To answer these trivia questions, please email me at scinema@earthlink.net.
Brain Teasers:
Which Italian Western is credited as "un film di Robert Lover"?
No one has answered this question yet.
Can you name two Italian Westerns for which new title songs were added for U.S. release?
No one has answered this question yet.
In which Italian Western does Ivan Rassimov and Rada Rassimov play brother and sister?
Tom Betts, Angel Rivera and George Grimes knew that it was NON ASPETTARE DJANGO... SPARA, aka DON'T WAIT DJANGO... SHOOT!
In which Italian Western does Rada Rassimov get knocked about by Lee Van Cleef?
Tom Betts, Angel Rivera and George Grimes knew that it was IL BUONO IL BRUTTO, IL CATTIVO, aka THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY.
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?
No one has answered this one yet.
And now for some new brain teasers:
Which Italian assistant director worked with Francis Ford Coppola, Sergio Leone, Michael Anderson, Monte Hellman, John Guillermin and Tonino Valerii?
Which Italian Western ended with the hero murdering an unarmed man with a sword?
In which Italian Western does a roulette wheel signal the moment for the final shootout?
Name the movies from which these images came.
No one identified the above photo yet.
Can you name from what movie it came?
George Grimes identified last week's photo of Isabelle Coredy in AFRODITE DEA DELL'AMORE, aka APHRODITE GODDESS OF LOVE.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?
George Grimes identified last week's frame grab of Donald Sutherland in 1900.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?
No one identified the above frame grab yet.
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:
Mildly enjoyed:
Billions season seven (2023) - I probably would have rated this higher if it had only run three season. But it had a "feel good" conclusion.
Did not enjoy:
ARENA WARS (2024) - TV audiences are scum; watching people fight to the death as entertainment. Once again we are in the future and convicted prisoners are given a chance for freedom if they can survive bare-handed against weapon wielding killers. Michael Madsen and Eric Roberts are the "big names" appearing in this, and it looks like they were able to do their bits in single days. Robert LaSardo isn't as well known, but he's got a bigger role here. Unfortunately, the lead role is played by John Wells, and he is less than compelling.
BLACK NOISE (2023) - Five professional soldiers are sent to a mysterious island to rescue an heiress. In the film's prologue, we see a man blasted to bits, so we know why the soldiers find no people on the island - just piles of bits. They are being monitored from above and they seem to be the targets of some kind of sound weapon. The film is set up to look like a PREDATOR rip-off, but is the enemy extraterrestrial, or are they battling hallucinations caused by the sound? The film doesn't provide an answer. I kept expecting someone to explain that the soldiers were part of a test of a new weapons system, but no such explanation was given. I have a low tolerance for movies that waste a lot of time showing people walking around pointing weapons in between batches of uninteresting dialogue.
THE HOLLY AND THE IVY (1952) - Wynyard Browne's melodramatic play is set at Christmas and George More O'Ferrall's direction of the movie preserves all of the melodrama for the silver screen. Celia Johnson wants to marry John Gregson who is about to go to Peru on a job that will take five years. She feels she can't leave her elderly father, Ralph Richardson, alone, so she'll forsake the marriage unless her wastrel sister, Margaret Leighton, comes home to take over caring for the old man. Leighton shows up unexpectedly for Christmas, but has become a bitter drunk because of events that she is convinced must be kept secret from her father, whom she sees as a puritanical Parson. Eventually, brother Denholm Elliot tells Leighton's secret to Richardson, who is shocked to think that his daughter feels unable to confide in him. Eventually, everything works out before the entire family goes to the Christmas morning church service. Robert Flemying has a small role as the Major which Elliot must convince to allow him to go on leave to spend Christmas with the family. Hammer Film fans who read credits might enjoy seeing the Robert Day, who went on to become the director of SHE, was the Camera Operator on this.
NOWHERE TO GO (1958) - First time director and former film editor Seth Holt chooses a rather austere style for this adaptation of former criminal Donald MacKenzie's novel. He is ably aided by elegant cinematography by Paul Beeson. Unfortunately, the result is rather dull. The film is most notable as the first on-screen credit for Maggie Smith, who plays a rather odd woman who decides to attempt to aid fugitve George Nader. She delivers what might be the movie's message, that a man who can not trust anyone leads a lonely life. George Nader plays the man on the run, who finds himself betrayed by just about everyone. I wonder if the filmmakers realized how much like ODD MAN OUT their film is. However, Nader proves to be unsympathetic and not particularly interesting, so it is a bit of slog getting to the inevitable downbeat ending. One positive element is that his doom isn't the fault of the woman who he counted on, which is a favorite ploy in these kinds of movie. It is a bit amusing to see the attempt to have us believe that Bernard Lee would be able to scale the wall of a prison with a rope and hook. Other favorites like Geoffrey Keen and Howard Marion-Crawford appear.
