To answer these trivia questions, please email me at scinema@earthlink.net.
Brain Teasers:
In which Western did our heroine shoot grenades from her handgun?
It was LITTLE RITA NEL WEST.
Which American bodybuilder was being considered to play Remus opposite Steve Reeves before the producers got Gordon Scott?
Both George Grimes and and Angel Rivera repeated the story from the IMDb that the producers had wanted Steve Reeves to play both parts, but I don't believe it. That's like the story that Steve Reeves doubled Gordon Scott in MACISTE CONTRO IL VAMPIRO, and that Steve Reeves never used a stunt double. In any case, I'm looking for an American bodybuilder who was making strong man movies in Italy at the time.
Which American producer working in Spain claimed that he turned down Sergio Leone's request to help on PER UN PUGNO DI DOLLARI?
No one has answered this question yet.
Prior to PER UN PUGNO DI DOLLARI, Sergio Leone had a bad reputation because of his association with what very expensive flop?
Bertrand van Wonterghem knew that it was SODOM AND GOMORRAH, which nearly destroyed Titanus, Italy's largest studio at the time.
Which Italian actress, known mostly for appearing in serious "artistic" movies, made one Epic film and one Western?
Bertrand van Wonterghem and George Grimes knew that it was Lea Massari of L'AVVENTURA, IL COLOSSO DI RODI and LO VOGLIO MORTO.
Which American actor stepped in to finish a Western being shot in Spain when the original star, Victor Mature, proved incapable of doing the job because of alcohol?
Tom Betts and George Grimes knew that it was Rory Calhoun, who stepped in to save the production of FINGER ON THE TRIGGER.
And now for some new brain teasers:
Which French actor worked for directors Bernardo Bertolucci, Sergio Corbucci, Roger Vadim, Michael Haneke and Costa-Gavras?
Which German actor spent time in a British P.O.W. camp during World War 2 before working with directors Antonio Margheriti, Sergio Leone, David Schmoeller, George Roy Hill and James Glickenhaus?
For what film did Richard Harrison take over a role when the director found that he couldn't work with Klaus Kinski?
Name the movies from which these images came.
Tom Betts, David Deal, Bertrand van Wonterghem and George Grimes identified last week's frame grab of Jean-Louis Trintignant in IL GRANDE SILENZIO, aka GREAT SILENCE.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?
David Deal, Angel Rivera, George Grimes and Bertrand van Wonterghem identified last week's photo of Ida Galli, John Drew Barrymoore and Suzi Anderson in ROMA CONTRO ROMA, aka WAR OF THE ZOMBIES.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?
David Deal, Bertrand van Wonterghem and George Grimes identified last week's frame grab of Jean-Louis Trintignant and Vittorio Gassman in IL SORPASSO, aka THE EASY LIFE.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?
No one has identified the above photo 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:
SHUTTLECOCK (2020) - Originally, this film was made in 1991, and released in a version that ran 85 minutes. Almost 30 years later, a "director's cut" was released that runs about 104 minutes. I've not seen the earlier release, so I can't comment on the changes, but the "final" release is an unsatisfying but compelling mystery thriller about the fictions some feel compelled to create in order to live with oneself. Reportedly, the material involving the funeral of Alan Bates' character was newly shot for this new version, which created a framing device to tell the story in flashbacks, and then flashbacks within flashbacks. I've not read the original novel by Graham Swift, but I gander that it is far less complicated than the movie and much more satisfying. Reportedly this was a very difficult production and it was Continental financing that compelled the filmmakers to move much of the story from England to Lisbon, Portugal. I was unaware that Portugal was a Fascist country in the 1960s (or until the "Carnation Revolution" in 1974). I knew that Spain was because I saw BEHOLD A PALE HORSE when I was a kid. Much is made in the film about why a British hero of World War II would live in a Fascist country, so I spent most of the movie awaiting an answer to that question, but one never came. Estranged son David Oakes attends the funeral of grandfather Alan Bates and is pulled aside by estranged father Lambert Wilson in an attempt to explain what happened in Portugal to cause the family estrangements. Bates had written a memoir of his time as a spy during World War II, but suddenly he fell into a catatonic state. Wilson obsessively tries to unlock Bates' mind and eventually discovers that much of Bates' memoir was false. In an effort to make this more dramatic, director Andrew Piddington gets Wilson to perform as if he's in a state of hysteria.
