Week of December 28, 2019 - January 3,2020

To answer these trivia questions, please email me at scinema@earthlink.net.

Brain Teasers:

Which American actor who made an Italian Western appeared in an American crime flick in which he pretends to be an hobo in order to trick a college student into murdering a young woman's uncle?

It was Alex Cord in A GIRL TO KILL FOR

Which Italian actor, celebrated for his Hamlet, starred in a  movie set during the Mexican revolution?

No one has answered this question yet.

Which Italian actor opinioned in an interview that Richard Harrison ruined himself with women?

No one has answered this question yet.

In which Italian Spy movie did an assassin use a pipe with a gunsite to project a poison dart?

No one has answered this question yet.

Which French actor worked with directors Sergio Leone, Robert Enrico, Philippe Setbon, Federico Fellini and Giuseppe Colizzi?

No one has answered this question yet.

Which Italian actor worked with directors Luchino Visconti, Mario Amendola, Viktor Tourjansky, Duilio Coletti, Fernando Cerchio and Cesare Canevari?

No one has answered this question yet.

Can you name an Italian Western in which a villain uses a bola?

George Grimes noted IL MERCENARIO, aka A PROFESSIONAL GUN. That is true, but I had another movie in mind. Can you name the other movie?

Which movie ends with the line, "Good luck, Paco. Keep dreaming... but with your eyes open."?

George Grimes knew that it was IL MERCENARIO, aka A PROFESSIONAL GUN.

On the December 19, 2019 episode of The Late Late Show, James Corden visited with Billie Eilish at her house where-in she made her first music recordings. There is a copy of the poster for which Italian Western in her brother's bedroom?

George Grimes knew that it was A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS.

Giuseppe Collizzi first met Woody Strode on the location for which film?

No one has answered this question yet.

And now for some new brain teasers:

Can you name an Italian Western in which an hero uses a bola?

Can you name an Italian Western in which thehero uses a boomerang?

Can you name an Italian Sword and Sandal film in which an hero throws two spears at one?

Name the movies from which these images came.

George Grimes and Rick Garibaldi identified last week's frame grab from JOHNNY YUMA.

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

George Grimes and Charles Gilbert identified last week's photo of Mark Forest in MACISTE L'UOMO PIU FORTE DEL MONDO, aka MACISTE THE STRONGEST MAN IN THE WORLD, aka MOLE MEN AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES.

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came? 

No one has identified the above frame grab yet.

Can you name from what movie it came?

George Grimes identified last week's frame grab from THE 8 DIAGRAM POLE FIGHTER.

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:

Enjoyed:

Monty Python's Flying Circus season one (1969-70) - Let's celebrate back when PBS showed naked people.

Mildly enjoyed:

LE CARROSE D'OR, aka LA CARROZZA D'ORO, aka THE GOLDEN COACH (1952) - Fans of Duncan Lamont's Hammer films maybe surprised and pleased to see him in such an elegant production.

LA PETITE VOLEUSE, aka THE LITTLE THIEF (1988)

Mr. Robot the final season (2019)

American Gods season one (2017)

Did not enjoy:

CHRISTMAS AT DOLLYWOOD (2019) - I'll watch just about anything featuring Sarah Strange, though she's given very little to do in this one.

A BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAIN CHRISTMAS (2019) - I'll watch just about anything featuring Rachel Leigh Cook, but this is way too corny for me.

CHRISTMAS AT CARTWRIGHT'S (2014) - I'll watch just about anything featuring Alica Witt and this is pretty cute.

EGYPT BY THREE (1953)

BEST CHRISTMAS BALL EVER (2019)

SEX MADNESS (THEY MUST BE TOLD) (1937)

THE LEGEND OF THE GOLDEN PEARL, aka THE LEGEND OF WISELY (1987) - This film is for those who wondered if Bruce Baron did any movies that didn't involve ninjas. 

CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN (1943)

MABABANGONG BANGUNGOT, aka PERFUMED NIGHTMARE (1977)

TWICE TOLD TALES (1963)

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David Deal enjoyed:

THE MINOTAUR (60) - This is better and more entertaining than I had always heard.