SHRIEK OF THE MUTILATED (1974) - While Roberta Findlay is better known for the explotation flicks she directed, she also worked as a cinematographer for her husband Michael Findlay when he "directed" crap like this. The camerawork is as professional as the actors they employed. A college professor says that the legendary Yeti now resides on a mountain the U.S. He takes a group of students to the wilderness to look for it. Soon the students are killed one by one. However, it turns out that the professor is part of a group that eats people without cooking the meat. They have chosen a female student as the meal and that her body must not show any damage. So she must die of fright, which is why guys are getting dressed up in a Yeti costume. One young man tries to rescue her, but the sheriff he goes to for help turns out to be part of the cult. As they are about to carve up the young woman, her would-be hero starts to salivate.
SMOKE SIGNAL (1955) - U.S. Calvary Captain William Talman leads his troop to a lonely fort in the Grand Canyon. Soon they are under siege by Utes. Inside the Fort is Dana Andrews, a prisoner accused of treason for deserting the Army and living with the Utes. Talman also blames Andrews for the death of his brother in an Indian attack. Naturally, Andrews is the only White in the Fort with the knowledge to survive, especially as he knows that the Utes are joining with other tribes for an all-out war. He had hoped to reach the Apache to get them to convince the other tribes not to go to war, but he was captured by the Whites, and they won't believe him. Eventually, he convinces the inhabitants of the Fort that their only chance for survival is to take to the Colorado River, because the natives are convinced that the canyon is cursed. While an opening narrative title claims that the film was made on the dangerous river in the Grand Canyon, most of the actors were obviously filmed in the studio against a blue screen. Director Jerry Hopper brings a solid storytelling sense to the material, which only gets irritating because it takes so long for the Whites to understand that Andrews is the only one who knows what's going on, and because of the romantic subplot involving Rex Reason becoming jealous of the attention Piper Laurie is paying to our hero. The supporting cast is good including Milburn Stone, Douglas Spencer, Gordon Jones and Robert Wilke.
WELLS FARGO (1937) - Scottish born director Frank Lloyd began his Hollywood career in 1913 and had an huge success with his 1935 film MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY, so it shouldn't be so surprising that Paramount Pictures gave him a possessory credit: Frank Lloyd's WELLS FARGO. In 97 minutes, Lloyd, with writers Stuart N. Lake, Paul Schofield, Gerald Geraghty and Frederick Jackson, decided to tell the story of the Wells Fargo company from its beginnings in the 1840s as an express delivery service, until after the U.S. Civil War. The company is personified by a character played by Joel McCrea, who, while making a delivery meets Frances Dee. Dee comes from a prominent family in St. Louis, Missouri. While Dee's father, Ralph Morgan approves of their marriage, Dee's mother, Mary Nash, doesn't. Especially when Dee and McCrea move to live in San Fracisco, when Wells Fargo opens and office there. With the coming of the U.S. Civil War, the family loyalties are split with McCrea under contract to deliver California gold to the Union, while his in-laws send their son to fight for the South. At one point, Dee overhears McCrea's secret plans to transport the gold past the Confederates and writes it down. However, when she realizes that her husband will be part of that transport, she thinks she has thrown the paper into the fireplace. She missed and her scheming mother picks it up. After McCrea does battle with his old friend Johnny Mack Brown, and wins, Dee's letter is found on Brown's body. Feeling betrayed, McCrea cuts all ties with his wife and her family. It isn't until his daughter's 17th birthday, that he accepts an invitation to her party and the truth about the betrayal of his mother-in-law is known. McCrea and Dee reconcile. As history, the film is not convincing, and as drama it is not compelling. Paramount obviously spent a good deal of money constructing old time San Francisco and filling it with extras. Amng the supporting players can be found Lloyd Nolan, Robert Cummings, Harry Davenport, Frank Conroy and Frank McGlynn as President Lincoln.
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David Deal Enjoyed:
THE VAMPIRES (61) - AKA Goliath vs the Vampires.
