To answer these trivia questions, please email me at scinema@earthlink.net.
Brain Teasers:
What reason did Frank Wolff give for accepting the role in UN DOLLARO TRA I DENTI?
Tony Anthony said that Frank told him that the biggest mistake he ever made in his career was turning down an offer from Sergio Leone to be in PER UN PUGNO DI DOLLARI. So he took the next Western offered to him.
How many Westerns had music by Leo Nichols?
George Grimes knew that it was three. For some unknown reason, Morricone was billed as Leo Nichols for two films he did for producer Dino De Laurentiis - NAVAJO JOE and THE HILLS RUN RED. The second time he worked with Sergio Corbucci on THE HELLBENDERS he was also billed as Nichols.
How many Italian Westerns had contributions by Albert Band?
George Grimes knew that it was four. American writer/director Albert Band got Sergio Corbucci into making Westerns with MASSACRO AL GRANDE CANYON and returned to work with Corbucci on I CRUDELI. In addition Band worked on DUELLO NEL TEXAS and UN MINUTO PER PREGARE, UN ISTANTE PER MORIRE.
Why did Robert Woods not appear in 7 DONNE PER I MACGREGOR ?
George Grimes knew that it was because he didn't like working with Agata Flori, and since she was the producer's girlfriend she wasn't going anywhere. Columbia suggested an actor they had under contract, David Bailey, to replace Woods.
And now for some new brain teasers:
On what three films directed by Sergio Corbucci did Franco Giraldi also work?
Which American actor made one Italian Western and then returned to the U.S. to appear in six different TV "soap operas"?
In how many Westerns was Anita Ekberg listed in the credits?
Name the movies from which these images came.
George Grimes, Bertrand van Wonterghem, Rick Garibaldi and Charles Gilbert identified last week's frame grab of Piero Lulli, Gaetano Scala and Richard Harrison in EL ROJO.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?
George Grimes, Bertrand van Wonterghem and Charles Gilbert identified last week's photo of Antonio Molino Rojo and Loredana Nusciak in I SETTE GLADIATORI, aka GLADIATORS 7.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?
George Grimes, Charles Gilbert and Bertrand van Wonterghem identified last week's photo of Lou Castel, Carroll Baker and Colette Descombes in ORGASMO, aka PARANOIA.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?
George Grimes, Charles Gilbert, Bertrand van Wonterghem and Angel Rivera identified last week's frame grab of Bruce Lee from FIST OF FURY, aka THE CHINESE CONNECTION.
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:
Mildly enjoyed:
Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. "Leslie Odom Jr. and Nathan Lane" (2022)
Martha's Vineyard Mysteries "A Beautiful Place To Die" (2020) - I'll watch just about anything featuring Sarah Lind (I tried watching True Justice but Steven Seagal was too awful.), so I was happy to stumble upon this series on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries Channel from the novels by Philip R. Craig. The stories are reminiscent of the Jesse Stone TV films starring Tom Selleck (which I started watching because of Polly Shannon), but Jesse Metcalfe is a former Boston Detective settling into Martha's Vineyard because of a bullet lodged in his spine. Sarah Lind is an old high school friend who is the local doctor and acting coroner. In the first movie, Metcalfe and Lind show no real chemistry and the mystery is standard TV grade. Here's hoping for better in the future.
