To answer these trivia questions, please email me at scinema@earthlink.net.
Brain Teasers:
In which Italian/Spanish Western does a natural left handed actor have his gun hand disabled, so that he has to kill the bad guys in the end with this left hand?
It is LA DILIGENCIA DE LOS CONDENADOS, aka STAGECOACH OF THE CONDEMNED, aka PRIMA TI PERDONO... POI L'AMMAZZO, aka I'LL FORGIVE YOU BEFORE I KILL YOU.
In which Italian Western does the hero ricochet a bullet off a bell to kill the villain?
No one has answered this question yet.
In which Italian Western does the hero suffer bad rope burns to both of his hands before the final gun fight?
No one has answered this question yet.
In which Italian Western does the hero shoot the thumbs off of the men he takes prisoner?
No one has answered this question yet.
And now for some new brain teasers:
Which Italian Western has an English language version that ends with the line, "The red and the black."
Which Italian Western has in the English language version, "Early to bed. Early to rise. Gets shot right between the eyes."
Which Italian Western has in the English language version, "I'm scarier than you."
Name the movies from which these images came.
Bertrand van Wonterghem identified last week's photo of Giuliano Gemma and George Martin in IL RITORNO DI RINGO, aka THE RETURN OF RINGO.
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 Pedro Armendariz and Antonella Lualdi in ARRIVANO I TITANI, and SONS OF THUNDER, aka MY SON THE HERO.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?
No one identified the above photo of Elisa Montes and George Martin in LA ISLA DE LA MUERTE, aka ISLAND OF THE DOOMED, aka MANEATER OF HYDRA.
George Grimes identified last week's photo of Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung in KNOCKABOUT.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?
**********************************************************************
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:
LOVING LEAH (2009) - Lauren Ambrose is radiant in this well made, but predictable, love story. P'nenah Goldstein originally wrote this as a play, which Ricki Lake brought to the attention of the producers of The Hallmark Hall of Fame, back when it aired on CBS Network TV. Adam Kaufman is a non-practicing Jewish doctor who has a dream in which he is visited by his brother. When he is awaken, he finds out that his brother has died. His brother was an ultra-Orthodox rabbi. At the brother's funeral, Kaufman is informed that the ancient Jewish law of yibbum, or levirate marriage, compels Kaufman to marry his brother's childless widow, Ambrose, in the hope that children will be born to honor the memory of his late brother. Kaufman and Ambrose both reject the idea, especially as Kaufman has girlfriend Christy Pusz in his life. After three months, Kaufman and Ambrose are to perform the ceremony in which they reject the marriage, but, as the ceremony calls for Kaufman to reject his brother's memory, he decides to
go ahead with the marriage, with the idea that he and Ambrose will live like roommates. In flashbacks showing how close Kaufman and his brother were, Timothee Chalamet plays Kaufman as a kid. A strong cast, including Susie Essman as Ambrose's mother, Mercedes Ruehl as Kaufman's mother, Harris Yulin as the ultra-Orthodox rabbi compelling the marriage and Ricki Lake as a female rabbi at a reformist temple. One complaint about the movie is that Natasha Lyonne as Ambrose's sister has very little screen time. Veteran TV director Jeff Bleckner does a good job telling this story.
