April 15 - 21. 2023

 

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

Brain Teasers:

Which Italian actor co-wrote a Western, which arguably gave him the best role of his career?

Tom Betts and Bertrand van Wonterghem knew that it was Luigi Montefiori, aka George Eastman, who co-wrote AMICO, STAMMI LONTANO ALMENO UN PALMO, aka BEN AND CHARLIE.

Which American actor co-wrote his only Western?

Tom Betts and Bertrand van Wonterghem knew that it was Steve Reeves, who co-wrote VIVO PER LA TUA MORTE, aka I LIVE FOR YOUR DEATH, aka A LONG RIDE FROM HELL.

By what name is Alex Burks better known?

Tom Betts and Bertrand van Wonterghem knew that it is Camillo Bazzoni, the director of VIVO PER LA TUA MORTE.

And now for some new brain teasers:

What name did Dragomir Bojanic-Gidra use when he appeared in Italian movies?

Which Italian actor and stunt arranger directed 7 feature films?

Complete the lyric: "She talks about a _____ without a ____."

Name the movies from which these images came.

Tom Betts, Rick Garibaldi and Bertrand van Wonterghem identified last week's photo of George Eastman and Anthony Ghidra in L'ULTIMO KILLER, aka DJANGO THE LAST KILLER.

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

No one identified the above photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

No one identified the above 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:

Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. "Rosanne Cash & Clint Black" (2021) 

M Power (2023) - A Disney + series on female superheroes in the MCU.

My Grandparents' War "Kit Harington" (2023)

Mildly enjoyed:

Jesus The Complete Story (2001) - A BBC/Discovery Channel documentary checking the Biblical story against historic and archeological records, this program doesn't dispute the December 25th birthdate but puts it six years prior to "Year Zero". I had heard it was four years prior.

MACISTE E LA REGINA DI SAMAR, aka HERCULES AGAINST THE MOON MEN (1964)

LA ISLA MISTERIOSA, aka THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND OF CAPTAIN NEMO (1973) - Choppy storytelling and poor pacing is to be expected when you watch a 90 something minute feature version of a six part TV mini-series. One can only imagine what the full series was like, and considering the poor quality copy I watched, what it looked like. Produced by Jacques Bar and directed by Juan Antonio Bardem, with effects scenes directed by Henri Colpi, this might have been a worthwhile mini-series. Gianni Ferrio contributed a good music score, and there are plenty of familiar faces in the cast: Omar Sharif, Gerard Tichy, Jess Hahn, Gabriele Tinti, Luis Induni, Victor Israel, Jose Jaspe and Rik Battaglia. I'm not familiar with Philippe Nicaud and I wonder why he was cast in the leading role. 

LA REGINA DELLE AMAZZONI, aka QUEEN OF THE AMAZONS, aka COLOSSUS AND THE AMAZON QUEEN (1960) - Though neither can be heard on the soundtrack, Australian actor Rod Taylor and U.S. male figure model Ed Fury make a fun duo in this mildly amusing Italian mythological comedy. It may be that the Italian version is the only one to sport the various narrative titles throughout the film, and that hurts the storytelling because without them the plot makes a number of unexplained jumps. Of course this is a silly movie, and the depiction of the Amazons is fairly weak - even more so than in LE FATACHE DI ERCOLE, aka HERCULES which also had Gianna Maria Canale as their Queen. In this movie, the Queen of the Amazons must be a virgin, or she can not rule. Because of that, she has never been kissed and keeps asking others to explain what it is like. No one suggests the obvious answer, which is to kiss another woman, but Canale settles for lots of wine drinking - though she is never shown to lose her dignity. Why the filmmakers decided to put that false "Roman nose" on star Dorian Gray, aka Maria Luisa Mangini, is a mystery because it is unattractive. Thankfully there are plenty of other fresh-faced actresses to enchant the viewer, including Giorgia Moll, Loredana Cappelletti (aka Loredana Nusciak in her film debut), Marilu Tolo, Mariangela Giordano and Lorella De Luca, but they don't get a lot of screen time. Thankfully, Canale does and she is a treat. In this film, the Amazons pay to have men imported for one night of pleasure, and then are kept as slave laborers. Gay men are used as house slaves and complain like house wives. When the two lead Amazons duel, they joust like medieval knights. When pirates attack, the Amazons circle their wagons and the pirates ride around them like Indians in a Western. Thankfully, our heroes free the male laboring slaves, who ride to the rescue like the U.S. Cavalry. 