CAIRO (63) - The Major (George Sanders) rounds up a gang to steal a few jewels from the King Tut collection in Cairo. Likeable MGM heist noir also stars Richard Johnson and Walter Rilla and a few other familiar faces.  This low-budget Asphalt Jungle knockoff benefits from location shooting.

MY FAVORITE BRUNETTE (47) - Mistaken identity puts faux private detective Bob Hope on the trail of Dorothy Lamour's missing uncle and a map describing a uranium deposit. This is a fun detective spoof that features Peter Lorre and Lon Chaney amongst the bad guys.  I chuckled throughout.

THE STAR OF MIDNIGHT (35) - A murder that takes place in lawyer William Powell's apartment puts him and his girlfriend Ginger Rogers on the trail to find the killer.  Fun Thin Man knock off that the stars carry with ease.

THE TRAP (47) - Sidney Toler's last outing as Charlie Chan involves murder amongst a group of showgirls on holiday in Malibu Beach.  Entertains as well as any other of the series.

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Charles Gilbert watched:

A NIGHT TO REMEMBER (1958) B&W. Rank Organization's version  of the Titanic seems to be more authentic with all those Brit accents; doesn't focus on any singular couple in the narrative. Director Roy Ward Baker later went to Hammer.

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Mike Eustace wrote:

Whilst I was waiting for the arrival of the HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD BluRay, which I ordered on an Italian site, but which was actually dispatched from America, I re-checked the Amazon.de site. They had  Mario Bava’s VAMPIRE GEGEN HERAKLES, Collector’s edition in Blu Ray, which seemed to all intents and purposes a PAL version of the US release.

The picture quality of the German BluRay is astounding. The definition is so good that I can now see how brilliantly Bava pulled off some of his camera tricks. When Hercules climbs the tree of the Hesperides for the Golden apple, there’s a top-down shot with Hercules in foreground and the women a long way down below him. Like most  good magician tricks it’s all done with mirrors. The women are stood a long way down the studio to appear smaller, but reflected in a mirror suspended between the tree branches. It’s also how Bava got wide shots of Hercules in the giant tree. The tree is a smaller model, with a mirror wedged in it, and Reg Park is some way distant with his image reflected in the mirror at an appropriate size. All brilliant stuff.

The only thing in the film that still irks is that shot of Reg Park and Giorgio Ardisson swimming from one shore of the underworld to another. It’s filmed in broad daylight with a normal blue sea colouration and seems completely out of place. Did someone forget to put the red filter on?

The German package  has a lot of extras,  just like the US package. I particularly liked the inclusion of the opening titles from the US version with it’s potted history narration – a version I had never seen before.  A surprising addition is a bonus film called “Quel bandito sono io”, or to give it it’s original English title “Her favourite Husband”, a comedy film set in Naples.  Mario Bava was the cinematographer on this film, so one might expect to see what the master of colour achieved with an earlier work. Unfortunately the film is in black and white and the print very flat, so a completely pointless “bonus”. Unless you’re a fan of Jean Kent, I suppose.

Both German and US releases have otherwise similar extras , such as  an interview with Giorgio Ardisson, Audio commentary from Tim Lucas, trailers. The German release also throws in interviews with Lamberto Bava, Mario Bava, Mick Garris talking about Black Sabbath and Joe Dante talking about Lisa and the Devil. The German release has opening titles from the US and UK versions as standalone, whereas the US release has tacked on these openings to the rest of the restored film.

The German release has both BluRay and DVD of VAMPIRE GEGEN HERAKLES, plus an extras DVD; The US version has two BluRays.

Also just released from Amazon.de, is DER GAUNER VON BAGDAD, the SteveReeves version of Thief of Baghdad. There’s an English audio track available, and only minor dips into Italian with German subtitles for cut scenes. It looks sumptuous in BluRay. I got a shock when the Main Screen popped up, because it was accompanied by the Miklos Rozsa score from the Sabu version, and I thought I’d bought the wrong film. Fortunately I hadn’t and I had the Steve Reeves version.

