To answer these trivia questions, please email me at scinema@earthlink.net.
Brain Teasers:
What made in Spain Horror film was partly inspired by the made in Spain Western PANCHO VILLA?
Charles Gilbert knew that it was HORROR EXPRESS. Producer Bernard Gordon was told he could make any film he wanted as long as he used the expensive miniature train made for PANCHO VILLA.
Which Italian born film editor made his directorial debut working with Reg Park?
Bertrand van Wonterghem, Angel Rivera and George Grimes knew that it was Maurizio Lucidi with LA SFIDA DEI GIGANTI, aka HERCULES THE AVENGER.
Which Italian film director worked with actors Robert Woods, Hunt Powers, Walter Barnes, Jack Palance, Ursula Andress, Eli Wallach, Barbara Bach and Roger Moore?
Bertrand van Wonterghem knew that it was Maurizio Lucidi.
And now for some new brain teasers:
On what movie did Victor Israel, Helga Line and Julio Pena work with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing?
Which actor, who worked in Hollywood during the 1940s, was often thought to be French or Spanish but was born in Argentina?
Which actress, born in Berlin, Germany, is often thought to be Spanish and made Sword & Sandal movies and Westerns?
Name the movies from which these images came.
Bertrand van Wonterghem and Charles Gilbert identified last week's photo of Dan Vadis in DEGUEYO.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?
Bertrand van Wonterghem, Charles Gilbert and George Grimes identified last week's frame grab of Spela Rozin and Dan Vadis in ERCOLE L'INVINCIBILE, aka SONS OF HERCULES IN THE LAND OF DARKNESS.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?
George Grimes identified last week's photo of Catherine Spaak and Horst Buchholz in LA NOIA, aka THE EMPTY CANVAS.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?
George Grimes identified last week's photo of Danny Kwok-Kwan Chan in IP MAN 4: THE FINALE.
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:
After Action "We Were There" (2025) - Host Stacy Pearsall chats with three women who served as military nurses during the conflict in Vietnam. They comment about the trauma of war, the lack of recognition and the difficulty of adjusting to civilian life.
Mr. Scorsese (2025) - Director Rebecca Miller's five part documentary on American filmmaker Martin Scorsese is wonderful, though it doesn't cover everything about the man/ However, it makes me long for someone to do something similar on film directors whose work I enjoy more. Being the wife of actor Daniel Day-Lewis, and the daughter of playwrite Arthur Miller, probably gave Miller better access to Scorsese than any other filmmaker. It pays off with some very revealing personal stories. I would have loved to have seen something like this on William Friedkin or Arthur Penn before they died. Now, will someone put this out on DVD or Blu-ray?
ONIBI, aka ONIBI: THE FIRE WITHIN (1997) - The winner of Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress at the 19th Yokohama Film Festival, ONIBI became the first of director Rokuro Mochizuki's career to gain a release with English subtitles. Most of his previous 10 films were considered "Pink Ega". While making a movie version of Yukio Yamanouchi's novel SHIN KANASHIKI HITTOMAN, aka ANOTHER LONELY HITMAN in 1995, Mochizuki was invited to meet a convicted Yakuza hitman by Yamanouchi, which partly inspired the main character in ONIBI. But Mochizuki was less interested in making another Yakuzu film. He wanted to make a love story, particularly one inspired by director Leos Carax's LES AMANTS DU PONT-NEUF, aka THE LOVERS ON THE BRIDGE. The result was a film which had the outline of a traditional Yakuza film - convict gets out of prison, tries to go straight, tries to not respond to the provocations of the bad guys, but eventually responds and is taken back to prison - but filmed like a European Art movie with mostly classical European music on the soundtrack.