Huh?

Midsomer Murders #122 "Send In the Clowns" (2020)

Midsomer Murders #123 "The Point of Balance" (2020)

Midsomer Murders #124 "The Miniature Murders" (2020) - In addition to giving Annette Badland more to do then autopsies, this episode also featured Eleanor Bron as well as Clare Holman, who did the autopsies on Inspector Lewis.

Unsung Presents: Best In Black "Athletes" (2023) - This is a celebration of Laila Ali, Lisa Leslie, Muhammad Ali, Bill Russell, John Carlos & Tommie Smith, Venus Williams, Arthur Ashe, Jesse Owens,  Simone Biles, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Bubba Wallace and Colin Kaepernick.

Uncnsrd "Marques Houston" (2023)

X-MEN: THE LAST STAND (2006)

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE (2009)

Did not enjoy:

A KIND OF LOVING (1962) - The "kitchen sink" theatrical dramas like LOOK BACK IN ANGER and the French "New Wave" films like LES QUATRE CENTS COUPS combined with the British documentary film tradition to create what has been called the British New Wave Film. Based on the 1960 novel by Stan Barstow, A KIND OF LOVING tells the dreary story of factory draughtsman Alan Bates who takes a fancy to typist June Ritchie. Is this film meant as a cautionary tale about pre-martial sex? It definitely is a cautionary tale about moving in with the bride's single mom after an unwanted pregnancy leads to marriage. For 1962, this must have been racy stuff and it was the sixth most popular film at the British box office. It also won the Golden Bear at the 12th Berlin International Film Festival. Now it seems like a joyless film about the necessity of condoms.Heck, Bates and Ritchie don't even seem to have enjoyed their moment of passion. This was the feature film debut of director John Schlesinger.

AMBUSH AT DARK CANYON (2012) - It is not likely that the USC Film School will be celebrating the work of director Dustin Rikert any time soon. Did he make this movie because he loved Westerns or because that's what his budget could afford? Do any of these new low-budget shot on digital Westerns look any good? Who thought that Kix Brooks of Brooks & Dunn could be a movie star? This is the third collaboration between actor/writer William Shockley and director Rikert and it does not make me want to see others. A young newspaper man Andrew W. Walker thinks there might be an article in the old West story of Duke Donovan, so he goes to see James Karen for more information. Karen finally decides to tell the story and most of the movie is an extended flashback. Kix Brooks plays Duke Donovan, who was a famous lawman until he participated in a bank robbery during which a child was killed. Sent to a prison run by Timothy V. Murphy, Brooks is abused because Murphy thinks Brooks know where the stolen money is. Hearing that the actual bank robber, Luke Massy, is still alive, Brooks begs Murphy to send someone to protect his wife, Sydney Penny. Murphy refuses, but custodian prisoner Ernie Hudson arranges for both he and Brooks to escape. Of course, our heroes arrive too late and they then set off to get revenge on Massy. With no sense of pace, AMBUSH AT DARK CANYON is dull, so there is plenty of time to wonder why Ernie Hudson isn't doing something better. Also, in a small role, is Abraham Benrubi of Men In Trees and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

BOYS NIGHT OUT (1962) - Reportedly, director Michael Gordon said "That's a picture that really started from a five page dirty joke that the writers sold to the producer."Arnie Sultan and Marvin Worth came up with the story which became the first U.S. film financed by Joseph E. Levine and Embassy Pictures - but sold to MGM.Martin Ransohoff produced the picture for Filmways Pictures in co-production with Kim Novak's company Kimco. Ira Wllach got screenplay credit on a project that was intended to revive Kim Novak's career after the death of Columbia's Harry Cohn and the end of her contract. While the film wasn't a success, it is thought to have helped to make James Garner a star.  Garner is a divorced man commuting by train from Connecticut to work in New York with three married buddies - Tony Randall, Howard Duff and Howard Morris. Every Thursday, the four guys meet for a night out in the city, and naturally the three married men dream of meeting girls. After seeing Garner's boss with his extra-marital girlfriend, the guys wonder if they could afford a "love nest". Garner doesn't want to go along with the plan, but he ends up agreeing to see if he can find an apartment that fits the criteria laid down in an issue of Play Mate magazine. Jim Backus is a real estate agent eager to accept Garner's low ball offer to lease a plush apartment because of the murder that had occurred there. Randall also wants Garner to find a young blonde to live there, and Garner suggests that Randall put an ad in the paper. When Kim Novak shows up to possibly lease the available apartment, all of the boys thinks that she's interested in completing their "love nest". However, Novak is a sociology student under Professor Oscar Homolka, and she figures that leading these guys on would be good field work for her study on the "Adolescent Fantasies of the Adult Suburban Male". Of course, there's no "hanky-panky" as she knows the men mostly want to talk about themselves. Of course when the men start showing more affection to their wives, the suspicion grows that the husbands may be cheating, so the trio hire private detective Fred Clark. Also being suspicious is Novak's neighbor, Ruth Mc Devitt. Naturally, Garner and Novak fall in love and everything comes to an head when everyone shows up in the apartment and Novak has to explain herself. This is the kind of romantic comedy which is all about people wanting to have sex but not having sex. I didn't much like these films when I was a kid and I don't much like them now.

