Week of November 5 - 11, 2022

 

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

Brain Teasers:

Can you name two actors who made Italian Westerns who had daughters who made movies accused of being child pornography?

Angel Rivera and Bertrand van Wonterghem knew that Walter Barnes' daughter,  Laura Wendel, starred in MALADOLESCENZA when she was 11.

The other father was William Berger, whose step-daughter Katya Berger starred in LITTLE LIPS when she was 12.

Which American actor who appeared in Italian costume action films became a producer for Walt Disney Productions?

No one has answered this question yet.

Which Italian actress, who made Epics and Westerns, appeared on The Tonight Show to talk about a movie she made with Anthony Quinn and Jacqueline Bisset?

Bertrand van Wonterghem and George Grimes knew that it was Marilu Tolo.

Which Italian actor made three Westerns, each by an American director?

Bertrand van Wonterghem knew that it was Raf Vallone of NEVADA SMITH, CANNON FOR CORDOBA and A GUNFIGHT.

Which Italian actress, born in Rome, made one Western for an Italian director, and one Western with an American director?

Bertrand van Wonterghem and George Grimes knew that it was Giovanni Ralli of IL MERCENARIO and CANNON FOR CORDOBA.

And now for some new brain teasers:

Which actor, born in Greece, appeared in six Italian sword & sandal films before beginning to appear in a string of Italian Westerns in 1966?

Which Italian body builder, who doubled Steve Reeves, starred in a film in 1966 for which his face was always under a mask?

Which Italian actress began her career making 23 features for British producers before working in Italy?

Name the movies from which these images came.

No one identified the above photo.

It shows Fabio Testi in ANDA MUCHACHO, SPARA!, aka DEAD MEN RIDE.

No one identified the above frame grab yet.

Can you name from what movie it came?

No one identified the above photo yet.

Can you name from what movie it came?

No one 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:

Enjoyed:

High School season one (2022) - There had better be a season two because they ended the first season like a British TV show with everyone miserable and numerous plot threads unresolved. Is this how Freevee is going to be? Bosch Legacy ended its first season similarly, and the streaming service still doesn't remember where you left off viewing, is difficult to maneuver and makes it very hard to watch end credits.

Unsung Presents: "The Jazz Decade 1959-69" (2022) - I often have a problem with modern jazz because I can't tell the difference between someone doing something great, and someone just faking it. I have a similar problem with Progressive Rock. For all of this program's lauding of Miles Davis, I found it a little disappointing that there was no mention of Davis' music for the French film ASCENSEUR POUR L'ECHAFAUD, aka ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS, which is the only music by Davis of which I am familiar thanks to a Japanese compilation soundtrack album I bought as a teenager.

THE WATER MARGIN (1972) - A classic of Chinese literature, THE WATER MARGIN was written in the 14th century, but became known all over the world when Pearl S. Buck translated it into English. Reportedly based on actual events during the 12th century Song Dynasty; 108 men and women gathered near the Liangshan Mountain to combat the corruption of the Imperial Court. They were soon branded as outlaws. This movie was based on chapters 64-68 of the sprawling tale. Rather than the usual fight after fight of many Hong Kong action movies, THE WATER MARGIN carefully set up the opportunity to explore the characters in this story while director Chang Cheh keeps your attention by building up suspense. Chao Kai, played by Tung Lin, was scouting Tai Ming Fu when he was seen near Zengtou City. Shih Wen Kung, played by Toshio Kurozawa, was the security chief of Zengtou, who swore to eradicate the Liangshan outlaws. He killed Chao Kai, so revenge was demanded, but none of the outlaws were strong enough to take him on. The decision was made to try and recruit Lu Chun I, played by Tetsuro Tamba, the master who taught Shih Wen Kung. When two members of Liangshan visit with Lu Chun I, and the master doesn't turn them over to the soldiers, the master's steward, who was having an affair with the master's wife, informed the authorities in an effort to have Lu Chun I executed as a traitor. Bribes and counter-bribes illustrate the corruption of the time and complicate efforts to rescue Lu Chun I. Eventually, the master was rescued and then had to face Shih Wen Kung, who now considered his teacher a traitor who must die. The film had an all-star cast, and like most Shaw Brothers films of that time, each actor had his name on the screen as he was introduced, as well as his character's name. On the Celestial Pictures DVD, the on-screen character names didn't match the names in the English subtitles, so I went with the ones on-screen. While there was some action throughout the film, Chang held back on most of it until the climax which got as bloody as you would expect a Chang Cheh film to be. American International Pictures picked this film up for U.S. distribution and changed the name to SEVEN BLOWS OF THE DRAGON - which made sense because only Pearl S. Buck readers would know the title THE WATER MARGIN, which didn't sound like something to bring in Kung Fu fans. AIP also changed the music track which also made sense as the original film had one theme that sounded dangerously close to Dominic Frontier's theme to HANG 'EM HIGH, and a lot of music that sounded like it was made by a Progressive Rock band that wanted to be Yes. The opening music that AIP put on the film became a favorite of mine. One of the more questionable decisions made by AIP was to not attempt to use the Chinese names on the English soundtrack, but instead translate them to "Jade Unicorn", "Tigress Lady", "Welcome Rain" etc. While Pao Hsueh Li and Feng Wu Ma got a secondary director's credit, Ho Chih Chiang and Wu Yu Shen were credited as Assistant Directors - Ho Chih Chiang became better known as Godfrey Ho and Yu Sheng Wu became better known as John Woo. Perhaps the most striking element of this movie was that its climax featured two Japanese actors playing Chinese, perhaps in an attempt to create a box office hit in Japan.