MCHALE'S NAVY (1997) - This is a terrible movie, but when I finally watched it, I found it somewhat entertaining, perhaps because of a certain nostalgia value. Sid Sheinberg had been the President and COO of MCA, Inc and Universal Pictures beginning in 1973, and was famously a supporter of Steven Spielberg. Sheinberg left MCA/Universal in 1995 and part of his exit package was the backing of Universal for his independent production company The Bubble Factory, which he ran with his two sons, William and Jonathan. Sheinberg's concept behind the new company was to make lower budget films for the entire family. However, like what happened with E.T., the films would avoid the dreaded "G" rating by having a bit of off-color material to get a "PG" rating. The concept of turning the 1962 half-hour TV military comedy into an updated James Bond-like feature film could be blamed on credited writers Peter Crabbe and Andy Rose, but maybe not. In any case, Tom Arnold starred as, what turned out to be, the son of Ernest Borgnine, and a CIA operative living as a retired Navy officer. Tim Curry plays 'the second best terrorist in the world", who has taken over the small Caribbean island next to where Arnold lives to build a military base that wants to tap into the U.S. secret satellite network to fire a missile at the Pentagon. Arnold and Curry are deadly enemies because of some incident in the past, so they start trying to kill each other as soon as they see each other. It is fun to see Tom Arnold, Ernest Borgnine and Tim Curry before ill health robbed them of their charisma. Also looking good are Bruce Campbell, French Stewart, Debra Messing, Henry Cho and Tommy Chong. It is not fun to see Dean Stockwell mugging as if his life depended on it. And I wonder if David Alan Grier got a lecture from Spike Lee for giving a performance that would embarrass Stepin Fetchit. Like most of the films made by The Bubble Factory, this movie flopped at the box office and was nominated for a Razzie Award. It won awards at the 1997 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards.
Did not enjoy:
COLUMN SOUTH (1953) - Set in New Mexico in 1861, this film tells the story of veteran Union soldier Audie Murphy trying to teach his new commander, Capt. Robert Sterling, how to deal with the local Natives. Sterling brought along his sister, Joan Evans, who immediately starts bickering with Murphy, so you know they will end up as a couple in the end. William Sackheim is credited with both the story and the screenplay which starts with local prospectors trying to start trouble with the Natives and then moves on to a conspiracy of Confederate sympathizers, who want to start trouble with the Natives in order to weaken the Union Army for the planned Southern invasion of New Mexico, Arizona and California. While on a wild goose chase to put down a phony Native uprising, Murphy discovers that Sterling is part of the conspiracy. Taking the Southern sympathizers prisoner, Murphy then leads his loyal troops back to the fort, which had been left almost empty while they were on the wild goose chase. The Natives have taken over the fort so Murphy and his troops are in a tough fight. Feeling guilty for his deception - and being badgered by his sister, Sackheim leads his Southern sympathizers to the rescue of their former comrades. The Native chief holds General Ray Collins at knife point, until Murphy informs the chief that Collins was responsible for the intrigue from which they were all suffering. Collins was hoping to be made governor of the Confederate state of New Mexico. In the end, Sackheim leads the troops that want to join the Southern Army away from the fort, while Murphy stays with Evans. Future producer of The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson Frederick de Cordova is the director here and seems to get the job done. Dennis Weaver is supposedly in the cast here, but I didn't see him. I did see Palmer Lee, aka Gregg Palmer, Russell Johnson, Jack Kelly, Bob Steele and James Best.
RHYMES FOR YOUNG GHOULS (2013) - You can't fault writer/director Jeff Barnaby for having the ambition to try and capture on film the trials of First Nations peoples in Canada after the law was passed to compel the children to attend Indian residential schools. The film opens with a little girl seeing her father arrested for accidentally running over his little boy. The accident was actually caused by the little girl's mother, who has hanged herself. I have little patience for a movie that starts off depressing and then goes on for over an hour with scene after scene of abuse. Eventually, the film has a kind of positive ending, to which I quickly fast-forwarded.Kawennahere Devery Jacobs, aka Devery Jacobs, is very appealing in the lead role, and I'm happy see that she's been having a strong career since this film.
A THUNDER OF DRUMS (1961) - The film starts with a scary scene of hostile natives breaking into and killing an house full of white women. Secreted away is a young girl who falls into a state of shock. The girl is brought to a fort commanded by Captain Richard Boone, who once served under the father of the newly arrived Lt. George Hamilton. At this point, the movie becomes something of a soap opera and was the kind of movie that made me a big fan of Italian and Spanish Westerns. Hamilton wants to rekindle his romance with Luana Patten, who is set to marry Lt. James Douglas. Richard Chamberlain also pokes his face in. Based on the 1946 Saturday Evening Post story "Command" by James Warner Bellah, who is also credited for writing the screenplay, THUNDER concerrns efforts by Boone to make Hamilton into a good soldier. Meanwhile, many are concerned that Hamilton's attention to Patten is not only damaging her reputation but also the respect of the enlisted men. Eventually, the story resolves itself when Hamilton conducts himself well when attacked by Apaches. Patten gets on a stagecoach heading East, and Boone consoles Hamilton by saying that bachelors make the best soldiers because "they have nothing to lose but their loneliness". If you want to see a fistfight in which Hamilton wins over Charles Bronson, this is the movie for you. Slim Pickens also appears in a small role. While the movie features Duane Eddy strumming an acoustic guitar, he doesn't get to sing a song.