BULLET CODE (1940) - George O'Brien started his career as a Western hero in 1924, but 16 years later he seems a bit short and stout for the role. O'Brien is shocked to learn that one of his cowboys, Kirby Grant, was actually part of a gang planning to steal his herd. While the evil gang plans to kill O'Brien and his men while they sleep, Grant shoots his gun early to warn the intended victims. For this, Grant is fatally shot by gang leader Harry Woods. With his dying breath, Grant asks O'Brien to tell his folks what happened. In Encintas, O'Brien and his sidekick Slim Whitaker find that Grant's father, Howard Hickman, and sister, Virginia Vale, are being harrased by Walter Miller's thugs. Miller wants to buy Hickman's ranch as part of his scheme to take stolen cattle over the border into Mexico. Of course, Woods and William Haade come to town to join Miller's gang, but O'Brien and Whitaker are able to stand against them. David Howard directed 45 movies in his career, and none of them are celebrated.

THE GUN HAWK (1963) - I knew this was going to be a tough movie to watch when it began with Rod Lauren singing "A Searcher For Love" over the opening credits. Deputy Morgan Woodward is jealous of Sheriff Rod Cameron's obvious affection for young saddle tramp Rod Lauren. He compares it to the affection Cameron had for Rory Calhoun when he and Woodward were kids. Naturally, Calhoun soon rides into town. As Calhoun has a reputation has a criminal, Cameron requests that Calhoun not stick around too long. However, Calhoun ends up in the middle of two bullies picking on Lauren, and reluctantly ends up helping Lauren. Because of this, Lauren decides to hang around with Calhoun. Later, in the saloon, the bullies decide to pick on old drunk John Litel, which angers Calhoun. The bullies seem to befriend Litel and take him outside. Calhoun goes to investigate, and steps into the alley where the bullies plan to kill him. However, Litel jumps in front of Calhoun and take the bullet instead. It turns out that Litel is Calhoun's father, but Cameron warns Calhoun against seeking revenge. Of course, Calhoun doesn't heed the advice and Cameron soon shows up to arrest him. Calhoun won't be arrested, and as he rides away, Cameron wounds him in the arm. Before the Sheriff can fire again, Lauren clobbers him over the head. Catching up with Calhoun, Lauren digs the bullet out of Calhoun and then helps him to reach the outlaw settlement of Sanctuary. Covering up the fact that he's wounded, Calhoun soon enforces the no killing policy of Sanctuary and kicks Robert J. Wilke out of town. Cameron shows up to arrest Calhoun, but finds that everyone in town stands in the way of him taking Calhoun away. Deputy Woodward objects to Cameron's plan to bed down outside of Sanctuary waiting to see how badly Calhoun was hurt. Ruta Lee wonders why Calhoun has been avoiding her, but soon discovers it is because the wound has become infected and Calhoun is dying. Not wanting to die in bed, Calhoun forces Lauren out into the street for a fatal gunfight. Lauren refuses to fight until Calhoun shoots him in the arm. Lauren returns fire, kills Calhoun and then is told that he can no longer live in Sanctuary. As Lauren rides away with Cameron and Woodward, Cameron remarks how Calhoun was an effective lawman in the outlaw haven. What interested me most about THE GUN HAWK is how did it happen that Rod Lauren was costumed in just about the same outfit as Adam West in THE RELENTLESS FOUR - white hat, tan vest, pink shirt and light colored slacks. Roger J. Weinberg did the costumes for GUN HAWK in 1963, while Rafael Abienzo and Giulia Mafai did the costumes for THE RELENTLESS FOUR in 1965. When did Western heroes start wearing pink shirts? This was the last feature film directed by veteran Edward Ludwig and it was an obviously low-budget production with many exterior scenes shot on sound stages. For me, this film has no entertainment value.

