February 22 - 28, 2025

 

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

Brain Teasers:

In which Italian Western does everyone kill each other over a bag of gold, but we never get to see the contents of the bag?

It is NON ASPETTARE, DJANGO, SPARA, aka DON'T WAIT DJANGO... SHOOT!

Which actress, born in Italy, worked with directors Dino Risi, Sergio Corbucci, Duccio Tessari, Alberto De Martino,  Bernard Toublanc-Michel and Andrzej Zulawski?

George Grimes and Bertrand van Wonterghem knew that it was Nicoletta Machiavelli.

Which actor, born in Italy, worked with directors Gary Winick, Angelo Antonucci, Nini Grassia, Giuseppe Vari, Demofilo Fidani and Vittorio De Sica?

George Grimes and Bertrand van Wonterghem knew that it was Fabio Testi.

In what movie did Oliver Reed play an Italian Prison Warden?

George Grimes and Bertrand van Wonterghem knew that it was REVOLVER, aka BLOOD IN THE STREETS.

And now for some new brain teasers:

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

Who didn't play Klaus Kinski's brother: Giuliano Gemma, Jean Louis Trintignant or Antonio Sabato?

Which Italian Western sports a title inspired by a scene in THE ALAMO?

Name the movies from which these images came.

Bertrand van Wonterghem and George Grimes identified last week's photo of Nicoletta Machiavelli and Gaetano Scala in GIARRETTIERA COLT, aka GARTER COLT. 

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

Bertrand van Wonterghem and  George Grimes identified last week's photo of Loredana Nusciak and Carl Mohner in IL CROLLO DI ROMA, aka THE FALL OF ROME, aka THE DESTRUCTION OF ROME.

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

Bertrand van Wonterghem, Charles Gilbert, Angel Rivera and George Grimes identified last week's photo of Mario Girotti, aka Terence Hill, in LE MERAVIGLIE DI ALADINO, aka THE WONDERS OF ALADDIN.

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:

Highly enjoyed:

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season one (2017) - This is a re-watch for me as I share it with my step daughter.

Enjoyed:

Live From New York: The First Five Years of Saturday Night Live (2005) - Back in 2005, they could still play the skit in which Chevy Chase says "Nigger" to Richad Pryor. In the recent anniversary special they bleeped the N-word. This is a very informative documentary about the creation of Saturday Night Live up until all of the remaining original cast and producer Lorne Michaels left the show in 1980. There is no mention of how the show continued on without them. This special continued so many more of the musical guests than the musical special that came out this year. I had forgotten that Elvis Costello also did "Watching the Detectives" on the show. 

SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) (2025) - I've wanted a documentary about Sly and the Family Stone for years. TV One did an episode of Unsung on Sly and the Family Stone back in 2012, but I wasn't aware of that channel back then and the channel seem resolute in not repeating it since I've been paying attention. So this program on Hulu seemed like a dream come true. The only beef I have with the program is that director Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, as with what he did when he got unreleased footage of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, wanted his film to be about more than just about the music and the musician. I would have been happier if SUMMER OF SOUL had showcased the performances, like what director Michael Wadleigh had done with WOODSTOCK. With SLY LIVES!, Thompson wanted to explore the pressures placed upon a Black man proclaimed to be a musical genius. Thankfully, that doesn't get too much in the way of the story of the music and the musician, but again he doesn't let  any of the songs get a full performance. I was surprised to learn that the album "There's A Riot Going On" wasn't embraced when it first came out, as it was the first Family Stone LP I bought. I heard "Running Away" and "It's A Family Affair" on the radio and found those songs much more appealing than "Dance To the Music" or "Everyday People".

Mildly enjoyed:

SNL 50 The Anniversary Special (2025)

Did not enjoy:

LONGLEGS (2024) - I watched this because I am a fan of Alicia Witt and she kept posting about this on Facebook. Why the use of T-Rex music and showing the album covers for Slider and Lou Reed's Transformer? There's nothing Satanic about either of them. Director Osgood Perkins (son of Anthony) obvious feels that shooting with a wide angle lens in an anamorphic ratio for long takes with little going on with the soundtrack evokes dread and suspense. For me, it makes me sleepy. If the film hadn't gotten as much attention as it had gotten, I probably would have fast-forwarded through it, but I felt the need to give it as much of a chance as I could. It turned out to be very predictable. In the end, you would think that an F.B.I. agent would know how to reload her pistol. Or are they hoping for a sequel?

 

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David Deal Enjoyed:

PEPPERMINT FRAPPE (67) - Doctor Jose Luis Lopez Vazquez becomes infatuated with his brother's (Alfredo Mayo) wife Geraldine Chaplin, a carefree spirit. His advances spurned, Lopez Vazquez focuses on his assistant (also Geraldine) and attempts to remake her in his brother's wife's image. From the same director of The Hunt (La Caza), this has inevitable comparisons with Vertigo but there is much more going on here. This Spanish psychological thriller is well worth seeking out.

ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES (71)

ROBBERY (67) - Stanley Baker and his mates plan and pull off a train robbery for nearly three million pounds. This, much to the chagrin of Baker's wife, Joanna Pettet. Peter Yates' heist flick is based on the actual crime that took place in 1963. It is a taught thriller with a good jazz soundtrack and should be more recognized than it is. And yes, there is an excellent car chase.

THE WHOLE TRUTH (58) - Movie producer Stewart Granger is on the set of his latest movie in the French Riviera. His leading lady is Gianna Maria Canale, with whom Granger had an affair while estranged from his wife, Donna Reed. Despite Stewart's protestations, Gianna hangs on, and is soon found murdered; Granger being the main suspect. But is she dead and who is this strange man (George Sanders) who claims to be a British cop? This murder mystery has more twists and turns than the roads in Nice. Although clearly improbable, it is enjoyable for the cast and the cool modern jazz tunes.