LLAMA UN TAL ESTEBAN (60) - AKA Call Esteban. Unhappy would-be playboy Juan hires a man, Esteban, to kill his heiress wife Elena while he is on a business trip. That way Juan can inherit her money and run away with his lover. Only one thing goes wrong; Esteban kills the wrong woman, and Elena shows up at the train station and joins her shocked husband on his trip. What to do? I didn't have an English-friendly version of this Spanish film but I gave it a go since I had a synopsis and a review to fall back on. This is a fun Hitchcockian thriller with a short running time and a recognizable cast. I'm sure I missed some of the subtleties, but it held my interest regardless.
DEMENTIA 13 (63) - This was Francis Ford Coppola's "director's cut". It's actually shorter (69 mins) than the general release version that's been in the public domain for years. He took out the added scenes that Corman wanted in to bring it up to traditional feature length. This Blu-ray looks good and I like this version best.
EARTH VS THE FLYING SAUCERS (56)
RIDE AND KILL (63) - AKA Brandy. The leading citizens of Tombstone are holding the town hostage using a protection racket. When the sheriff threatens to handle the situation, he is killed by hired gun Robert Hundar. The town drunk, Brandy (Alex Nicol), is hired as a patsy but his conscience gets the better of him. Things go badly for the bad guys. Early Spanish western doesn't really hold any surprises but it is competent and has a good cast. Unusually, Brandy was not an old gun hand, just a regular guy, and we never know what sent him down the bottle in the first place.
BREATHLESS (60) - This is still so fresh and free.
L'AMOUR FOU (10) - Still one of my favorite documentaries.
SHADOWS (58) - A similar sense of freedom as Breathless but with different intentions.
GARDEN OF EVIL (54)
VIOLENT PROFESSIONALS (73)
CEMETERY MAN (94)
LE CERCLE ROUGE (70)
Mildly Enjoyed
USTED PUEDE SER UN ASESINO (61) - Translates to "You can be a murderer." Two men plan to party while their wives are away on holiday. Before the hijinx can begin, they are visited by a blackmailer who threatens them but who promptly dies from drinking poisoned milk that was lying around. The predicament becomes more ticklish when the wives suddenly reappear, having forgotten the keys to their vacation lodging. What will happen next? This Spanish comedic murder mystery was based on a hit play and even without an English-friendly copy, I could tell it's a comedy, although I can't confirm that it is actually funny. My guess would be yes, but verbal comedy in an unknown language is a challenge at best. Just FYI, the version I watched on Youtube was a version made for television.
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Angel Rivera Enjoyed:
'SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK" (2012)
Great performances all around. Especially Jennifer Lawrence's Oscar-winning performance.
"LIVE A LITTLE, LOVE A LITTLE" (1968)
An Elvis Presley musical comedy that plays like a modern day rom-com. The music is almost more adult contemporary, than rock and roll, but still entertaining and enjoyable. The original version of the number one hit, "A Little Less Conversation", (it would become a international number one hit when a remix of the song is released in 2002), makes its debut in the movie. The film features Elvis as an international photographer who chases after one female as she chases after him. They even have a meet/cute scene involving a Great Dane. The female co-star is Michele Carey, best known for her performance in the John Wayne Western, "El Dorado" (1966). Very attractive, she was popular in films and television of the 1960s and 1970s.
"TICKLE ME" (1965)
Released at the height of the British invasion, it still made enough of a profit to have saved its distributing company, Allied Artists from bankruptcy. In this one Elvis is a singing rodeo star who takes a job at a spa/dude ranch for women run by Julie Adams, best known for her role in the 1954 "3D" monster-horror film, "Creature from the Black Lagoon". The songs are good and some are memorable pop hits. Elvis' real love interest is the very shapely Jocelyn Lane, a popular model and dancer of the period. The film benefits from the many curvaceous women who show up at the ranch and dance to Elvis' songs. Allison Hayes of "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman" (1958) fame turns up in a small role in what would be her last film role.
"MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE" (1946)
A Bob Hope comedy loosely based on the novel by Booth Tarkington is a surprisingly entertaining film which must have entertained post war audiences with Hope's brand of comical quips and plenty of sight gags. Patric Knowles is on hand to supply swashbuckling savoir faire. On hand to provide the feminine touch are: Joan Caulfield as Hope's love interest and Marjorie Reynolds (best known for singing a duet with Bing Crosby (albeit with a dubbed voice) and introducing the song "White Christmas".)
"THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY" (1954)
Known as the granddaddy of all "aviation disaster" films. The film stars John Wayne as "a veteran first officer whose airliner has a catastrophic engine failure while crossing the Pacific Ocean", after it takes off from Honolulu, Hawaii (before it became a state.) With a great supporting cast of familiar faces form the fifties.