MATADOR (1986) - I first heard about this movie in an interview with Spanish screenwriter Salvador Sainz by Dale Pierce in S.C. # 39. Sainz reported that the film was unpopular in Spain because it wasn't graphic enough for the Horror fans and that bullfighting fans found the movie to be an outrageous obscenity as it deals with an former matador who is addicted to killing. The film begins with ex-matador Nacho Martinez masturbating to a video showing images of women being murdered. As many of the images come from director Mario Bava's BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, director Pedro Almodovar seems to be signalling that his movie has been inspired by Italian Gialli. The video would seem to be a compilation of clips from alot of movies, some of which I can't identify. However, this is another European film inspired by thrillers, which doesn't want to follow through and be a thriller. As with most Almodovar films, this is a dark comedy, which sometimes seems to be an excuse for not being unable to sustain the tension to be a successful nail-biter. Student Antonio Banderas is taking lessons in becoming a matador from Martinez, which is intercut with Assumpta Serna picking a man up off the streets, taking him to bed and then stabbing him to death in the back of the neck, just as the bullfighting students are being taught. Banderas has a vertigo fainting spell and asks Martinez for a glass of water with which to take a pill. Banderas asks Martinez for help with women, Martinez asks Banderas if he is gay so Banderas pledges to prove that he isn't. It turns out that neighbor Eva Cobo is Martinez's girlfriend, so Banderas pulls her off that street, into an alley, and attempts to rape her. Banderas pulls out a swiss army knife to threaten her - first with a cork screw - and fumbles before he gets out the blade. However, he ejaculates before achieving penetration, for which he apologizes. She pushes him away but slips in the mud, and gets a little cut on the cheek from the fall, which causes Banderas to faint. Convinced that her son has been up to evil, religious fundamentalist mother Julieta Serrano (from PEPI, LUCI, BOM Y OTRAS CHICAS DEL MONTON and ENTRE TINIEBLAS) orders her son to confession, but rather than seeking out a priest, he goes to the police station and meets with detective Eusebio Poncela. Poncela has Cobo dragged to the police station along with her mother Chus Lampreave (of ENTRE TINIEBLAS and ¿QUE HE HECHO YO PARA MERECER ESTO!!), who refuses to prosecute Banderas as she's got a modeling assignment. On Poncela's desk, Banderas sees the photos of two dead men, which he confesses to having murdered. On an hunch, Poncela shows Banderas the photos of two women who were also classmates at Martinez's school and who are now missing. Banderas confesses to having killed them, too. Needless to say, it turns out that the two men were murdered by Serna and the two women were murdered by Martinez. Eventually, it is discovered that Banderas has a psychic ability to see all of the murders in Madrid, and has the Catholic guilt to blame himself for all of them. Banderas recognizes Serna when she shows up as his defense attorney, but she knows that they have never met. In a coincidence that would make Brian de Palma blush, it turns out that Serna is obsessed with Martinez and desires that they kill each other. Fans of Swedish actress Bibi Andersson may be confused by Morocco born actress Bibiana Fernandez being billed as Bibi Andersen. I know I was. The highlight of the film is a scene backstage at Cobo's modeling show where director Almodovar is ordering that rather than hide Cobo's injury, the make-up lady should make it look worse. When a junkie model vomits on another model's dress, Almodovar tells the model to leave the vomit; he likes it. Carmen Maura (of FOLLE... FOLLE...FOLIEME TIM!, PEPI, LUCI, BOM Y OTRAS CHICAS DEL MONTON, ENTRE TINIEBLAS and ¿QUE HE HECHO YO PARA MERECER ESTO!!) plays a psychiatrist who falls in love with Banderas.