Mildly enjoyed:
SCANDALOUS: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER (2019) - Director Mark Landsman put together this documentary about how the son of the founder of the New York Italian language newspaper IL PROGRESSO was able to buy the New York Evening Enquirer after the death of its founder William Griffin. The buyer was Generoso Pope Jr. and, reportedly, he was able to afford the deal with money provided by Frank Costello of the Luciano crime family. Pope's vision was to create the biggest newspaper in the nation by selling it in supermarkets and only covering stories that would appeal to middle class women. Stories about political figures changed with the Gary Hart and Bill Clinton scandals. Eventually, this led to the Donald Trump stories, which Trump was so happy about that he began feeding the tabloid stories about himself and others. The ethics of "check book" journalism became an issue, but Pope had the success he wanted, particularly after he moved the operation to Florida. Pope began a practice of blackmailing celebrities like Bob Hope and Bill Cosby by "catch and killing" stories about their sexual shenanigans and getting them to write articles for the Enquirer. After Pope's death, David Pecker took control of the publication and began "catching and killing" stories related to celebrities wanting to get into Republican politics, particularly Arnold Schwarzenegger and Donald Trump. A number of the "talking heads" in this program blame The National Enquirer with not only helping to get further Trump's political ambitions, but to also destroy the public's ability to trust journalist
Did not enjoy:
THE MAGNIFICENT DUO (1977) - Rarely does a film that begins with "IFD Films and Arts Limited presents A Joseph Lai Release" ends up being a film worth watching. That's true with this head scratcher. The English language dub doesn't help much, specifying neither the time nor the place of this story. I would guess Taiwan, because it is certainly not Hong Kong. Maybe it is Korea? Nothing indicates that this is taking place during World War 2, but the bad guys are Japanese. However, no one is wearing a uniform. Most of the tough guys dress like they are from a 1930s Warner Bros. gangster movie, but the film begins with a Chinese woman singing a nice tune at a nightclub. I wish I knew who she was, because she is the best thing about this movie. The opening credits come with "MASTER LEE as the exterminator CHRIS KIM as the victim are THE MAGNIFICENT DUO." That would seem to suggest a simple straightforward plot, but after viewing the movie, I can only guess that Master Lee is the hero, though he certainly isn't an exterminator. And which of the myriad victims is Chris Kim? The IMDb is of no help as it credits Ryong Keo as the star. Ryong Keo is usually known as Dragon Lee, and he's not in this movie. The on-screen credits continue with "co-starring Mario Cheung, Diana Choi, Fred Tai, with Keith Chan, Tony Park, Patti King, Jack Sun. producer Joseph Lai. executive producer Kim Chi Han in association with Dong Hyoup Corp. Co. Ltd. cameraman Jimmy Lee, lighting Dickson Cheung, continuity Nicky Leung, edition Leung Wing Chan, make-up Mary Kwan, contume Wang Lap, titling Chung Chuen, english version Vaughan Savidge, music Peter Tsang, effects Lawrence Chan, production designer Albert Kun, supervisor Stephen So, martial arts director Master Lee, written and directed by Lee Huk Soo, Sin Wee Kyun." Hmm. The IFD web site reports that the film takes place in 1930s Shanghai and involves a fight over control of the opium trade. Oh, really? I didn't get that from watching the film. From watching the film, it seems that our hero is out to destroy "the filty Triads". Why the Triads would be in cahoots with a one-eyed Japanese fellow isn't explained. And how come the brothel is filled with women in Korean dress? After freeing the women from the brothel, one of the villains does the sensible thing by pulling a gun and shooting our hero in the back. Why this is the only firearm to show up in the movie is another mystery. After recovering from his wound, during which his friend is killed by the samurai sword wielding villain, our hero marries the former woman from the brothel who helped to nurse him. Naturally, she begs him to never again resort to violence. Of course, the villains kill her so that he can turn his back on the teachings of the Christian church and engage in an interminable fight with the bad guys. In the end, he heads off on the road with his wife's ashes in a box. Aside from the opening song in the nightclub, the highlights of this film include hearing music from FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE and the trumpet heavy tune that was used as the theme music for the late movie on L.A.'s KMEX during the 1980s.
SIAMESE OUTLAWS (2004) - The lack of English subtitles for the Thai dialogue was one hurtle for watching this movie on DVD. The other hurtle was that the DVD had, I think, a Vietnamese narrator translating all of the dialogue into a second language I didn't understand. After some sort of quasi religious ceremony in an ruined Buddhist Temple, a group of young men attack the gold shops in a town. Even though the agreement was not to kill anyone, there is wanton killing. While the police and military hunt down and kill all of the robbers they can find, the robbers turn against each other, probably because the loot has disappeared. In the final battle, we discover that the leader of the robbers can fly and breathe underwater and is only stopped by a bullet in the head. The IMDb tells me that Winai Patoomboon directed this movie. It is obvious that he was inspired by the films of director John Woo with much acrobatic gunplay. You can find this on YouTube where you can change the Thai closed captions into English.
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David Deal Enjoyed:
BUCHANAN RIDES ALONE (58)
SECRET OF THE TELEGIAN (62) - Oh for a decent presentation of this entertaining Japanese s/f classic.