THIS IS 40 (2014) - Except for FUNNY PEOPLE, I mostly enjoy Judd Apatow's work as a producer rather than his stuff as a writer/director. (I like the HBO series Girls and the film THE BIG SICK.) I didn't much enjoy KNOCKED-UP, in which the characters played by Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann here were first introduced, and I mostly found them annoying in this film. However, I really enjoy watching Leslie Mann, and her daughters Maude and Iris Apatow are equally winning here. There are plenty of fun pop culture references and Graham Parker and the Rumor perform, plus there are appearances by Jason Segel, Charlyne Yi, Lena Dunham, Albert Brooks, John Lithgow, Tatum O'Neal and Melissa McCarthy. This is easily the most enjoyable film I've seen featuring Megan Fox.
Did not enjoy:
THE BACK-UP PLAN (2010) - The formula for romantic comedies is "boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back". So what is the gimmick to make this unique? First of all, it is told from the the "girl's" perspective. Second of all, the "girl" has given up on meeting the right "boy" and has decided to have a baby using artificial insemination. Third of all, it is the "girl" who comes from a broken home and so has difficulty trusting that the "boy" is sincere. This leads to a lot of irritating break-up scenes in which Jennifer Lopez' character behaves stupidly. Alex O'Loughlin's character also behaves stupidly and we never get a clue why he finds Lopez appealing aside from her looks. Alan Poul directed from a script credited to Kate Angelo which throws in Melissa McCarthy as the leader of a group of proud single mothers that celebrate a birth in a kiddie pool in an apartment living room. This was Tom Bosley's last film before his death playing Grandmother Linda Lavin's fiance. Robert Klein plays Lopez' gynaecologist.
THE BEAST WITH A MILLION EYES (1955) - Reportedly, Roger Corman had a contract with James H. Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff of American Releasing Company for four films with a budget of $100,000 each. By the time the fourth film was to go into production, there was only about $29,000 left. Nicholson came up with the title and poster which was pre-sold to exhibitors, so Corman, who was not credited on the film in any capacity, came up with the idea that David Kramarsky could make the film as a non-union production in the desert near Palm Springs. With unspeakable dialogue credited to Tom Filer, the film was a text book example of low budget filmmaking. It was set on a minimum of locations with a small number of characters. The title was justified by the alien from outer space narrating the opening explaining that it can see through the eyes of weak minded people and animals, so that he virtually had a million eyes, even though he had no body. For the ending, Paul Blaisdell was called upon to create a monster, which was then explained that the alien needed to inhabit a body to accomplish physical acts. Most of the movie was filled with irritating scenes of an unhappy family - Paul Birch, Lorna Thayer and Dona Cole - arguing, until animals and birds began to attack them. A few scenes eerily prefigure director Alfred Hitchcock's THE BIRDS. Joined by Dick Sargent - 14 years before he became the second Darrin Stephens on Bewitched, they stop weak minded Leonard Tarver from delivering Cole to the extraterrestrial and eventually defeat the enemy with the power of love. In the film, veteran comedy star Chester Conklin was killed by a milk cow with horns, which sent me to the internet where I found out that milk cows do naturally have horns. Most of the domesticated variety are de-horned after birth.
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Bertrand van Wonterghem Enjoyed:
D.O.A. (1950, Rudolph Maté)
Anche gli angeli tirano di destro (1974, Enzo Barboni)
Il vangelo secondo Simone e Matteo (1976, Giuliano Carnimeo)
Mildly enjoyed:
Sesso e volentieri (1982, Dino Risi)
Un delitto poco comune (1987, Ruggero Deodato)
McGruber – season 1 – episode 1
The boys – season 3 – episode 1
Did not enjoy:
I leopardi di Churchill (1970, Maurizio Pradeaux)
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Charles Gilbert watched:
PHANTOM SHIP (1935) B&W. An obscure film with Bela Lugosi between his roles as Dracula and Ygor. Here he is a shanghaied boatswainsmate aboard the Mary Celeste along side a ccrew in the same predicament. One by one the sailors are being murdered at sea. The skipper, who brought along his new bride for the voyage, also become victim.
