To answer these trivia questions, please email me at scinema@earthlink.net.
Brain Teasers:
What was the first Italian produced Western featuring Ken Clark?
It was HELLER IN PINK TIGHTS produced by Carlo Ponti.
In what movie did Ken Clark man-handle Alan Arkin?
No one has answered this one yet.
Which Italian Western star died on April 20, 1974?
Bertrand van Wonterghem, George Grimes and Angel Rivera knew that it was Peter Lee Lawrence.
Which Italian Western star was married to Cristina Galbo?
Bertrand van Wonterghem, George Grimes and Angel Rivera knew that it was Peter Lee Lawrence.
On what film did Cristina Galbo work with her husband?
Bertrand van Wonterghem, George Grimes and Angel Rivera knew that it was DOVE SI SPARA DI PIU, aka ULTIMATE GUNFIGHTER, aka THE FURY OF JOHNNY KIDD. Bertrand also noted they worked together on LA FURIA DEI KHYBER, aka SLAUGHTER ON THE KHYBER PASS.
And now for some new brain teasers:
Which American bodybuilder who played Maciste was a substitute teacher in the L.A. Unified School System?
Which Spanish actor who made Westerns died on December 27, 1987?
Which Spanish actor appeared in movies with Cary Grant, Jeffrey Hunter and Sean Flynn?
Name the movies from which these images came.
Rick Garibaldi identified last week's photo of Alberto de Mendoza in MANOS TORPES, aka AWKWARD HANDS, aka CLUMSY HANDS.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?
Bertrand van Wonterghem, George Grimes, Charles Gilbert and Angel Rivera identified last week's frame grab of Gordon Scott in MACISTE ALLA CORTE DEL GRAN KHAN, aka SAMSON AND THE SEVEN MIRACLES OF THE WORLD.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?
George Grimes identified last week's frame grab of Szu Shih in THE BLACK TAVERN.
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:
CIAKMULL L'UOMO DELLA VENDETTA, aka CHUCK MOOL, aka THE UNHOLY FOUR (1970) - Veteran director of photography Enzo Barboni chose E.B. Clucher for his director's credit with his first feature, right before he hit the big time with his second feature LO CHIAMAVNO TRINITA... Unlike most of his future career, Barboni's first film is mostly played straight, with only as much whimsy as director Tonino Cervi allowed in OGGI A ME... DOMANI A TE! - a film which shares a bit with CIAKMULL: both were shot in the autumnal colors of an Italian forest and both feature groups of men who insist on always riding shoulder to shoulder. The most whimsical element of this film probably wasn't intended as such - that the State Mental Prison would be right across the street from the Bank of Dodge City. It also seems odd that the Bank would be receiving a gold shipment in the middle of the night. This works well for Andrew Ray (aka Andrea Aureli) and his gang who set fire to the Mental Prison in order to distract the bank guards so that they can steal the gold. Escaping from the burning prison are Woody Strode, Peter Martell, Luca Montefiori (aka George Eastman, aka Luigi Montefiori) and Leonard Mann, the latter seeming to be in a mental haze. In an alley, one of the robbers is shot by a bank guard and falls at Mann's feet. Looking up he recognizes Mann and calls him "Chuck Mool" (Which is a name that sounds nonsensical in English. Does Ciakmull seem more reasonable to Italians?) before dying. Mann has no memory and so is excited to find out he has a name. Luckily, in the morning, five bounty hunters show up itching to make $50 a head for catching the escaped mental patients. Meanwhile, Ray's gang meets up with Lucio Rosato and his gang to split the gold. Naturally, Rosato's gang murders Ray's gang before they get too far. Our four heroes kill the bounty hunters and they now have new clothes, weapons and horses. As the four ride along, they come across the dead Ray gang, and one remarks : "Well, I guess it's just that kind of day." One of the gang isn't dead yet, and when Montefiori demands to know where is the gold, he says "Ozaka". Figuring that since the gang seemed to know who he is, Mann decides to go to Ozaka to unravel the mystery of his identity. The others tag along hoping to find the stolen gold. Franco Rossetti is credited with having