Mildly enjoyed:

ALL MEN ARE BROTHERS, aka SEVEN SOLDIERS OF KUNG FU (1975) - This was part two of Shaw's adaptation following THE WATER MARGIN, aka SEVEN BLOWS OF THE DRAGON, this time credited to Chang Cheh and Wu Ma as co-directors. The surviving outlaws of the Liang Shan, got a pardon from the Emperor and his blessing to go after Fang La, a rebel who set himself up as a rival ruler. The city of Hangchow was the villain's stronghold, so seven volunteers went on a spy mission to best ascertain how to invade it. Not too surprising, all seven eventually end up having very bloody heroic deaths before the villain was complete defeated. As usual for a mid-1970s Shaw Brothers film, the production values were pretty good, but not nearly as impressive as more recent mainland films. However, with martial arts choreography by Tang Chia, Liu Chia Liang, Liu Chia Yung and Chen Chuan with minimum wire work, the fight scenes were more exciting. Unfortunately, the plotting was predictable. It was a pleasure though to watch favorites like David Chiang, Chen Kuan-tai, Wong Chung, Danny Lee, Bolo Yeung, Ti Lung and Ku Feng in action. Tetsuro Tamba also returned from THE WATER MARGIN, but only appeared in one scene.

Chucky "Death On Denial" season two episode 4 - I have frequently written about how I hate the original CHILD'S PLAY and all of the sequels written by Don Mancini, but I keep watching hoping for a surprise - 

and hoping for a satisfactory conclusion to the Nica Pierce storyline 'cause I like Fiona Dourif. Well, this episode came as a pleasant surprise. Starting out as if Chucky was a daytime talk show, the episode changes into something like an Agatha Christie spoof. Not knowing that Jennifer Tilly has been possessed by the evil spirit of Tiffany Valentine, Tilly's family and friends show up to celebrate the 18th birthday of Glen and Glenda. So we get a BOUND reunion with Gina Gershon and Joe Pantoliano along with a reunion of Jennifer and her sister Meg Tilly. How Real Housewife of Beverly Hills Sutton Stracke figured in isn't explained. In the end, this turns out to be an elaborate plan by Glen and Glenda to free Nica after giving her mechanical arms. It's not a conclusion to the Nica story, but it is progress, and I'm happy to see Meg again.

King season one (2011)

Unsung "Norman Connors" (2022)

Uncnsrd. "Mario Van Peebles" (2022)

Did not enjoy:

THE BROADWAY MELODY (1929) - There's no disputing the historical importance of this film: the first sound film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, the first all talking musical, the first musical released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and one of the first movies to feature a Technicolor sequence - a sequence which now only exists in black and white. But, over 90 years later, the movie is a drag to sit through, even if you like the Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed song which gives the film its title - and is heard three times in the flick. Sisters Anita Page and Bessie Love leave their Western circuit to take their act to New York and Broadway with the promise of the title song written by Love's boyfriend Charles King. At first producer Zanfield, played by Eddie Kane, is only interested in the beautiful Page being in his show, but King convinces Kane to hire both sisters. After New York playboy Jacques Warriner catches Page's eye, King realizes that he really loves Page and not Love, leading to some domestic strife and prompting King to write and sing "You Were Meant For Me" to Page. It all ends with Love accepting that her sister and her ex-boyfriend are married and that she has to find a new partner to return to the touring life. A silent version of this film was also produced for exhibition in theaters not having sound equipment, which would only be enjoyed for the frequent excuse of watching the young women undressing and at one point taking a bubble bath. This was back at a time when there were no ethnic minorities in New York City even among the tap dancers. There is one limp wrist gag pointed at the show's costumer.