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Week of December 21 - 27, 2019

To answer these trivia questions, please email me at scinema@earthlink.net.

Brain Teasers:

Which movie featuring Gordon  Mitchell is a sequel to a Romanian film?

It is CUIBUL SALAMANDRELOR, aka OIL.

Which American actor who made an Italian Western appeared in an American crime flick in which he pretends to be an hobo in order to trick a college student into murdering a young woman's uncle?

No one has answered this question yet.

Which Italian actor, celebrated for his Hamlet, starred in a  movie set during the Mexican revolution?

No one has answered this question yet.

Which Italian actor opinioned in an interview that Richard Harrison ruined himself with women?

No one has answered this question yet.

In which Italian Spy movie did an assassin use a pipe with a gunsite to project a poison dart?

No one has answered this question yet.

Which French actor worked with directors Sergio Leone, Robert Enrico, Philippe Setbon, Federico Fellini and Giuseppe Colizzi?

No one has answered this question yet.

Which Italian actor worked with directors Luchino Visconti, Mario Amendola, Viktor Tourjansky, Duilio Coletti, Fernando Cerchio and Cesare Canevari?

No one has answered this question yet.

Which Italian director was once credited as Berwang Ross?

George Grimes and Charles Gilbert knew that it was Cesare Canevari.

Can you name an Italian Western in which a villain uses a bola?

George Grimes noted IL MERCENARIO, aka A PROFESSIONAL GUN. That is true, but I had another movie in mind.

And now for some new brain teasers:

Which movie ends with the line, "Good luck, Paco. Keep dreaming... but with your eyes open."?

On the December 19, 2019 episode of The Late Late Show, James Corden visited with Billie Eilish at her house where-in she made her first music recordings. There is a copy of the poster for which Italian Western in her brother's bedroom?

Giuseppe Collizzi first met Woody Strode on the location for which film?

Name the movies from which these images came.

George Grimes and Rick Garibaldi identified last week's frame grab from MATALO.

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

George Grimes identified last week's photo of Jack Palance in BARABBAS.

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came? 

No one has identified the above frame grab yet.

Can you name from what movie it came?

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:

Enjoyed:

La 317ème section, aka THE 317th PLATOON (1965)

Did not enjoy:

Cheech and Chong "Get Out of My Room" (1985)

FRANK & LOLA (2016) - Michael Shannon and Imogen Poots deliver strong performances in this relationship drama that flirts with becoming a thriller, ala director Claude Chabrol's LA FEMME INFIDELE, but doesn't. 

SELFIE FROM HELL (2018)

IT CHAPTER TWO (2019)

S.M.A.R.T. CHASE, aka THE SHANGHAI JOB (2017) - This is the movie for everyone who has been waiting for Orlando Bloom to star in a Chinese action movie.

OUR CHRISTMAS LOVE SONG (2019) - I'll watch Alica Witt in just about anything - even a Hallmark Channel movie in which she plays a Country singer performing at the Grand Ole Opry. And one featuring Nancy Grace who was one of the executive producers. And has a line like "Anything lost can be found again, especially if it's in your heart."

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David Deal enjoyed:

THE MONSTER THAT CHALLENGED THE WORLD (57)

THE EXECUTIONER OF VENICE (63) - Sinister Cinema's version is colorful, wide, and enhanced.

SHED NO TEARS (48) - Wally Ford and wife June Vincent fake his death to collect the insurance money.  However, she is cavorting with a paramour, and when Wally's son gets involved, the plan begins to unravel.  There is a private detective involved and interestingly, he is corrupt and plays both ends against the middle in this enjoyable film noir from Jean Yarbrough.

THE SWEET BODY OF DEBORAH (68) - Nice to finally have this on disc.  Maybe a proper presentation will appear in the US someday.

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Charles Gilbert watched:

MR. HORN (1979) Uninspiring production with western civilian scout Richard Widmark recruiting soft spoken half- breed Mr. Horn (David Carradine) to help the U. S. cavalry track down Geronimo. Second half of protracted televison movie takes off in another direction with Horn becoming more aggressive as a bounty hunter. Dan Vadis shows up in a thankless role as one of a gang of rustlers targeted by Horn. Directed by the steely and gruff Jack Starrett who also plays a general.