the idea for the movie which he co-wrote with Mario Di Nardo. The IMDb seems to think that Montefiori should be included among the writers, which would explain why he's given more good scenes than Mann - the star. Ozaka is a town with two factions: Rosato and his father Giuseppe Lauricella, and Helmuth Schneider and his son Alain Naya. Naya is obviously envious of Mann, whom Schneider continues to mourn three years after his supposed death. Unfortunately, Rosato's men recognize Mann first, and soon kidnap Strode to torture him into telling why Mann is acting weird. Rosato has the idea to convince Mann that Lauricella is his father, and that he must kill Schneider. Rosato also forces his sister, Evelyn Stewart, to pretend to be Mann's sister - instead of his long lost love. So Mann is sent to murder Schneider, but, luckily, Stewart tells Montefiori what's going on. Stopping Mann from killing Schneider, Montefiorti explains the duplicity and Mann is introduced to his real brother and father. Deciding that he now must kill Rosato, Mann enters the town for a showdown. Rosato has men stationed all around to ambush our hero, but his three fellow mental prisoners join in the battle. While two of his friends are killed, Mann wins the battle and is about to leave with Stewart when Naya shows up with some men. In flashback, we see that it was the envious Naya who caused Mann's head injury and tried to kill him in a burning shack three years ago. Naya explains that Mann was a bastard born after a bandit raped his mother, but Schneider insisted on treating him like a real son - unlike Naya, who is his real son. Schneider gallops into town to prevent a shootout, but fails as Montefiori helps Mann kill Naya, before Montefiori is killed. Learning that Schneider isn't his birth father, Mann wanders away in a daze as Schneider calls out to him. Riz Ortolani can usually be relied upon to deliver a good music score, but this one seems too jaunty for a film this dark. Still it helps the pacing, which the film needs as it drags when the music isn't on. Among the familiar faces in the supporting cast are Dino Strano, Enzo Fierfmonte, Luciano Rossi, Romano Puppo, Pietro Ceccarelli, Giovanni Cianfriglia, Remo De Angelis, Emilio Messina and Roberto Dell'Acqua.
Leverage: Redemption season one (2021) - The TNT series has been revived on Freevee. The first season had 16 episodes, and the second season is scheduled for 13.
Did not enjoy:
A DISTANT TRUMPET (1964) - I remember seeing this when I was eight years old, but my main memory of it was that I used it in a lie to my mother. She felt that THE NUTTY PROFESSOR with Jerry Lewis was too scary for me to see, so I told her I was going to see A DISTANT TRUMPET again when I snuck off to see the Jerry Lewis movie. Maj. Gen. James Gregory lectures at West Point about his failure to catch renagade Apache White Eagle. 2nd Lt. Troy Donahue is a rapt student, and soon finds himself posted to Fort Delivery in the area where War Eagle raids. 1st Lt. William Reynolds has been temporarily in charge of the fort, but has lost all interest in maintaining troop discipline or in paying attention to his wife Suzanne Pleshette. He soon leaves on another assignment leaving his wife behind. Meanwhile medic Capt. Judson Pratt takes command, and he has no problem with Donahue re-imposing discipline on the troops. Pleshette is being escorted from the Fort when Indians attack, but Donahue rescues her. Caught in a storm, the two seek shelter in a cave for the night, where the face the possibility that they may not have a future after tonight. Back at the Fort, Donahue keeps a photo of Gregory's niece, Diane McBain, who turned down his offer of marriage. When she shows up having reconsidered the marriage idea, she quickly sees that Pleshette is a rival. Eventually, Gregory shows up after he gets information from his Apache scouts that White Eagle has returned from Mexico and a big battle is brewing. Director Raoul Walsh has a reputation for directing action, and he doesn't disappoint with the battle scenes. Things get complicated when Gregory sends Donahue to negotiate White Eagle's surrender.