IN OLD OKLAHOMA, aka WAR OF THE WILDCATS (1943) - John Wayne stars in this Western romantic comedy set in 1906. Albert Dekker has become so rich with his oil strikes that he has his own private rail car. When the train stops in a small town for Dekker to send a few telegrams, he sees a group of older women putting Martha Scott on the train accusing her of being a "jezebel" for having written a saucy novel. Intrigued to meet this attractive "jezebel", Dekker is pleased when it turns out that there is no available seat on the train, so he offers Scott a place in his private car. After the train is on its way, Dekker tries to force his intentions on Scott, but is interrupted by John Wayne jumping aboard the private car. Wayne's horse died, so he hopped on the train for a ride. Scott welcomes Wayne as a chaperone much to Dekker's displeasure. It turns out that Scott is a school teacher who doesn't know "the ways of the world", and Dekker invites her to come with him to Sapulpa, the town which is growing because of his oil boom. If Scott is getting off there, then so is Wayne. It is there that Wayne runs into his old friend, stagecoach driver George "Gabby" Hayes. When Dekker puts Scott up in an hotel run by Marjorie Rambeau, Rambeau naturally assumes Scott to be a "loose woman". When Scott informs Rambeau that she is a school teacher who is not afraid to slap Dekker when he gets fresh, Rambeau takes an instant liking of her. Dekker is convinced that the really big oil field lies under Indian land, and hopes that Hayes will provide a good introduction to Chief Robert Warwick. After getting an outlaw friend to pretend to attack Dekker in the saloon where Dale Evans performs a saucy song and dance number, Wayne supplants Cherokee Kid Paul Fix as Dekker's bodyguard. At the meeting with the Chief, Wayne, who speaks the Indian's language, warns that Dekker is trying to buy the oil rights cheap. Trusting Wayne, the Chief grants the former cowboy turned soldier the rights, which Scott convinces Wayne to accept. As it is on Indian land, the oil rights have to be approved by President Theodore Roosevelt, played by Sidney Blackmer. Dekker uses his money and his influence in Washington D.C. to get an audience with the President, but when Blackmer discovers that the other petitioner is his old Sergeant from the Rough Riders in Cuba, Wayne gets the approval. Of course, Dekker tries a variety of dirty tricks to thwart Wayne's contract to deliver 10,000 gallons of oil in four months. However, he does not approve of Fix blowing up the well, hoping to get back his bodyguard job. As the explosion killed Byron Foulger, Wayne is completely justified in filling Fix full of pistol lead - five shots! - when the Cherokee Kid tries to shoot him in the back. With all of his equipment destroyed, Wayne illegally borrows Dekker's portable oil rig. When Dekker shows up to take it back, he and Wayne have one of the most celebrated fist fights in Western movie history. (Or rather their stunt doubles have one of the most celebrates fist fights in Western movie history.) The fight ends when Wayne's oil well erupts, but Dekker then informs his rival that he owns the pipeline, so he doubts that Wayne will get the 10,000 gallons to Tulsa by tomorrow's closing time. Overnight, Wayne and his men build oil wagons and the race to Tulsa begins in the morning. The refinery is run by an old friend of Rambeau, so she and Scott race to make certain that it stays open long enough for Wayne's wagons to arrive. While there is a lot of action in IN OLD OKLAHOMA, the major focus is on the difficulties Scott and Wayne have before finally kissing. Thomson Burtis came up with story, but Ethel Hill and Eleanore Griffin get screenplay credit. Albert S. Rogell was the director. Having landed respected actress Martha Scott, Republic Pictures decided to give this film a bigger budget. Its success convinced them that larger budgets was a good investment. Reportedly, Rhonda Flemming made her debut in this film as a dance hall girl, but I couldn't find her.