FORBIDDEN PLANET ,(1956) Monster from the id (Disney animation) is unconvincing, but the rest of the story and effects exceptional.
MOBY DICK (1956) B&W. Gregory Peck as an embittered and callous Captain Ahab is his only role that interests me.
Wagon Train 'The Roger Bigelow Story" Young Reverend Bigelow (Robert Vaughn) fresh out of seminary strives to reform outlaw Wes Varney (Claude Akins). Audry Dalton plays his wife.
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David Deal Enjoyed:
SON OF SAMSON (60) - From 2007: "Mark Forest kicks Persian ass! Li'l hottie Chelo Alonso plays the treacherous queen who commits suicide by jumping into a crocodile tank! A pretty fun example of the peplum."
FEAR IN THE CITY (76)
THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES (76)
THE DELPHI BUREAU (72)
OPERATION MINCEMEAT (22)
L'AMOUR FOU (10)
Mildly enjoyed:
THE FRENCH CONSPIRACY (72) - AKA The Assassination. Police informer Jean-Louis Trintignant is manipulated into bringing Leftist leader Gian Maria Volante to Paris to be captured. Serious thriller with many famous actors.
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Angel Rivera Enjoyed:
"Journey to the Center of the Earth" (1959)
Haven't seen this in a long time. I forgot Pat Boone was in this and how much he sings in it; even though most of his songs with one exception are pretty short. The rest of the film is still enjoyable and James Mason and Arlene Dahl make an interesting couple. The rest of the cast is filled out by Diane Baker who has little to do as Pat Boone's love interest and Thayer David as the villain. The special effects are low budget for this type of film, but still watchable. One notable cast member is Peter Ronson, an Icelandic athlete who portrays Hans, a strong Icelandic native who helps Mason and the other travelers.
"Yes, Madam" aka "Police Assassins" (1985)
After watching the martial arts history documentary "Iron Fists & Kung Fu Kicks' (2019) on Netflix, I became interested in watching the Kung Fu Flick which starred Michelle Yeoh & Cynthia Rothrock. YouTube only featured certain scenes from the film and not the complete film. (For free that is!)
I could only find the complete film for free on Face Book, of all places and then in Spanish. The film is interesting especially as a document of its time as Michelle and Cynthia dress in Miami Vice style clothing and look pretty sexy in their fight scenes and throughout the film. One of the best scenes is when Michelle breaks up a bank robbery with a shot gun catching one of the thugs in what is obviously a "Dirty Harry" inspired scene. The thief is on the ground reaching for his gun, when Michelle catches him with her shot gun. She then explains to him she doesn't remember if she has used all her bullets, but dares him to take a chance and reach for his gun. (Without using any expletives.) He slowly surrenders. But when he thinks she has loosened her aim on him, he reaches for his gun at which time she shoots him. Unfortunately the film spends too much time on a subplot of some thieves who have stolen a microfilm from a gang boss and not enough time on the two women. Although when the film does focus on Michelle and Cynthia, especially in their final fight scene with the bad guys; it is well worth the wait.
Mildly enjoyed:
"Catalina Caper" (1967)
Here's a weird little film I caught on TCM. The film was actually filmed in 1965, but was not released until 1967. A "Beach Party" style movie with a lot of girls in bikinis dancing at the beach and Little Richard as a musical guest. It stars Tommy Kirk, (a one time star of Disney films until he was arrested for marijuana possession and also after he had been outed) and Peter Duryea, son of actor Dan Duryea and a featured player in the original Star Trek pilot; as well as Micheal Blodgett of "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" fame.
The plot deals with some art thieves who have stolen a Chinese scroll from an art museum and then get involved with our cast of heroes and the "Beach Party"style gang of revelers. One of the bad guys is portrayed by Lyle Waggoner as the character, Angelo!
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