web (2023, S. J. Clarkson)
3 body problem – season 1 – episodes 1 & 2
Did not enjoy:
Reno 911: the hunt for QAnon (2021, Robert Ben Garant)
Veuillez nous excuser pour la gêne occasionnée (2023, Olivier Vanhoofstadt)
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Charles Gilbert watched:
COMEDY OF TERRORS (1963) Spoof from Jacques Tourneur with a regal cast has funeral directors Vincent Price and a reluctant Peter Lorre pre determining their clientele; Boris Karloff as Vincent's father-in-law being one of their victims. Atrocious.
THE CREEPER (1948) B&W. Doctors Onslow Stevens and Eduardo Ciannelli work on a serum derived from cats while tending to a seemingly neurotic girl that made the research trip with them to the jungle. The experimentation has turned one of them into a killer. Rondo Hatton is not in this.
THE BRUTE MAN (1946) B&W. Rondo Hatton as the murderous 'Creeper' befriends a demure blind girl Helen (Jane Adams) that gives piano lessons. He targets an old acquaintance (Tom Neal) and his wife for the funds to provide for an operation on Helen's eyes. Filmed at Producers Release studios, but incorporates some music notes from Hans Salter of Universal.
McMIllan and Wife (1972) S1E5 "The Face of Murder"
Mac's friend Freddie (Claude Akins), an ex-boxer, is targeted by jewel thief The Dutchman. They feign Freddie's funeral after a staged shoot out to catch the anonymous thief red handed. Never liked this show, but watched this episode because I saw that Hazel Court was in it.
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