SHEEP AND WOLVES: PIG DEAL (2019) - When one decides to take a look at every movie that pops up, one is constantly surprised at how many movies are available about which one has never heard. This turns out to be a sequel to the 2016 Russian computer animated feature SHEEP AND WOLVES. Produced by Wizart Animation and CTB Film Company, this feature tells of a wolf named Grey who is the leader of a village in which predators and prey (Wolves and Sheep) have learned to live in harmony. Hearing of this, Gark, the leader of the Black Wolves, is infuriated as this is "against the laws of nature". Learning that the Black Wolves are planning to attack, Grey tries to organize the villagers into defensive units. Unfortunately, someone is a saboteur and their efforts to build a wall fail. They next plan to make a potion that will give everyone fighting strength, but the saboteur switches the potion into one which turns everyone into a pig. Naturally, when everything looks bad, our heroes turn things around and in the end, the Black Wolves decide to join the peaceful village. 

Unsung Presents: Best In Black "Fashion" (2023)

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS (2011) - I enjoyed the cameo by Robecca Romijn, but thought the idea of sticking the X-Men into the history of the Cuban Missile Crisis not only stupid but insulting.

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Charles Gilbert watched:

THE BIG BLUFF (1955) B&W. Playboy John Bromfield, while carrying on a duplicitous relationship with Rosemary Stack,  courts an heiress (Martha Vickers) who is convalescing her heart condition in high style. Her doctor (Robert Hutton) has given her a terminal diagnosis. She marries the playboy as he plans her murder.

ISLE OF THE FISHMEN (1979 1981) Stylish horror with steampunk sets. Similar to ISLAND OF LOST SOULS. Shipwrecked prisoners, one a doctor, discover a bizarre island inhabited by reclusive and devious Englishman Edmond Rackham (Richard Johnson) and dame Amanda Marvin (Barbara Bach). She makes her rounds on horseback at darkness feeding man-fish mutations. Her renowned biologist father (Joseph Cotton) in seclusion  s ill, but had established a relationship with the mutants under auspises of conniving Rackham. The protagonist visiting doctor (Claudio Casinelli) steps in to help and is given tour of the island that conceals, in briny unfathomable depths, the ruins of Atlantis and its bountiful treasures. The only means to retrieve the riches is the creepy fishmen. Local  voodoo natives also forecast eruption of the nearby volcano. Additional sequences for American audiences at the beginning include appearances by Cameron Mitchell and Mel Ferrer.

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David Deal Enjoyed:

QUEEN OF BABYLON (54) - Chaldean rebel Ricardo Montalban refuses to bow down to the evil conquering king of Assyria. He survives an attack by the king's men but is wounded. Found by shepherdess Rhonda Fleming, he is nursed back to health and the two fall in love. When she is taken to be a concubine of the king, Ricardo vows revenge. Good old-fashioned epic love story with plenty of twists of fate for the star-crossed lovers. Solid entertainment.

RANGERS OF FORTUNE (40) - Three rogues, Fred MacMurray, Gilbert Roland, and Albert Dekker, find themselves in a pickle when Dekker takes the sheriff job in a town run by evil aristocrat Joseph Schildkraut. Breezy buddy western that takes a dark turn into pathos. Enjoyable if not essential.

RAGE OF THE BUCCANEERS (63) - Vincent Price is the secret leader of the slave trade in the Carribean and Ricardo Montalban is the Black Pirate who opposes him. Rousing pirate adventure, not so well-healed but acceptable entertainment in this vein. The lovely ladies lusting after Ricardo are Guilia Rubini and Liana Orfei.

DECISION OF SUNDOWN (57)

LONE WOLF AND CUB: SWORD OF VENGEANCE (72)

SOL MADRID (67)

Mildly Enjoyed

TWICE TOLD TALES (63)

THEY HAVE CHANGED FACES (71)

FELICITY (79)

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Angel Rivera Enjoyed:

"Young Sheldon" S6 E17"

"The Searchers"(1956)

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Bertrand van Wonterghem Enjoyed:

Gokushufudo / The way of the househusband – season 1 (2020) – episodes 1 & 2

Will Trent – season 1 – episodes 2 & 3

Wagons east ! (1994, Peter Markle)

Mildly enjoyed

Tupyo / Into the ring 

(2020) – season 1 – episodes 15 & 16

Shazam ! Fury of the gods (2022, David F. Sandberg)

Superuomini, superdonne, superbotte (1974, Alfonso Brescia)

Young Sheldon – season 6 – episode 16

Did not enjoy:

65 (2022, Scott Beck & Bryan Woods)

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