THE BLACK ABBOT (63)
THE INVISIBLE DR. MABUSE (62)
PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER (62)
DIABOLICALLY YOURS (68)
Mildly Enjoyed
THE BLACK BOX AFFAIR (66) - Please refer to the Eurospy Guide for this entry starring Craig Hill.
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Angel Rivera Highly enjoyed:
"THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD" (1938)
A classic of action/adventure fantasy.
"A FEW GOOD MEN" (1992)
One of the great court-room dramas. Fans of Demi Moore will notice how great she looks and what a great performance she gives.
A classic of action/adventure fantasy.
"A FEW GOOD MEN" (1992)
One of the great court-room dramas. Fans of Demi Moore will notice how great she looks and what a great performance she gives.
Mildly enjoyed:
"ONE OF OUR SPIES IS MISSING" (1966)
This is the fourth of "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." movies culled from a two=part episode of the series. The plot has two scientists who invent a machine which can rejuvenate the old and make them young again. One of the scientists is played by James Doohan (Scotty of "Star Trek" fame). Also featured are: Vera Miles and Maurice Evans. In an appearance as an U.N.C.L.E. Communications Technician is a pre-"Batgirl" Yvonne Craig. Our heroes try to keep the machine out of the hands of the evil organization, THRUSH, But just as the THRUSH agent is about to destroy the machine and escape with the scientist's notes, the booby-trapped machine blows up in his face, killing him. To which McCallum quips, "He won't have to worry about getting old!" A somewhat mildly entertaining film.
This is the fourth of "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." movies culled from a two=part episode of the series. The plot has two scientists who invent a machine which can rejuvenate the old and make them young again. One of the scientists is played by James Doohan (Scotty of "Star Trek" fame). Also featured are: Vera Miles and Maurice Evans. In an appearance as an U.N.C.L.E. Communications Technician is a pre-"Batgirl" Yvonne Craig. Our heroes try to keep the machine out of the hands of the evil organization, THRUSH, But just as the THRUSH agent is about to destroy the machine and escape with the scientist's notes, the booby-trapped machine blows up in his face, killing him. To which McCallum quips, "He won't have to worry about getting old!" A somewhat mildly entertaining film.
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Bertrand van Wonterghem Enjoyed:
Duel at Silver Creek (1952, Don Siegel)
Panhandle (1948, Lesley Selander)
Ride lonesome (1959, Budd Boetticher)
Alias Smith & Jones – episode « Exit from Wickenburg (1971, Jeannot Szwarc)
Mildly enjoyed
The cutter (2005, Bill Tannen)
Mémoires d'un flic (1955, Pierre Foucaud)
The black cat (1934, Edgard G. Ulmer)
Did not enjoy:
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Charles Gilbert watched:
Watched two Jeff Speakman films:
PERFECT WEAPON (1991) The movie is dedicated to Ed Parker who trained Speakman. Mako plays his friend who is being bullied, and soon murdered, by a Korean underworld. We're treated to a showdown Speakman has with WWF wrestler Professor Toru Tanaka.
EXPERT (1993) In this his sister is murdered by a serial killing psychopath that represents himself in court, and is incarcerated in a prison run by old guard warden James Brolin. Interesting to see Red West as a prosecutor.
Others:
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea "The Mummy" S3E20 The admiral and captain go ashore in NYC to retrieve a sarcophagus that they will carry to the middle east on Seaview. Their "cargo" comes alive occasionally to wreck havoc on the trip. A subtle tribute to Universal's Kharis series has this mummy also dragging his left foot and cradling his right arm.
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea "Werewolf" S3E02. Officer Hollis receives a wound from a wolf on an island set to erupt radioactive lava. Back on Seaview he attacks the admiral who must remain locked up until an antidote is secured. Guest star Charles Aidman.
Route 66 S3E20 "Shall Forfeit His Dog and Ten Shillings to the King". A modern posse rides horseback into the mountains to hunt down two killers. Stiles (Martin Milner) joins them. Guest star Steve Cochran. British Hammer Films star Barbara Shelley makes a brief appearance playing piano.
VALLEY OF GWANGI (1969) Originally planned for Columbia Pictures, Harryhausen's last dinosaur flick was largely filmed in Almeria, Spain with a cast that includes British actors Laurence Naismith and Freda Jackson. Released by Warner Bros./7Arts.
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