THE DEAD ARE ALIVE (72) - It was fun to see this after being at a couple of the locations in Italy. 

SOS PACIFIC (59)

BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (35)

MISSION BLOODY MARY (65)

EL PRECIO DE UN HOMBRE (67) - AKA The Ugly Ones. Tomas Milian escapes a prison transport and heads home where bounty hunter Richard Wyler promptly catches him. However, the townsfolk reckon that Milian got a raw deal so they help him turn the tables on Wyler. What they hadn't figured on was that Milian is worse than the bounty hunter after all, much worse. A classic Spanish western that looks great, has a good Stelvio Cipriani soundtrack, and more than enough violence and general nastiness for fans.

FIVE DOLLS FOR AN AUGUST MOON (70)

HORROR EXPRESS (72)

TERROR OF THE TONGS (60)

THE RAVEN (35)

LIGHTNING BOLT (67)

GOKE, BODY SNATCHER FROM HELL (68)

POINT BLANK (67)

MAGNUM COP (77)

THE INVISIBLE RAY (36)

DRACULA'S DAUGHTER (36)

Mildly Enjoyed 

DR. BLOOD'S COFFIN (62)

THE DEVIL'S NIGHTMARE (71)

SUPERBITCH (73)

LIZARD IN A WOMAN'S SKIN (71)

TOUCH ME NOT (72) - AKA The Hunted. The business competitors of Ivan Desny suspect he's price fixing so they hire Michael Hinz and Jose Maria Caffarel to tap his phones. While on the job, Hinz becomes obsessed with Desny's private secretary Lee Remick. When she finds out what's going on, Hinz is determined to eliminate her. What begins as a white collar crime film takes a left turn into a psychological thriller with a twist ending out of nowhere. One-shot director Karl Heinz Zeitler (as Douglas Fithian) was better know as a writer - including this one. He loses control in the last act and doesn't recover. This West German/French/Spanish co-production supposedly shot in Barcelona is a curio at best.

Did not enjoy:

RETURN OF THE EXORCIST (75) - The brother of a nun succumbs to possession by a demon. Exorcist Richard Conte is called in to rectify the situation in the closing minutes of the film. This mess of an Italian ripoff features nudity and low-budget special effects but it is slow going the rest of the time.

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Angel Rivera  Mildly enjoyed:

"GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS!" (1961)
Elvis in Hawaii with two girls after him. One is the sexy been around the block a few times girl played by the sultry Stella Stevens who even sings a couple of songs. The other is Laurel Goodwin of Star Trek Original Pilot fame as the sad but rich girl. Elvis is a fisherman catching tuna for the big companies who wants to buy the boat he works on. He ends up with Ms. Goodwin after he lays down the law. Sings a few songs including the title track and the hit, "Return to Sender"!


"SHADOW OF EVIL" aka "BANCO A BANGKOK POUR OSS 117 ("JACKPOT IN BANGKOK FOR OSS 117) aka "PANIC IN BANGKOK:" (1964)
Kerwin Mathews is OSS 117 trying to solve the murder of a fellow agent. Goes up against the evil Dr. Sin (Robert Hossein) who wants to conquer the world by unleashing a man-produced plague to kill off half the population. With the help of Dr. Sin's sister played by Pier Angeli and Dr. Sin's unsuspecting girlfriend played by the lovely Dominique Wilms, Mathews foils Dr. Sin's plans. Lots of talk and not enough action; although Mathews acquits himself well doing some karate moves.


"MST3K--Episodes #s 502 & 408--"HERCULES" (1958/9) & "HERCULES UNCHAINED" (1959/60)
I had not liked what I had seen on MST3K before but I was curious to see what they had done with Steve Reeves "Hercules" movies. Very little was funny and it was almost annoying, while one tried to enjoy the films for what they were. "Heroic adventure!" (I did like the MST3K theme song.)

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Charles Gilbert watched:

EXECUTIVE ACTION (1973) Burt Lancaster and Robert Ryan play men of means, members of an exclusive coterie that conspire the assassination of JFK, who'd become perceived threat to conservative America.  The actors were themselves actually ardent liberals.

SSSSSS (1973) Strother Martin plays a devious herpetologist experimenting with cobra venom into which he injects a couple of human male subjects.

Boris Karloff's Thriller B&W.Television:

    "Terror in Teakwood" S01E33. Guy Rolfe plays a pianist so envious of his now deceased rival that he desecrates the grave for the hands.

    "Premature Burial" S02E03 Patricia Medina is the scheming wife of an elderly man (Sidney Blackmer) who suffers from catalepsy.

    "Innocent Bystanders" S02E28. John Anderson in a colorful performance as a querulous conniving grave robber assisted by a cretin (George Kennedy).

    "The Bride Who Died Twice "S02E25 Mala Powers as the nubile Consuelo, in love with a young military officer (Robert Colbert), but also the object of matrimony for a manipulating colonel (Joe de Santis).

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Bertrand van Wonterghem Highly enjoyed: 

The great race (1965, Blake Edwards)

Enjoyed: 

Renegade Nell - season 1 (2023) – episodes 2 to 4

Lost lagoon (1957, John Rawlins)

Superman n'est pas juif (... et moi un peu) (short) (2013, Jimmy Bemon)

Okura : meikyû-iri joken sousa / Okura : cold case investigation (2024) – episodes 6 & 7

Gajokgyehoek / Family matters (2024, Kim Gok & Kim Sun) – episodes 1 to 4

Mildly enjoyed:

Nyutopia / Newtopia (2024) episode 3

The ghost busters – episode «The maltese monkey » (1975, Larry Peerce)

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