THE GRADUATE (1967) First time viewing. Praise is heaped on a twenty year-old college grad from all directions despite his social reluctance. I was surprised to see such an absurd storyline sanctioned by Embassy Pictures and Joseph E. Levine.

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John Black reports: "In what is probably my 'Well, duh' statement of 2019, I loved watching the original CinemaScope version of THIEF OF BAGHDAD (1961), not seen since 1961 theatrical exhibition.  The German label Colossea Film has restored the film to its widescreen glory.  Although the image is slightly soft, the print is far more colorful than all previous home video versions.  English audio and/or subtitles are options.  It's great to finally have a Steve Reeves peplum film appear on Blu-ray.  For me, this is THE home video release of 2019."

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December 14-20, 2019

To answer these trivia questions, please email me at scinema@earthlink.net.

Brain Teasers:

Which actor who made Westerns in Spain was once billed as "MGM's new Latin star sensation"?

It was Gustavo Rojo in the trailer for IT STARTED WITH A KISS, co-starring Glenn Ford and Debbie Reynolds.

Which movie featuring Gordon  Mitchell is a sequel to a Romanian film?

No one has answered this question yet.

Which American actor who made an Italian Western appeared in an American crime flick in which he pretends to be an hobo in order to trick a college student into murdering a young woman's uncle?

No one has answered this question yet.

Which Italian actor, celebrated for his Hamlet, starred in a  movie set during the Mexican revolution?

No one has answered this question yet.

Which Italian actor opinioned in an interview that Richard Harrison ruined himself with women?

No one has answered this question yet.

In which Italian Spy movie did an assassin use a pipe with a gunsite to project a poison dart?

No one has answered this question yet.

Which French actor worked with directors Sergio Leone, Robert Enrico, Philippe Setbon, Federico Fellini and Giuseppe Colizzi?

No one has answered this question yet.

Which Italian director died at the age of 53 on August 23, 1978?

George Grimes knew that it was Giuseppe Colizzi.

Which Italian producer was the first to offer Woody Strode as much money as he would to a White actor?

George Grimes knew that it was Giuseppe Colizzi.

And now for some new brain teasers:

Which Italian actor worked with directors Luchino Visconti, Mario Amendola, Viktor Tourjansky, Duilio Coletti, Fernando Cerchio and Cesare Canevari?

Which Italian director was once credited as Berwang Ross?

Can you name an Italian Western in which a villain uses a bola?

Name the movies from which these images came.

George Grimes identified last week's frame grab of Nello Pazzafini in VIVO PER LA TUA MORTE, aka A LONG RIDE FROM HELL.

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

George Grimes identified last week's photo from LE FATICHE DI ERCOLE, aka HERCLES.

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came? 

George Grimes identified last week's frame grab of Emmanuelle Riva in KAPO.

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

No one has identified that above photo.

It shows Oscar winner Haing S. Ngor in director Sammo Hung's EASTERN CONDORS.

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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:

BROTHERS IN ARMS The Making of Platoon A Documentary (2018) - So howcome Forest Whitaker didn't participate?

RBG (2018)

Enjoyed:

Mama Laura's Boys (2003) - Russell Brown's short film about Babe's and Ricky's Inn, a blues club in Los Angeles, is charming.

Mildly enjoyed:

The Blues #1 "Feeling Like Going Home" (2003)

The Blues #2 "The Soul of A Man" (2003)

Did not enjoy:

CATCH 22 (2019) - I loved the 1970 film so much that I read the Joseph Heller novel. The novel was so rich that the movie could only approximate it, but it did an excellent job of doing it - even if it had to invent an inverted structure to justify the dream-like material. Hearing that Grant Heslov and George Clooney's company was going to produce a six-part mini-series sounded like a great idea - but this gets just about everything wrong from the start with the decision to play out the story in a linear fashion and with a realistic style that almost completely ruins the intent of the material.

