To answer these trivia questions, please email me at scinema@earthlink.net.
Brain Teasers:
Which American actor, who made Italian Westerns, played Boris Karloff in an American movie?
Tom Betts and George Grimes knew that it was Jack Betts, aka Hunt Powers.
Which American actor, who made Italian Westerns, could not accept a role in DOCTOR ZHIVAGO because he was under contract to Warner Bros.?
No one has answered this question yet.
Which movie, directed by Damiano Damiani, is considered by most to be a Western, but not by the director?
Tom Betts and Angel Rivera knew it was QUIEN SABE?, aka A BULLET FOR THE GENERAL.
And now for some new brain teasers:
Which Italian actress worked with directors Michelangelo Antonioni, Sergio Leone, Mauro Bolognini, Paolo Bianchini and Louis Malle?
Which Italian actor worked with directors Sergio Corbucci, Enzo Barboni, Giuseppe Colizzi, Alfred Vohrer, and Dick Richards?
Which American actor, who made Italian Westerns, is credited as a screenwriter on a movie starring Kirk Douglas?
Name the movies from which these images came.
Tom Betts and George Grimes identified last week's frame grab of a shirtless Jack Betts, aka Hunt Powers, in SUGAR COLT.
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?
George Grimes identified last week's photo of Gabriele Ferzetti and Monica Vitti in L'AVVENTURA.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?
George Grimes identified last week's photo from 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:
Enjoyed:
Dollhouse season two (2010)
Marvel Studios presents Assembled: The Making of Ms. Marvel
The Making of THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER (2022)
The Invention of Cinema "Cinema's First Colors"
"Cinema Finds Its Voice"
Did not enjoy:
FIRE ISLAND (2023) - Talk about confusing. A year after a celebrated gay rom-com based on Jane Austin's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE called FIRE ISLAND (2022), comes another movie with the same title that is a slasher movie featuring a gay serial killer who stalks his prey wearing a stag's head. Is having a gay serial killer considered "progressive"? Well, I just gave away the solution to the murder mystery of who is killing vacationers on Fire Island during the Covid pandemic. If the killer is collecting our "hero's" friends to make a family that will never leave him, then why did he kill the other people whom he didn't collect? And how remote is the public beach where he can kill and bury someone in the sand? And why do the police suspect that a female victim, that is not collected, may have been raped if the male killer's object of desire is another man? Some how I think that I've pondered these questions longer than writers Myles Clohessy, Emma Harrell and Phil Harrell did. Director Clohessy, who cast his father, Robert, in the thankless job of the ineffective detective on the case, does not distinguish himself as a filmmaker with what looks to have been a shot on video production.
INCIDENT AT PHANTOM HILL (1966) - While watching this I began to count how many Italian Westerns also dealt with Confederate soldiers stealing Union gold or pay rolls. One of them was UN FIUME DI DOLLARI, aka THE HILLS RUN RED, which co-star Dan Duryea made about the same time as this Universal International Picture. Here, Duryea plays the bad guy - a convicted murderer whose life sentence was commuted inorder for him to become a Confederate soldier. After being part of the group that stole the gold, he murdered his comrades so that he alone would know where the gold was hidden. Captured by the Yankees, he struck a bargain to stay out of prison if he would take Union officer Robert Fuller to recover the gold. Complicating matters, where the gold is now is on land reserved for the Comanches, on which no U.S. soldiers are allowed. In a scene reminiscent of an episode of TV's Mission Impossible, General Paul Fix offers the job to Fuller which the government will disavow if he is discovered. Naturally, Fuller has a personal reason to take the job, as his brother was part of the troop massacred in the heist. Tom Simcox volunteers to join, as he was the only Yankee survivor of the heist. Claude Akins wants to join for the chance to kill and scalp Comanches; and he has a music box to remind him of his family loss. Also part of the team are Noah Beery Jr. and Linden Chiles. Another complication arises when Sheriff Don Collier orders Fuller to take along strumpet Jocelyn Lane in exchange for him not re-arresting Duryea. Still another complication comes about when some hunters, led by Denver Pyle, get wind of what Fuller & Co. are doing and set out to steal the stolen gold. As with any movie that establishes that the story takes place around the time of the American Civil War, I wondered if the filmmakers made an effort to not use Colt. 45s, which didn't show up until 1872 - almost seven years after the end of the war. They didn't, And people complain that Italian Westerns aren't historically accurate. Jocelyn Lane looks improbably terrific in heavy eye make-up that never smudges, and director Earl Bellamy translates producer Harry Taleman's story to the screen in a professionally straightforward manner. There is one interesting moment in this flick: Duryea struggles to free himself of being handcuffed to Fuller, by forcing the handcuff chain into a train coupling which grinds it open. Fuller and Lane would reunite in the sort-of Western on motorcycles THE HARD RIDE.
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Charles Gilbert Watched:
NIGHT MONSTER (1942) B&W. Virtually the same intro as GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN visually with the misty woods (used by Univerdal in several films) and H. Jj. Salter score throughout.. Even reuses the same miniature burning building in the end.. Leif Erickson steals the show as the boisterous chauffeur.