THE GOODBYE GIRL (2004) - I saw the theatrical feature when it opened in 1977 and I didn't like it much. When it became a big hit and won Richard Dreyfuss an Oscar, I began to hate it. Why TNT decided to do a remake for TV is still a mystery, especially since they did the original script with few changes. Did it have something to do with the three failed attempts to turn the property into a TV series which resulted in three pilots which never aired? Being familiar with the original movie, I wondered if a first time viewer would have been able to follow the story in this remake because director Richard Benjamin kept things moving so quickly and smoothly that the plot points seemed unmade. Jeff Daniels seemed to follow Richard Dreyfuss' lead in playing much of his part "big", while Patricia Heaton had a more pleasant "decolletage" than Marsha Mason had in the original. Whereas Quinn Cummings seemed to come out of nowhere to do the feature film, Hallie Kate Eisenberg was already pretty well known before the TV movie, and was unsurprisingly not as lauded. Alan Cumming didn't make the role of the play's director any more palatable than Paul Benedict did in the original. On reflection, while still not a fan of the 1977 movie, I think Herbert Ross did a better job with the material.

THE GOODBYE GIRL (1977) - Actually, this should be in the "Mildly enjoyed" category because after seeing the TNT version, the original film looked very good. I'm still not fond of Neil Simon's material, but director Herbert Ross handled it in a superior way. All of the plot points were made with precision and the actors came across very well in extended takes. Perhaps because it was for TV, director Richard Benjamin broke up the scenes in his version with close-ups that didn't allow the actors to fully play the material. I remember at the time of its initial release, this film was criticized for, like THE BAD NEW BEARS, it had a little girl saying "bad words". Here Quinn said "Shit". In the TNT version, Eisenberg said "Crap". Rewatching the film provided pleasure in seeing the beautiful Patricia Pearcy of SQUIRM in a small role, as well as Robert Kerman. He didn't get any lines, but he can be seen alongside Richard Dreyfuss during the rehearsal for RICHARD III.

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Charles Gilbert watched:

COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE (1970) Robert Quarry is a distinguished vampire in LA imposing himself on 20 somethings during a seance. Producer Michael MacReady is part of the cast, and father George (Emperor Maximillian in VERA CRUZ) is narrator.. Judy Lang becomes one of the count's brides.

THE VAMPIRE BAT (1933) B&W. Early Majestic Pictures 'horror' with several stars borrowed from Universal Pictures. Lionel Atwill, Dwight Frye, and Lionel Belmore are joined by Melvyn Douglas and Faye Wray. Bats are being blamed for multiple deaths in town. Some believe they are the dreaded human undead. Turns out the respected Dr. Von Nieman is responsible as he conducts insidious experiments. Flames on torches were colorized

IN TANDEM (1974) TV movie is the pilot for Movin' On series starring Claude Akins and Frank Converse. Trials and tribulations of a couple gypsy truckers in Californiia

THE IRON GLOVE ,(1954) William Castle helmed this swashbuckler tale starring Robert Stack as Irish patriot Charles Wogan dedicated to protecting the interests of England's King Charles. Hilarious at 1:00 run time when O'toole (Charles Irwin) gets an officer "fluthered' to steal his uniform in a charade to rescue the princess. With Leslie Bradley,  Alan Hale Jr., and German actress Ursula Theiss.

Spotted Walter Barnes on Bonanza epusode 'Long Way to Ogden'  S11E21

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Bertrand van Wonterghem Highly enjoyed:

La maschera del demonio (1960, Mario Bava)

Enjoyed:

The avengers – episode « Homicide and old lace » (1969, John Hough)

See how they run (2021, Tom George)

Ghosts – episode « the Bone plot » (2021, Nick Collett)

The Winchesters – season 1 – episodes 1 & 2

DC’s legends of tomorrow – episodes « Slay anything » (2019, Alexandra la Roche » & « A head of her time » (2019, Avi Youabian)

Mildly enjoyed:

Young Sheldon – season 3 – episodes 17 to 20 / season 4 episodes 1 & 2

Guillermo del Toro’s cabinet of curiosities – season 1 – episode 1

Did not enjoy:

L’homme parfait (2022, Xavier Durringer)

Gyeolhonbaekseo / Welcome to wedding hell – season 1 – episode 8

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Angel Rivera watched and mildly enjoyed:

The live-action of "Lady and the Tramp" (2019). Very cute!

"When Worlds Collide" (1951) Fifties sci-fi melodrama with state of the art (for 1951) Oscar winning special effects.

"Stargirl" episodes 7, 8 & 9. I love this series because the cast and production crew bring an interesting take on characters I followed in their original comic book versions.

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David Deal Enjoyed:

 THE BATMAN (22) - I liked it. Did it need to be three hours long? No, but it does make for an immersive, haunting experience.

DRIVE MY CAR (21) - Two years after his wife's sudden death, an actor/director travels to direct Chekov's play Uncle Vanya. This multi-layered Oscar winner is well worth the time. Highly recommended.

ANGELS AND DEMONS (09)

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (02)

THE INVISIBLE RAY (36)

DRACULA'S DAUGHTER (36)

DEMENTIA 13 (63)

THE DEVIL'S NIGHTMARE (71)

SON OF FRANKENSTEIN (39)

QUATERMASS 2 (57)

THE INVISIBLE MAN RETURNS (40)

NIGHTMARE CASTLE (65)

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