"20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH (1957)
A classic Ray Harryhausen film features an inhabitant from Venus brought back by astronauts from the USA to Earth, where it creates havoc until it receives an end reminiscent of King Kong. Only Harryhausen can make one feel empathy for the creature as it goes into its death throes as it is shot down and falls from the top of the Colosseum in Rome, Italy. Stars William Hopper as the only surviving astronaut of his crew, who first tries to save the creature, (who due to Earth's atmosphere grows from a small creature to giant size) and Joan Taylor, as a female "almost a doctor" who tends to Hopper and his injuries when he first returns to Earth.
Great performances all around. Especially Jennifer Lawrence's Oscar-winning performance.
"LIVE A LITTLE, LOVE A LITTLE" (1968)
An Elvis Presley musical comedy that plays like a modern day rom-com. The music is almost more adult contemporary, than rock and roll, but still entertaining and enjoyable. The original version of the number one hit, "A Little Less Conversation", (it would become a international number one hit when a remix of the song is released in 2002), makes its debut in the movie. The film features Elvis as an international photographer who chases after one female as she chases after him. They even have a meet/cute scene involving a Great Dane. The female co-star is Michele Carey, best known for her performance in the John Wayne Western, "El Dorado" (1966). Very attractive, she was popular in films and television of the 1960s and 1970s.
"TICKLE ME" (1965)
Released at the height of the British invasion, it still made enough of a profit to have saved its distributing company, Allied Artists from bankruptcy. In this one Elvis is a singing rodeo star who takes a job at a spa/dude ranch for women run by Julie Adams, best known for her role in the 1954 "3D" monster-horror film, "Creature from the Black Lagoon". The songs are good and some are memorable pop hits. Elvis' real love interest is the very shapely Jocelyn Lane, a popular model and dancer of the period. The film benefits from the many curvaceous women who show up at the ranch and dance to Elvis' songs. Allison Hayes of "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman" (1958) fame turns up in a small role in what would be her last film role.
"MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE" (1946)
A Bob Hope comedy loosely based on the novel by Booth Tarkington is a surprisingly entertaining film which must have entertained post war audiences with Hope's brand of comical quips and plenty of sight gags. Patric Knowles is on hand to supply swashbuckling savoir faire. On hand to provide the feminine touch are: Joan Caulfield as Hope's love interest and Marjorie Reynolds (best known for singing a duet with Bing Crosby (albeit with a dubbed voice) and introducing the song "White Christmas".)
"THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY" (1954)
Known as the granddaddy of all "aviation disaster" films. The film stars John Wayne as "a veteran first officer whose airliner has a catastrophic engine failure while crossing the Pacific Ocean", after it takes off from Honolulu, Hawaii (before it became a state.) With a great supporting cast of familiar faces form the fifties.
"20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH (1957)
A classic Ray Harryhausen film features an inhabitant from Venus brought back by astronauts from the USA to Earth, where it creates havoc until it receives an end reminiscent of King Kong. Only Harryhausen can make one feel empathy for the creature as it goes into its death throes as it is shot down and falls from the top of the Colosseum in Rome, Italy. Stars William Hopper as the only surviving astronaut of his crew, who first tries to save the creature, (who due to Earth's atmosphere grows from a small creature to giant size) and Joan Taylor, as a female "almost a doctor" who tends to Hopper and his injuries when he first returns to Earth.
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Charles Gilbert watched:
PONY SOLDIER (1952) Canadian mounty (Tyrone Power) attempts to rescue a couple from the Cree indian tribe using diplomacy. Cameron Mitchell plays a cunning brave striving to undermine the constable's efforts.
SOMEWHERE IN THE NIGHT (1946) B&W. A U. S. marine (John Hodiak) suffering amnesia from battle is discharged to L. A. and the seedy underworld to find his identity. Richard Conte costars.
BEFORE I HANG (1940) B&W. Another Boris Karloff programmer from Columbia pictures about a misunderstood doctor wronged for his efforts to improve medical science.
Television Rawhide S6E03 "Incident at El Crucero". Sassy range woman Elizabeth Montgomery ends up removing buckshot from Rowdy (Clint Eastwood) Yates' backside after she has fired a couple rounds at the cattle crew as a warning to stay off her property.
Hawaii Five-O S7E10 :"A Gun For McGarrett" The super cop is targeted by a professional assassin from London who wants to horn in on the extensive business shake-down. He employs a lady Brit to entrap McGarrett romantically into vulnerability.
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