BERNIE THE DOLPHIN (2018) - Brother and sister Logan Allen and Lola Sultan kayak out to a cove where they have a camp. They love swimming with the dolphins and keeping an eye on nests of endangered turtle eggs. Allen documents everything with his video camera, including a trio of adults checking out the cove. It turns out that businessman Kevin Sorbo is trying to convince the mayor to go along with his construction scheme. Seeing the kids, Sorbo sends along an henchman to scuttle their kayak with a speed boat. Luckily, a dolphin helps to keep Sultan from drowning. When the kids tell their father and mother, Patrick Muldoon and Dahlia Legault, about what happened, all they get in response is that it is dangerous to be with dolphins in the wild. Later on, the kids can't find their dolphin friend and start putting up "missing" posters. They find out that the dolphin ended up on a beach suffering from a bad sunburn. The dolphin was taken to Marineland to recouperate, where they re-establish their friendship and name the creature "Bernie". Sorbo hires Muldoon to get the land from the owner who was an old college friend, saying that it will be for an ocean park. Meanwhile Sorbo's henchman is destroying the turtle eggs to erase any concerns about the property being a sanctuary. After Muldoon gets the land and signs it over to Sorbo, he discovers that the plans are not to bulid an ocean park but a chemical plant. Eventually, Muldoon helps his kids to expose Sorbo and the mayor. They also locate Bernie's family so that the healed dolphin can be returned to where he belongs. This film was successful enough for a sequel to be made. Kevin Sorbo is one of the producers on this film and may have something to do with his wife, Sam, and his children Shane and Braeden having small roles. Actor Kirk Harris directed.
THE BOUNCE BACK (2016) - This movie was loosely inspired by Karen Salmansohn's BOUNCE BACK! HOW TO THRIVE IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY, published in 2008. In the movie, Shemar Moore is on a book tour promoting his book THE BOUNCE BACK. Therapist Nadine Velazquez is frustrated by the platitudes her patients quote to her from the book, so she challenges Moore's qualifications to give advice during a Q&A session. Moore enjoys the debate so much, that he invites Velazquez to join him on the book tour. Needless to say, they fall in love as each discovers what has gone wrong in their previous relationships. Bill Bellamy plays Moore's agent and is used to remind us that this is a romantic COMEDY. Youssef Delara co-wrote the screenplay and directed this dully conventional film in which no one seems to have money problems.
SHERLOCK GNOMES (2018) - I am not the intended audience for this film. Executive Produced by Elton John for his Rocket Pictures, this film has John's music throughout (starring with John's duet with Kiki Dee on "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart" over the opening credits) even though Chris Bacon gets a "music by" credit. While GNOMEO & JULIET was a big hit in 2011, the sequel is considered a box office disappointment. The evil pie mascot Moriarty plans to smash all of London's garden gnomes, but Sherlock Gnomes and Dr. Watson are "the sworn protector of London's garden gnomes" and they rescue them in the Natural History Museum. Moriarty seems to have been killed by a falling dinosaur skeleton. After the gnomes from the first film have moved from Stratford-upon-Avon to a new garden in London, they soon are kidnapped. Gnomeo and Juliet run into Sherlock and Watson investigating the case with all clues pointing to Moriarty being behind it. The gnomes are being snatched by two gargoyles. Sherlock is baffled by the case, until Watson reveals that he is the evil mastermind. All the clues marked "M" should be turned over to reveal "W". Actually, it turns out, the garboyles work for Moriarty, who noticed how Watson resented being taken for granted by Sherlock and decided to dupe him into betrayal. Working together again, Sherlock and Watson and Gnomeo and Juliet foil the plan to smash the garden gnomes and with the Spring, the new garden looks dazzling. There's an all-star cast of voice performers, including Johnny Depp as Sherlock, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Watson, James McAvoy as Gnomeo, Emily Blunt as Juliet, Mary J. Blige as a plastic doll version of Irene Adler - who sings John's "Stronger Than I Ever Was", Michael Caine as Juliet's father, Maggie Smith as Gnomeo's mother and Ozzy Osbourne as a garden deer. Ben Zazove got the credit for the screenplay while John Stevenson has the credit for directing.