LA LEY DEL DESEO, aka LAW OF DESIRE (1987) - After the near pornographic sex scenes in MATADOR, director Pedro Almodovar begins this movie with a near pornographic solo male scene in which a young man takes direction from off camera. Eventually we see two men in a dubbing studio laying down the audio for the scene being played before them on a screen. (Is this reminiscent of Almodovar's first film FOLLE... FOLLE...FOLIEME TIM!) Next we are at the premiere of the new movie by director Eusebio Poncela (of MATADOR). In the crowd, Antonio Banderas (of LABERINTO DE PASIONES and MATADOR) follows Poncela at a distance, while Poncela is told by his lover, Miguel Molina (of ENTRE TINIEBLAS), that Molina is leaving Madrid to summer with his family in the South. Molina writes to Poncela, but Poncela isn't happy with the letter. So Poncela typewrites the letter he wanted from Molina, sends it to Molina for him to sign and mail back to Poncela. Meanwhile, Banderas gets himself picked up by Poncela, explains that he's never before had sex with a man, and, in the morning starts to straighten up the mess in Poncela's apartment. After reading the letter that Poncela wrote but Molina signed, Banderas sees that he has a romantic rival. After doing a not-quite thriller with MATADOR, Almodovar seems to have decided to make a mostly straightforward romantic melodrama here. However, the most interesting part of the movie is the character played by Carmen Maura (of FOLLE... FOLLE...FOLIEME TIM!, PEPI, LUCI, BOM Y OTRAS CHICAS DEL MONTON, ENTRE TINIEBLAS, ¿QUE HE HECHO YO PARA MERECER ESTO!! and MATADOR). She is Poncela's transgender sister who is raising her ex-lesbian lover's daughter, Manuela Velasco. Maura is nostalgic for her upbringing in the Catholic church, and for the priest who molested her as a boy, played by German Cobos. Maura and Velasco build an altar in their home with pictures of the Virgin Mary and Elizabeth Taylor. Velasco feels that her prayers have been answered when Poncela offers Maura the role in a Spanish version of Jean Cocteau's monologue-play LA VOIX HUMAINE, even figuring out how to get Velasco into the show. Banderas leaves Madrid to live with his mother, played by Helga Line (of LABERINTO DE PASIONES). For fear that his German mother might read his mail, Banderas asks Poncela to write to him using a woman's name - Laura P. Needless to say, this leads to confusion when the father-son detective team (played by Fernando Guillen and Fernando Guillen Cuervo) show up to investigate Molina's murder. After discovering that Banderas is the murderer, Poncela drives his car into a tree and ends up with in the hospital with a broken leg and amnesia. Going through Poncela's papers, the police suspect that Laura P. might be the murderer, and then suspect that Maura might be her. Maura needs Poncela to recover his memory not only to tell the police about Laura P. but also because she needs someone who remembers her past. Bibi Andersen (of MATADOR) returns to play Velascor's mother. Nacho Martinez (of MATADOR) returns as the doctor treating Poncela. Director Almodovar makes a cameo as a clerk serving Banderas.
SUMMER OF SOUL (...or, when the revolution could not be televised) (2021) - I guess Questlove didn't feel that a concert film of the event would be understood by contemporary audiences, so he had to make a documentary explaining all of the references made during the concerts. It makes for an interesting history lesson, but I just want to see Sly and the Family Stone uncut.
Did not enjoy:
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David Deal Enjoyed:
THE WHISPERERS (67) - Dame Edith Evans is a lonely old woman whose small, shabby world takes a couple of unexpected turns. Terrific cinematography, great acting, and a strange story of glancing blows and delusions from Bryan Forbes (Séance on a Wet Afternoon).
BANDIT QUEEN (50) - When Barbara Britton sees her parents murdered by sheriff Barton Maclane, she vows for revenge, and soon crosses paths with the famous local Robin Hood-type hero Joaquin Murietta (Philip Reed). Western programmer notable for its whip-wielding heroine and its sympathies for the Mexican natives of California overrun by gold rushers.
A LIZARD IN A WOMAN'S SKIN (71)
THE GREEN GIRL (14) - Interesting documentary on actress Susan Oliver, who will be familiar to anyone who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s.
THE VAMPIRE'S GHOST (45)
BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE (59)
DEADFALL (68)
THE VAMPIRE LOVERS (70)
Mildly Enjoyed
DATE WITH DISASTER (57)
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Angel Rivera Watched:
I watched what is correctly titled, "We Need to Talk About Bill Crosby" Part 4--about the trial and how he was released from jail due to a technicality. Also how those in the African American community think about him now; some trying to separate the artist from his sins. Some can only see him as a sexual predator.