BLACK DRAGON'S REVENGE (1975) Kung Fu expert Ron Van Clief searches for the killer of Bruce Lee in Hong Kong.. His real name is used in the script. Off screen he participated in one UFC bout in which he lost to BJJ practitioner Royce Gracie via choke.
MACHINE GUN KELLY (1958) B&W. Another Nicholson Arkoff production. Charles Bronson in title role with Jack Lambert, Morely Amsterdam and Susan Cabot. The gun he totes is a military version with the stalk rather than drum clip familiar to Untouchable fans Roger Corman directs.
BLACK DRAGONS (1942) B&W. Bela Lugosi and Clayton (Lone Ranger) Moore in WW2 industrial espionage drama around the Japanese embassy. Similar to Outer Limits episode One Hundred Days of the Dragon.
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David Deal Enjoyed:
THE UNHOLY FOUR (54) - Wealthy William Sylvester comes home after four years surprising his wife, Paulette Goddard, and his friends and business partners. The last they saw him, he was on a yacht with all of these people and one of them had tried to kill him. But who? Mystery from Hammer directed by Terence Fisher. It's fun enough, exposing the lies and corruption amongst the bluebloods, as it rolls along dropping plot lines and avoiding logic. My only real complaint is the casting of Sylvester; I've liked him in other roles, but he seems like the wrong fellow for this job.
WAR PAINT (53) - Robert Stack leads a small patrol through Death Valley to deliver a piece treaty to an Indian chief. Warrior Keith Larsen and his sister Joan Taylor try to stop them. It's a tense and dusty journey as Stack's men begin to falter from the conditions after their water and horses are taken. Veteran Lesley Selander cranks up the misery and the solid cast is up to the task.
WHISPERING FOOTSTEPS (43) - Bank clerk John Hubbard arrives back in his small town after vacation to learn there was a murder near his vaca spot and he resembles the police composite of the killer. Soon the cops are nosing around and John's housemates and work associates begin to suspect him. Fun mystery from Republic Pictures lets the circumstantial evidence pile up and the tension build before the satisfying ending.
WHISPERING SMITH HITS LONDON (51) - "Whispering" Smith (Richard Carlson) arrives in London for a holiday but is convinced to investigate a woman's suicide, and uncovers a blackmail ring. A little strange to see Carlson in this milieu but this British thriller is a fun ride with a nice twist ending. Features a young Herbert Lom.
MY FAVORITE BRUNETTE (47)
THE STRANGE COUNTESS (61)
GORGO (61)
TOUCHEZ PAS AU GRISBI (54)
Mildly enjoyed:
THE WESTLAND CASE (37) - PI Preston Foster and sidekick Frank Jenks are brought in to prove the innocence of a businessman doomed to be executed for murdering his wife in a few days. Crime Club locked room mystery is mildly entertaining but the arrogant Foster is mostly annoying. Fans of Jenks will find something to like.
ULTRAVIOLET (92) - A woman and her soon-to-be ex-husband are terrorized by an artistic psycho killer in Death Valley. Desert terror flick is interesting for the hellscape and some mild nudity. Not a complete waste of time.
THE WITNESS VANISHES (39) - Lucius Marplay (Barlowe Borland) was a newspaper publisher forced out by his business partners who claimed he was insane. After 20 years in an asylum, Marplay escapes, vowing revenge. One by one the partners die, an obituary appearing in the paper before they are murdered. His daughter, Wendy Barrie, wants to find her father before it's too late. Agreeable Crime Club entry - the last in fact - but not much of a mystery.
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Angel Rivera Enjoyed:
" Mothra"(1961/1962) Considered one of Japan's most popular giant monsters and one of my favorites.
"Godzilla Vs. The Thing" aka "Godzilla Vs. Mothra" aka "Mothra Vs. Godzilla"(1964) The sequel to the above. Lots of great Kaiju action and the twin fairies are great.
"Who Killed Teddy Bear?"(1965) Sal Mineo is a disturbed individual who makes obscene phone calls to Juliet Prowse, in a time before caller ID. (and he does a little more; which is what a disturbed individual will do,) Filmed on location in NYC's Time Square district when it had pornography all around. Before Disney cleaned it up.
Original "Star Trek" episode, "City On The Edge Of Forever"(1967) written by Harlan Ellison, considered by many as one of the best episodes of the original series. Kirk must make a decision which will have dire consequences for the universe. The climatic scene is unforgettable.
"My Bodyguard" (1980) Adam Baldwin is hired as a bodyguard to protect Chris Makepeace from bully Matt Dillon. A minor classic about surviving High School in Chicago in the 1980s..
"Little Richard: King and Queen of Rock 'n' Roll (2023) A documentary where we learn the true meaning of the words. "tutti frutti"!
"Carl Laemmle" (2019) A documentary on the life of the founder of Universal Studios.
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