HOLMES & WATSON (2018) - When a Sherlock Holmes spoof starts, one wonders with which version of the character do the makers plan to have fun. It soon becomes obvious that it is the 2009 version starring Robert Downey Jr. I'm not a fan of Will Ferrell playing dumb, and having John C. Reilly making it a double act is even less fun. As with SHERLOCK GNOMES, these filmmakers feel the crux of the plot should involve someone being jealous of Holmes. Here it is Mrs. Hudson, played by Kelly Macdonald, though she's less jealous of Holmes than in trying to impress her absent father - Professor Moriarty, played by Ralph Fiennes. Other fine actors wasted here include Lauren Lapkus, Rebecca Hall, Hugh Laurie and Pam Ferris. Reportedly Etan Cohen's script had been in development since 2008. What producers saw in it is a mystery, and Etan Cohen the director didn't make it apparent to viewers.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022) - I really enjoyed director Peter Jackson's THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, but found THE HOBBIT trilogy much less compelling. This 8 episode first series was even less compelling as it didn't have the "mission" of TLOR. Fans of the books may be getting a kick out of seeing passages acted out, but I just wanted the filmmakers to "get on with it" and give me a reason to watch aside from the production value. But Markella Kavenagh is very appealing.
MACGRUBER (2010) - I admit that I had already composed the opening line of this review before I suffered to watch the movie: I've not enjoyed any movie based on a Saturday Night Live sketch, and this was no exception. However, Kristen Wiig looked good. What started out as a parody of the TV series MacGyver in which our resourceful hero was able to save the day by using innocuous objects to create life-saving devices - while MacGruber failed again and again when his "devices" failed to work, had turned into a part spoof of RAMBO, the James Bond films and still a little bit of MacGyver. If you find that the villain played by Val Kilmer was named Dieter von Cunth - pronounced "Cunt" - was funny, then this film may be for you. If you find Will Forte making loud, obnoxious noises while sexually ejaculating funny, then this film may be for you - especially when he did it again thinking that he was having sex with the ghost of his dead fiance Maya Rudolph. If you find an inept hero continuing to threaten to castrate his adversaries to make them suck their own dicks funny, this may be the film for you. Powers Booth and Ryan Phillippe were in the supporting cast that was directed by first-timer Jorma Taccone. In 2021, a eight episode series was released on Peacock.
SAVING FLORA (2018) - Jenna Ortega is very appealing in this very conventional "a girl and her elephant" story. When it is perceived that Flora, the circus elephant, is to old and arthritic to perform anymore, the daughter of Circus owner David Arquette, Ortega, thinks that she will be taken to an elephant preserve run by Rhea Perlman. Arquette is told that the preserve won't take Flora and believes that it would be better to put Flora "down". Ortega sneaks Flora away to take her to the preserve. Frantically, Arquette searches for her, along with trapeze artist Leonor Varela. Along the way, Ortega and Flora see young Martin Martinez fighting with a farmer from whom Martinez has stolen some cabbages. Seeing the elephant, the farmer runs away. Martinez decides to come along on Ortega's journey, especially after he finds out there is a reward being offered for her. When the story of the missing elephant hits TV, redneck trophy hunter Tom Arnold decides that an elephant head would look good in his home. Sheriff Frank Gallegos joins in the hunt, while the TV coverage turns Ortega into an hero. The only surprise in the end is that Perlman has Flora's daughter in the preserve. Director Mark Drury Taylor came up with the story for this movie, which David Moss helped to write.
