June 17 - 23, 2023

 

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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June 10 - 16, 2023

 

 

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

Brain Teasers:

Who did Richard Harrison say actually directed I SETTE GLADIATORI, which was credited to Pedro Lazaga?

Alberto De Martino.

Which Italian film editor became the director of movies starring Reg Park, Robert Woods, Hunt Powers, Bud Spencer and Roger Moore?

Bertrand van Wonterghem and George Grimes knew that it was Maurizio Lucidi.

Which American actor who made Westerns in Italy pressured the Screen Actors Guild to have another actor with the same name to add an "S" to his credit?

Bertrand van Wonterghem knew that it was Robert Woods who found Robert S. Woods working in the U.S.

Which German actor was killed in Italian Westerns by Klaus Kinski and Robert Woods?

Bertrand van Wonterghem knew that it was Peter Carsten.

And now for some new brain teasers:

Which American actor, who made Italian Westerns, played Boris Karloff in an American movie?

Which American actor, who made Italian Westerns, could not accept a role in DOCTOR ZHIVAGO because he was under contract to Warner Bros.?

Which movie, directed by Damiano Damiani, is considered by most to be a Western, but not by the director?

Name the movies from which these images came.

Bertrand van Wonterghem and George Grimes identified last week's photo of Klaus Kinski and Gian Maria Volonte in QUIEN SABE?, aka EL CHUNCHO, aka A BULLET FOR THE GENERAL.

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?

Bertrand van Wonterghem and George Grimes identified last week's frame grab of Richard Harrison in LE SPIE UCCIDONO A BEIRUT, aka SECRET AGENT FIREBALL.

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

Angel Rivera and George Grimes identified last week's photo of Jackie Chan and Jet Li in THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM. ***Happy birthday, Angel!!***

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 one (2009)

LITTLE RICHARD: THE KING AND QUEEN OF ROCK 'N' ROLL (2023)

Marvel Studios presents Assembled: The Making of Moonknight (2022)

TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS: RUNNIN' DOWN A DREAM (2007) - While I liked many of their songs, I was never a big fan of the band, but director Peter Bogdanovich put together a very entertaining and informative four hour documentary. 

                                                                   

Mildly enjoyed:

ALL IS TRUE (2018) - Having written a TV sitcom based on the life of William Shakespeare called Upstart Crow, Ben Elton seemed qualified to write a film script about Shakespeare's final years in retirement in Stratford-upon-Avon. Oddly though, he wrote a script without any humor and without a dramatic arc. Director Kenneth Branagh started off the film with a series of beautiful landscape images and barely enough talk to communicate that the famous playwright, played by the director, was estranged from his wife, played by Judi Dench, and two daughters and was still in mourning over the death of his son, Hamnet. Shakespeare began to make a garden to honor of his dead son, but we don't learn much about gardening. We do learn about the lowly position of women at the time, with one daughter and his wife being illiterate due to a lack of education. Eventually, it became clear that Hamnet died under mysterious circumstances, but the film didn't become a mystery. Also, both of Shakespeare's daughters became subject to scandal, but the film didn't become all that interested in a sociological examination. When Ian McKellen popped up as the Earl of Southampton, the mystery of Shakespeare's 154 sonnets was broached, but nothing was made of it dramatically. The film ended with Shakespeare and his family reconciling just before his death - but the dramatic groundwork for this to be some kind of emotional climax wasn't laid. Also not properly set-up was the fact that his wife and daughters were all able to read "Fear No More" at his funeral. Being made up to match the famous portrait of William Shakespeare, Kenneth Branagh looked remarkably like Ben Kingsley, and even sounded like him sometimes. With what looked to be a limited budget, Branagh was able to deliver a good looking film with a lovely music score by Patrick Doyle, but with no dramatic pulse.

