To answer these trivia questions, please email me at scinema@earthlink.net.
Brain Teasers:
Which American actor, who made Italian Westerns, also did an episode of The Twilight Zone which was directed by the fellow who directed 1971's THE HUNTING PARTY?
Charles Gilbert, Angel Rivera and George Grimes knew that Frank Wolff was in The Twilight Zone episode "A Passage For Trumpet" directed by Don Medford.
Bertrand van Wonterghem knew of Frank Wolff, but also of Fred Beir in The Twilight Zone episode "Death Ship".
Charles Gilbert asks, "The 'Reach for the Crown' Rolex commercial uses a musical theme from which spaghetti western?"
George Grimes and Angel Rivera knew that it was "Ecstasy of Gold" from THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY.
Which actor, born in Venezuela, worked with directors John Korty, Sacha Guitry, Primo Zeglio, Antonio Leonviola and Giuseppe Vari?
Bertrand van Wonterghem knew that it was Jose Torres.
And now for some new brain teasers:
In which Italian Western does the film end with the victim of rape killing one of the gang who raped her, but the one who did not participate in the rape?
In which French Western does the film end with the victim of rape killing one of the gang who raped her, but the one who did not participate in the rape?
In which French Western is a young woman raped on the orders of a woman whose husband was murdered?
Name the movies from which these images came.
Bertrand van Wonterghem, Charles Gilbert, Rick Garibaldi and George Grimes identified last week's frame grab of George Hilton and Walter Barnes in IL MOMENTO DI UCCIDERE, aka THE MOMENT TO KILL.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?
Bertrand van Wonterghem, George Grimes, Angel Rivera and Charles Gilbert identified last week's photo of Anita Ekberg and Jack Palance in I MONGOLI, aka THE MONGOLS.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?
Bertrand van Wonterghem, Charles Gilbert, Angel Rivera and George Grimes identified last week's photo of Barbara Steele in AMANTI D'OLTRETOMBA, aka LOVERS BEYOND THE TOMB, aka NIGHTMARE CASTLE.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?
No one has identified the above photo.
It shows Bunta Sugawara and Michitaro Mizushi in NIPPON JOKYO-DEN: GEKITO HIMEYURI-MISAKI, aka TRIALS OF AN OKINAWAN VILLAGE in which I appear as an extra.
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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:
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season three (2019) - This is a re-watch for me as I share it with my step daughter.
Enjoyed:
97th Academy Awards (2025)
Mildly enjoyed:
CAPTAIN AMERICA NEW WORLD ORDER (2025)
LO AMMAZZO COME UN CANE... MA LUI RIDEVA ANCORA, aka SHE KILLED HIM LIKE A DOG.... BUT HE WAS STILL SMILING, aka REQUIEM FOR A BOUNTY KILLER, aka DEATH PLAYED THE FLUTE (1972) The usual story about this film was that it was an Italian Western which had hardcore sex scenes put into it to become PORNO EROTIC WESTERN. Seeing the VHS release from Greece with the title REQUIEM FOR A BOUNTY KILLER, which was identical to a Spanish language VHS release with the title REQUIEM POR UN BANDIDO, it looked more to me that this was a porno film that had the sex scenes taken out to pass as an action movie. It also looked like someone started to make a movie with Michael Forest, and then when he wasn't available anymore, they continued to shoot with Steven Tedd, aka Giusepe Cardillo. Eventually, they realized that they needed to pad out the movie to reach the 70 minute running time, so they added some scenes with Susanna Levi and Chet Davis, aka Franco Borelli, that didn't need either Forest or Cardillo. To put it simply, this movie was a nearly incoherant mess. But the music score by Daniele Patucchi, which rarely sounded like something for a Western, kept my interest. It seemed to me that this production was entirely shot around Gordon Mitchell's Cave Studios in Italy, but some think that the scenes featuring Spanish actor Antonio Molino Rojo were actually shot in Spain, for the film UNA CUERDA AL AMANECER, aka YOU ARE A TRAITOR AND I WILL KILL YOU. There was also a report that credited director Angelo Pannaccio did not actually direct the movie. Luigi Petrini, who had previously directed a sex film COSI, COSI... PIU FORTE, aka SO, SO... LOUDER which Pannaccio wrote and produced, suppossedly wrote and directed LO AMMAZZO COME UN CANE. Petrini and Pannaccio argued during the editing of LO AMMAZZO, so Pannaccio took over the project, gave himself the directing credit. He would then do the same for PORNO EROTIC WESTERN. Reportedly PORNO also used footage from UNA CUERDA, plus new material featuring Ray O'Connor, aka Remo Capitani, Tomas Rudy and Laurence Bien. Now why those three were credited as the stars of REQUIEM FOR A BOUNTY KILLER when they don't appear in the film seemed to be a question only Pannaccio could answer.