TCM was showing a tribute to Sidney Poitier on what would of been his 95th birthday, so I watched, "In the Heat of the Night" (1967); "Blackboard Jungle" (1955); "To Sir, with Love" (1967) and "Lilies of the Fields" (1963).
I also watched the DC animated film, "Injustice"(2021) where after Superman kills the Joker who has caused the death of Lois, Jimmy and the citizens of Metropolis; he fights with the rest of the JLA when he tries to impose his will over the rest of the world re: aggression between nations.
I also watched a Barbara Carrera (my favorite actress) double feature when I watched "I, the Jury" (1982) and "Embryo" (1976).
Also "Son of Samson" (1960/1962) the first modern Maciste movie with Mark Forrest. While I was not that impressed, as I did not remember ever having seen the film before, I tried to imagine what it would have been like for those who saw it in its initial premiere.
Lastly I watched "Attack of the Puppet People"(1958) produced and directed by Bert I. Gordon who also directed "The Amazing Colossal Man". Some scenes from "The Amazing Colossal Man" are seen in the movie when some characters from the film are at a drive-in where "TACM" is being shown.
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Bertrand van Wonterghem Enjoyed:
A series of unfortunate events - season 3 – episodes 5 to 7
Pink Floyd : delicate sound of thunder (concert) (1988, Wayne Isham)
Tim Frazer jagt den geheimnisvoller Mister X (1964, Ernst Hofbauer)
Mildly enjoyed:
Nightmare alley (2021, Guillermo del Toro)
Fistful of vengeance (2021, Roel Reiné)
Zombies of Mora Tau (1957, Edward L. Cahn)
Billy the kid (doc) (2012, John Maggio)
Les voraces (1973, Sergio Gobbi)
Deux heures moins le quart avant Jésus-Christ (1982, Jean Yanne)
Did not enjoy:
The atomic brain / Monstrosity (1963, Joseph V. Mascelli)
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Charles Gilbert watched:
ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE (1957) B&W. John Hoyt plays the sinister dollmaker who has found a means to shrink people for reason of loneliness. John Agar and June Kenney are among his menagerie. Bert I. Gordon inserted a promotion for one of his other flicks THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN when the two go to the drive-in. First season of The Wild Wild West paid tribute to this when Lloyd Bochner played a villain reminiscent. Hoyt played a judge in said "Night of the Puppeteer".
EL ROJO (1966) A quartet of crooked businessmen (Lulli, Ellis, Ressel, and Aureli) having massacred the Sorenson family on the prairie, blaming it on the indians, and seized their gold mine rights, have a western town in their pockets from the proceedings; until relative Don Sorenson (Richard Harrison), back from the war, shows up with innovative side kick Jose Jaspe. Annie Gorassini is in there somewhere.
THE BEACH GIRLS AND THE MONSTER (1965) B&W. Schlock fare stars Jon Hall who also produced. Shimmy fest on the beach with the teen set but Sue Casey steals the show with her sultry demeanor playing perfidious wife to Hall.
GOLDEN NEEDLES (1974) Another Weintraub/Clouse collaboration with Hong Kong the backdrop once again. Joe Don Baker was originally headlined but since lo these many years you see Jim Kelly at the forefront even though he gets little celluloid and doesn't even appear until 47 minutes in. The coveted table-top statue scenario gets a terrible script despite acting support from Burgess Meredith Elizabeth Ashley, and a miscast Ann Southern.
MAYDAY AT 40,000 FEET (1975) TV movie. Transcon flight 602 flies from LA to Chicago with a prisoner (Marjoe Gortner) onboard who overtakes the sky marshal (Broderick Crawford) suffering from a heart condition. His gun discharges in the struggle, disabling all hydraulics, at the same time wounding the pilot (David Janssen) and a female passenger who just so hapoens to be love interest of the co-pilot (Christopher George). The lecherous flight engineer (Dandy Don Meredith) in the end is the hero keeping his cool throughout. With Jane Powell and Ray Milland who plays an alcoholic doctor finding redemption in the crisis.
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