THINK LIKE A MAN (2012) - Like THE BOUNCE BACK, this movie was inspired by a published book. Unlike BOUNCE, the author of 2009's ACT LIKE A LADY, THINK LIKE A MAN, Steve Harvey, appears as himself in the movie promoting the book and offering romantic advice. An all-star cast of men, including Michael Ealy, Romany Malco, Terrence J. and token white boy Jerry Ferrara, find their romantic lives in an uproar because the all-star cast of women, including Taraji P. Henson, Regina Hall, Gabrielle Union and Meagan Good, begin to follow the advice in the book on how to get what you want from your man. When the guys figure out that all of the women are following the advice given in the book, they decide to turn the tables on the women and pretend to be going along with them. Naturally, when the women discover the deception, they toss the men out of their lives. Of course, when the men figure out that what the women wanted from them was actually what they wanted from themselves, they work hard to get the women back. Even "The Happier Divorced Guy" Kevin Hart has a change of heart and gets back with his ex Wendy Williams. Also in the cast are Chris Brown, Kelly Rowland, Morris Chestnut and Sherri Shepherd. Gary Owen, not the announcer from Laugh-In, is another white guy in the group of men, but as "The Happily Married Man" he doesn't get much to do and we never see his wife. Having previously directed the two FANTASTIC FOUR movies starring Jessica Alba, Tim Story delivered a good-looking but dully conventional romantic comedy which was successful enough to warrant a sequel - THINK LIKE A MAN TOO.
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Charles Gilbert watched:
OLD SUREHAND (1965) Stewart Granger is the cotton sideburns, buckskin wearing frontiersman to Pierre Brice's Apache champion Winnetou. They search for the power broker fomenting tension between the red man and the white man. Ex baseball player Larry Pennell plays the dastardly General Jack O"Neal With Mario Girotti (Terence Hill)
Fall Guy "Semi Catastrophe" S04E13 Cristina Raines plays a lady trucker who absconded with her impounded rig. Crooked freight manager (Lonnie Chapman) had her truck impounded over gambling debts. Colt Seavers (Lee Majors) on her case must also deal with a large jealous trucker (John Matusak).
McCloud "Bonnie and McCloud" S07E01. Bonnie Foster (Leigh Taylor- Young) is on the run from nefarious trucking head named Straker (Gilbert Green). She is accused of shooting one of his henchman. McCloud follows her to Oklahoma to clear her name, but meets resistance from consorts of Straker, like a gas station attendant (Gregory Walcott). They get involved in a truck convoy that garners them much favorable attention.
Feb 16 1970 Heavyweight 2 fight card on ESPN Classics: George Forman vs. Gregorio Peralta Joe Frazier vs. Jimmy EllisHappy
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Bertrand van Wonterghem Enjoyed:
The big sky (1952, Howard Hawks)
Kaamelott - season 1 – episodes 41 to 100
Hush… Hush, sweet Charlotte (1964, Robert Aldrich)
Paris police 1905 – season 1 – episode 2
The crew (2000, Michael Dinner)
Mildly enjoyed:
The return of Dracula (1958, Paul Landres)
Did not enjoy:
The changeling (1980, Peter Medak)
Voyage to the bottom of the sea – episode « killers of the deep » (1966, Harry Harris)
Wind across the Everglades (1958, Nicholas Ray)
The looking glass war (1969, Frank R. Pierson)
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David Deal Enjoyed:
HERCULES UNCHAINED (59)
COLORADO TERRITORY (49)
KILL OR CURE (62) - Part-time PI Terry-Thomas investigates a murder at a health clinic. Brit comedy-thriller is quite fun and occasionally tense. Features Eric Sykes, Dennis Price, and Lionel Jeffries amongst the recognizable supporters.
GOOD NIGHT OPPY (22) - Excellent documentary on the Mars rover missions that were slated for 90 days but lasted more than a decade.
FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN (43)
THE SECRET MARK OF D'ARTAGNAN (62)
SON OF DRACULA (43)
THE SECRET OF THE SPHINX (64)
THE NINTH GATE (99)
THE MAD GHOUL (43)
WEREWOLF IN A GIRL'S DORMITORY (63)
THE INVISIBLE MAN'S REVENGE (44)
THE MUMMY'S GHOST (44)
THE HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (44)
Mildly enjoyed:
THAT TOUCH OF MINK (62)
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