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David Deal Enjoyed:
TWO GUN SHERIFF (41) - The Sundown Kid (Don "Red" Barry) looks just like the sheriff of Apache Falls (also Barry), so upstanding citizen/bad guy Jay Novello hatches a plan to swap the two so he can sell stolen cattle without any hassle from the law. One of a series of solid westerns from Republic starring Barry, this one a bit more challenging with the dual role. A good example of the genre at the time. Lupita Tovar is the ill-fated love interest of the "Kid."
BOTTLE ROCKET (96)
THEY CAME TO ROB LAS VEGAS (68) - After Gary Lockwood's brother, Jean Servais, is killed trying to rob a supposedly impregnable armoured car made by the Skorsky company, he plans another heist of their vehicle to prove it can be done. This time it will be Vegas money on a run through the desert to LA. What Lockwood doesn't know is that Skorsky (Lee J. Cobb) is in cahoots with the mob and is running ill-gotten loot with the casino money. Throw in Treasury agent Jack Palance who smells a rat in Skorsky, and Lockwood's gal Elke Sommers who works for Skorsky and has the inside info enabling the heist. It's complicated. A Spanish/Italian/West German/French co-production that was a big hit and it's easy to see why. It's colorful and mod but also very cynical and downbeat. Lockwood and some of his crew are psychopaths, the mobsters all suspect each other, and the cops are not lily white either. It's a long film but doesn't feel like it most of the time. Plenty fun.
POISON IVY (53)
THE QUICK AND THE DEAD (95) - Good for more reasons than one.
JUST LIKE BEING THERE (12) - Documentary about the artists who create gig posters. This really focuses on the era from the 1990s to the present (2012) when multi-color posters became the norm. Interesting from a design perspective as well as from the carefree artist viewpoint. Recommended for those interested in design and the counterculture that spawned the art form.
THE DEADLY DREAM (71) - Please refer to the "Television Fright Films of the 1970s" book.
THE MUMMY'S HAND (40) - Probably the best of the sequels. Okay, the best.
THE INVISIBLE WOMAN (40)
Mildly Enjoyed
MAN BEHIND THE MASK (36) - AKA Behind the Mask. A madman wants an historic relic recently purchased by a Lord Slade, and will stop at nothing to get it, including kidnapping Slade's daughter. Shorn of twenty minutes for stateside viewing this now-confusing British serial-type adventure from director Michael Powell feels choppy and makes little sense. Too bad, as it might be worth seeing the full length version should one turn up.
HOUSE OF FEAR (39) - The leading man in a hit play is mysteriously killed while on stage and his body subsequently disappears. A year later, with the theatre in mothballs, cop William Gargan goes undercover as a producer who wants to reopen it with the same play to expose the killer. A snappy, breezy whodunit from Universal that keeps the interest up, and the unveiling at the end is a bit of a surprise. Not a bad old creaker.
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Angel Rivera Enjoyed:
97th ACADEMY AWARDS" (2025)
Found it entertaining, especially the performances of Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. Conan O'Brien was fairly good as host! Unfortunately had not seen most of the nominees.
"OCTAMAN" (1971)
Kerwin Mathews and Pier Angeli had worked together in Mathews' second OSS 117 film, "Shadow of Evil". Here they are a scientist and his girl who discover a "mutant creature" in a small fishing village down Mexico way.
"BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (1970)
Not a sequel to Jacqueline Susann's novel; it is actually a collaboration between critic Roger Ebert and filmmaker Russ Myer. Lots of nudity in what someone called a "satire" about decadent Show Business. Has fairly no name stars, but does feature Dolly Read who would become the wife of Dick Martin of Rowan & Martin fame. She is a knockout and a living doll. A guilty pleasure!
"DEATH WISH 3" (1985)
Charles Bronson now being let loose in NYC (with backing from the local police) to take out a gang of hoodlums and save a neighborhood from these miscreants. Marina Sirtis of "Star Trek:the Next Generation" fame has a featured role as a Hispanic woman, (her character cries out in Spanish) who is attacked and murdered by the gang. Bronson gets the job done.
"BABYLON 5: Season 2, Episode 10: "GROPOS" (1995)
I don't why Sheldon of "Big Bang Theory" didn't like this series, but this episode is some of the best television I have ever seen with a good anti-war message. If you have never watched this series, here is a good episode to watch.
"THE 3 WORLDS OF GULLIVER" (1960)
Kerwin Mathews is Jonathan Swifts' hero, Lemuel Gulliver who visits two distinct countries; one where "little tiny people" live ("Lilliput"). and the other a "land of human giants." ("Brobdingnag"). All thanks to the magic of "stop-motion animation" wizard, Ray Harryhausen. June Thorburn who plays Gulliver's fiancee would seven years after making this film die in a plane crash. Another actress Sherry Alberoni, a child actress who played the Gulliver's "protector", "Glumdalclitch" was a one time Mouseketeer and would later become a popular voice actress with voicing of one of the Pussycats in the animated series, "Josie and the Pussycats" among her credits.
Found it entertaining, especially the performances of Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. Conan O'Brien was fairly good as host! Unfortunately had not seen most of the nominees.
"OCTAMAN" (1971)
Kerwin Mathews and Pier Angeli had worked together in Mathews' second OSS 117 film, "Shadow of Evil". Here they are a scientist and his girl who discover a "mutant creature" in a small fishing village down Mexico way.
"BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (1970)
Not a sequel to Jacqueline Susann's novel; it is actually a collaboration between critic Roger Ebert and filmmaker Russ Myer. Lots of nudity in what someone called a "satire" about decadent Show Business. Has fairly no name stars, but does feature Dolly Read who would become the wife of Dick Martin of Rowan & Martin fame. She is a knockout and a living doll. A guilty pleasure!
"DEATH WISH 3" (1985)
Charles Bronson now being let loose in NYC (with backing from the local police) to take out a gang of hoodlums and save a neighborhood from these miscreants. Marina Sirtis of "Star Trek:the Next Generation" fame has a featured role as a Hispanic woman, (her character cries out in Spanish) who is attacked and murdered by the gang. Bronson gets the job done.
"BABYLON 5: Season 2, Episode 10: "GROPOS" (1995)
I don't why Sheldon of "Big Bang Theory" didn't like this series, but this episode is some of the best television I have ever seen with a good anti-war message. If you have never watched this series, here is a good episode to watch.
"THE 3 WORLDS OF GULLIVER" (1960)
Kerwin Mathews is Jonathan Swifts' hero, Lemuel Gulliver who visits two distinct countries; one where "little tiny people" live ("Lilliput"). and the other a "land of human giants." ("Brobdingnag"). All thanks to the magic of "stop-motion animation" wizard, Ray Harryhausen. June Thorburn who plays Gulliver's fiancee would seven years after making this film die in a plane crash. Another actress Sherry Alberoni, a child actress who played the Gulliver's "protector", "Glumdalclitch" was a one time Mouseketeer and would later become a popular voice actress with voicing of one of the Pussycats in the animated series, "Josie and the Pussycats" among her credits.
"MAN FROM ATLANTIS" (1977)
The film that would lead to the series of a mysterious man found gasping for water starred Patrick Duffy of "Dallas" fame in what would be his first series, "Man from Atlantis" (1977-78). The comely Belinda J. Montgomery who would become better known as Dougie Howser's mom, on the series, "Dougie Howser, M.D." (1989-1993) plays the female doctor who saves and befriends our hero. Victor Buono plays the eccentric and evil genius, Mr, . Shubert who our hero, the man from "Atlantis", now known as Mark Harris goes up against to save mankind.