PEOPLE'S HERO (1987) - Sort of an Hong Kong remake of DOG DAY AFTERNOON, PEOPLE'S HERO was well respected in the British Colony to garner a Best Supporting Actor Award for Tony Leung Chiu-wai and a Best Supporting Actress Award for Elaine Jin at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Ronald Wong bungle a plan to rob a bank and soon find themselves trapped with hostages as the police gather outside. The two idiots don't know what to do next, when it turns out that wanted criminal Ti Lung is also trapped in the bank. Brandishing a magnum handgun, Ti takes over the situation and asks to speak with cop Tony Leung Ka-fai. He demands that his jailed girlfriend Elaine Jin be brought to the bank so that she can leave with him. Most of the hostages eventually bond with Ti as he tries to impart wisdom to the foolish young robbers. Meanwhile Captain Paul Chun looks for any excuse to have his snipers take out Ti. Finally, Jin talks with Ti and lets him know that she doesn't want to live life on the run from the law. So, Ti gives Chun a perfect target for his snipers. The film's title would have one believe that Ti's character would be seen as heroic, but he doesn't - at least from my perspective. Coming off his nomination for Best Director for his first film, THE LUNATICS, Derek Yee shows skill in handling the ensemble of bank hostages, but fails to make the script seem plausable. I don't know that anyone has bled out as much as Ti does in the end.
******************************************************************
Bertrand van Wonterghem Enjoyed:
Death proof (2007, Quentin Tarantino)
Il pistolero dell'Ave Maria (1969, Ferdinando Baldi)
Geunyeoui Sasaenghwal / Her private life (2018, Hong Jong-chan) – episodes 1 to 5
Thunderbolt (1929, Josef Von Sternberg)
The lady takes a sailor (1949, Michael Curtiz)
Mildly enjoyed:
Daïnah la métisse (1931, Jean Grémillon)
L'homme à l'hispano (1933, Jean Epstein)
Mystère (2007, Didier Albert) – episode 1
Seven thieves (1959, Henry Hathaway)
****************************************************************
Angel Rivera Mildly enjoyed:
"IT STARTED IN NAPLES" (1960)
Clark Gable is an American lawyer who goes to Naples to settle the estate of his deceased brother when he finds out his brother left a son. His eight year old nephew, he finds out, has been living with the sister of the boy's mother, played by Sophia Loren. (The eight year old boy's mother died with Gable's brother in a boating accident.) Gable after meeting the boy grows fond of him and wants to take charge of the boy to which Loren objects as the boy is all she has in the world. The movie of course has a happy ending.
****************************************************************
Charles Gilbert watched:
Moving On Pilot titled "In Tandem". A disillusioned young trucker with a law degree named Will Chandler (Frank Converse) meets Sonny Pruitt, another driver (Claude Akins) that owns his rig, who offers a team arrangement. First job together is to break a strike picket line to haul oranges for a distressed ethnic farmer.
Moving On tv S2E9 "Please Don't Talk to the Driver". John Dehner guest stars as a gunman holding 17 people hostage over a stach worth 250 K. Writer for several episodes of this series was Jimmy Sangster, the same British Hammer Films alumnus who penned the likes of HORROR OF DRACULA (1958).
MY SON THE HERO (1961) Amusing peplum tale with an acrobatic Guiliano Gemma starring as Crios, the fair-haired ninth son of the demigod Jove (Jupiter God of Thunder). These same Titan Brothers have been condemned to Tartarus, but are offered release upon their victory over the despot Cadmos (Pedro Armedariz). World class bodybuilder Serge Nubret costars, looking a bit undersized compared to his role in TYRANT OF LYDIA AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES.
****************************************************************