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David Deal enjoyed:

REVENGE OF THE CRUSADER (64) - Knight Alberto Lupo leaves his bride with Stephen Forsyth while he's off fighting the crusades. Bad idea.  Riccardo Freda's fingerprints are all over this sadistic swashbuckler with horrific overtones and a crazed Forsyth auditioning for Bava's Hatchet For the Honeymoon.

THE LAST CROOKED MILE (46) - Wise-cracking private eye Don "Red" Barry is on the trail of missing robbery money as murders pile up.  Fun, snappy mystery with Ann (Detour) Savage as one of the suspects and Adele Mara as Barry's long-suffering girlfriend.

FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE (65)

SECRET OF THE RED ORCHID (61)

LA VIE DE BOHEME (92) - An uncanny blend of realism and artificiality typical of our brilliant concierge, Aki Kaurismaki.

IKARIE XB 1 (63) - From 2010: "Very cool Czech sci-fi based on a Stanislaw Lem story has long term community of astronauts encountering ancient, abandoned spacecraft, and fending off mass hypnosis and other socio-political themes.  Great sets and noir-ish photography.  Recommended for those with a taste for this stuff."

NAKED ALIBI (54) - Cop Sterling Hayden believes Gene Barry to be a cop killer but can't prove it.  After he's thrown off the force, Hayden follows Barry to a Mexican border town where Barry meets up with his girlfriend, Gloria Graham and the truth comes out.  Hard-boiled crime thriller is not as perfunctory as some contemporary reviews said and in the end, is another better than average specimen.

SEVEN BLOODSTAINED ORCHIDS (72)

BYLETH (72)

Mildly enjoyed:

H-8... (58) - Based on a true story that happened only a year earlier, this docudrama tells the story of a fatal accident between a truck and a bus caused by an unidentified hit-and-run driver.  We get to know the lives of those involved without knowing who will die until the end. Clever, earnest telling that wins with ensemble acting and creative photography.

THE SCORPIO LETTERS (67) - Ex-cop Alex Cord temps for British Intelligence in London becoming involved in the blackmailing of high government officials.  TV-level spy shenanigans unfold on MGM's backlot with TV supporters sprouting Briitsh accents.  Innocuous.

STAKEOUT! (62) - Bing Russell is an ex-con with his son on the road trying to go straight with no luck.  Russell carries this agreeable no-budget noir.

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Charles Gilbert watched:

VALLEY OF THE DRAGONS (1961) B&W. Cesare Danova and Sean McClory initially in a duel are wisked to a prehistoric world thanks to a meteoric collision with earth, to encounter giant lizards and a couple of cave gals Joan Staley and Daniele De Metz. Borrows footage from ONE MILLION B.C. and RODAN (?). Look for big Mike Lane and stuntman Gil Perkins as cavemen.

REVOLT OF THE SEVEN aka THE SPARTAN GLADIATORS (1964) Tony Russell leads gladiators in rebellion against tyrant Nando Gazzolo. Rehash of humor from TEN GLADIATORS series. Massimo Serato, Livio Lorezon, and Piero Lulli are among the good guys (?).

THE MAN CALLED NOON (1973) Outlaw Stephen Boyd partners with amnesiac gunslinger Rubel Noon (Richard Crenna) to help him recovery his identity. He develops an eye for Rosanna Shiaffino, and brawls with Howard 'Red' Ross. Farley Granger appears in the last half of the film. Patty Shephard is a villainess. I discovered she was born in Greenvile, S.C. and is older sister to actress Judith Chapman.

THE DESERTER (1971) Serbian-born Bekim Fehmui playing a Serbian-born U. S. army officer leads a large cast of American actors in this compelling Italian Dino de Laurentis production about a U. S. Cavalry officer who deserts command when his wife is slaughtered by Apaches. Intense the entire hour and thirty five minutes run time. Mimmo Palmara plays the Apache chief.

The History Guy on YouTube:

   Sinking of the Sultana. Steamboat built in Cincinnati explodes on the Mississippi River near Memphis Tennessee killing nearly 1000, mostly Civil War soldiers. Wonder why no one has ever made a movie about this tragedy.

   B25 Crash into the Empire State Building 1945. Fourteen die.

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