The film that would lead to the series of a mysterious man found gasping for water starred Patrick Duffy of "Dallas" fame in what would be his first series, "Man from Atlantis" (1977-78). The comely Belinda J. Montgomery who would become better known as Dougie Howser's mom, on the series, "Dougie Howser, M.D." (1989-1993) plays the female doctor who saves and befriends our hero. Victor Buono plays the eccentric and evil genius, Mr, . Shubert who our hero, the man from "Atlantis", now known as Mark Harris goes up against to save mankind.
"THE COLOSSUS OF NEW YORK" (1958)
A minor Science fiction classic which features Ross Martin of "The Wild, Wild West"(1965-69) fame as an award winning scientist who is considered "a genius" by his renowned brain surgeon father, (played by Otto Kruger, who played the villain in Hitchcock's "Saboteur" (1942), who with the help of his other son, an expert in automation, played by John Baragrey, a popular character actor of the time), places Martin's brain in a giant robot. Mala Powers, best known for playing "Roxanne" opposite Jose Ferrer in his academy award winning role of "Cyrano de Bergerac" (1950), plays Martin's widow who is chased by Martin's brother and his best friend played by Robert Hutton, (best known for his roles in several Sci-Fi movies like "They Came from Beyond Space" (1967). The "Colossus" is played by 7'4" Ed Wolf in a giant costume. The effects while not the greatest, still serve the film well. Music for the film was composed by Van Cleave, a renowned film composer of the period.
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Charles Gilbert watched:
KISS ME, KILL ME (1976) Police woman Stella Stafford (Stella Stevens), with help from training mentor Claude Akin, is on the case of the murder of a school teacher who lead a prurient lifestyle despite her plain looks and limp. Made-for-tv movie not recommended.
SMASHUP ON INTERSTATE 5 (1976) TV movie with Robert Conrad as a CHP highway officer on the scene of a massive pileup on the northbound side south of LA near Encinitis. Included in the mayhem are Donna Mills, Buddy Essen, and Harriet Nelson.
BRUTE FORCE (1947) B&W. Miklos Rosza scores this prison drama with flashbacks of the convicts' better times. One of them, Joe Collins (Burt Lancaster) is over anxious to try an escape. Chief guard Muncy (Hume Cronyn) is aware of this courtesy of mole Jeff Corey. Fiery finale when the escape is thwarted, but cons are avenged when a wounded Joe throws Muncy off the tower.
ALL MY SONS (1948) B&W. Silver screen soap opera about big business corruption. Successful businessman Joe Keller (Edward G. Robinson) runs a manufacturing plant contracted for the war effort. He has unscrupulously shipped defective parts for airplanes that have crashed, and resulted in many deaths (no action scenes for that part of the storyline), but has always had an alibi. His partner was tried, convicted, and incarcerated. Now son Chris (Burt Lancaster) seeks the truth about his father's involvement.
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Bertrand van Wonterghem Enjoyed:
Dealing (1971, Paul Williams)
Prisoners of the ghostland (2020, Sion Sono)
The return of doctor Fu Manchu (1930, Rowland V. Lee)
Borgman : last battle (anime) (1989, Hiroshi Negishi)
The sea hawk (1940, Michael Curtiz)
Teurigeo / Unmasked (2024, Yoo Sun-dong) – episode 12
Mildly enjoyed:
The coffin (2008, Ekachai Uekrongtham)
Borgman : lover's rain (anime) (1990, Kiyoshi Murayama)
Voyage to the bottom of the sea – episode «The sky's on fire» (1966, Gerald Mayer)
The story of doctor Wassell (1944, Cecil B. De Mille)
Alice in Movieland (short) (1940, Jean Negulesco)
Did not enjoy:
The charge of the light brigade (1936, Michael Curtiz)
The inside man (1984, Tom Clegg)
Sullivan's travels (1941, Preston Sturgess)
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