SANSONE CONTRO I PIRATI, aka SAMSON AND THE SEA BEASTS (1963) - I remember going with my family to see SAMSON AND THE SEA BEASTS in the theater and feeling cheated to discover that it was a cheap looking Pirate movie. Oddly, our hero, Kirk Morris, doesn't tell anyone that his name is Samson. In fact, he rather rudely rebuffs the two people who ask him his name. However, when things get rough, people start calling him Samson and he doesn't contradict them. Having played Maciste in his four previous films, Kirk Morris may have felt it was time to play a different character, but he still plays the same basic guy as before. Introduced as a fisherman who uses an harpoon, Morris is again the muscular fellow who joins up with rebels seeking to over throw a tyrant. This time the tyrant is pirate Daniele Vargas, who overthrew the previous ruler of Devil's Island. Vargas is another chief bad guy who can't make a decision without his right hand man, Tullio Altamura, suggesting a course of action. Spanish lady Margaret Lee succeeds in not being captured by Vargas' henchman Nello Pazzafini as he loots a defeated Spanish ship. Lee's other lady friends are captured and are to be sold as slaves on Devil's Island. Morris saves Lee from the sea, and she convinces our hero that they must save her lady friends, including Adriana Ambesi. Soon they join Aldo Bufi Landi in a plot to overthrow Vargas. Naturally, Morris is captured and must undergo a "feat of strength" - standing his ground while a boat manned by a team of oarsmen try to pull him into a display of spears. Later on, Lee is captured and is about to be fed to an incredibly unconvincing crocodile (which I guess was the "sea beast") which Morris has to roll around on the dungeon floor to kill. Guido Malatesta, who prevously directed Morris in MACISTE CONTRO I CACCIATORI DI TESTE, gets the writing credit for this film which was directed by Amerigo Anton (aka Tanio Boccia), who made Morris' first starring role. 

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Charles Gilbert Watched:

BATTLE OF THE  CORAL SEA (1959) B&W. The movie devotes just 5 minutes to the actual battle at the end. The captain (Cliff Robertson) of a  U. S. sub on recon surrenders the boat when they get trapped near the Coral Islands harbored with Imperial war ships, most notable the Japanese aircraft carriers. The balance of the film is about the POW experience and their escape. Look for Tom (Billy Jack) Laughlin. Produced by Harryhausen collaborator Charles H. Shneer.

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951) B&W. First time viewing its entirety. Specially effects are minimal compared to subsequent productions on the topic.

MAN-MADE MONSTER (1941) B&W. 

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David Deal Enjoyed:

TOM DOLLAR (67) - CIA agent Tom Dollar (Maurice Poli [5 Dolls for an August Moon]) is assigned to protect an Iranian princess (Giorgia Moll) until she can sign an agreement with the USA for a uranium deposit. The CIA pulls the old switcheroo and provides a double for the princess to fool the bad guys, a strange mask-wearing sect. Marcello Ciorciolini's Eurospy adventure is middle of the road genre fair; it has some nice locations, the fights are well-coordinated, and the music is hip jazz. Poli is a solid lead here, a rare opportunity for him. Other familiar faces include Erika Blanc and Franco Ressel. Also see The Eurospy Guide book.

SEVEN BLOOD-STAINED ORCHIDS (71) 

TOWN ON TRIAL (56) - Murder in an upper class community puts unorthodox cop John Mills on the job of finding the murderer. Plenty of suspects here, but Mills cannot prevent a second murder of a young girl. British mystery does some skewering of the elite but the real fun is the clever manipulation of the audience as to who is to blame for the psychotic killings. Rewarding if not great.

TRAVIS MCGEE (83) - Casual private investigator Travis MvGee (Sam Elliott) helps a fellow sailor (Richard Farnsworth) who was framed for a yacht-wreck where an important businessman was killed. Turns out the exec wasn't killed. At least, not then. This ABC TV movie has a fun cast and an interesting, if not gripping mystery. This pilot was not picked up for a series. Features Katherine Ross, Gene Evans, Geoffrey Lewis, Amy Madigan, and Vera Miles.

DEVIL DOG, HOUND OF HELL (78) - See the Television Fright Films of the 1970s book for a complete review of this Satanic entry.

TREAD SOFTLY STRANGER (58) - Femme fatale Diana Dors comes between two brothers (George Baker and Terence Morgan), both of whom have money problems. George is on the lam due to gambling debts and Terence has been embezzling money from his accounting job at the local foundry. With time running out for both of them, Diana figures heisting the foundry is the only way to solve all their problems. Good British film noir with the sultry star at the top of her game. The foundry heist is beautifully photographed.

DEATH RIDES A HORSE (67)

STREET LAW (74)

ROCKETMAN (19)

Mildly enjoyed:

TOO HOT TO HANDLE (59) - Suave Leo Genn owns a strip club in Soho, and things are going fine with his talent wrangler and girlfriend Jayne Mansfield. Unbeknownst to Leo, his stage manager Christopher Lee is in cahoots with a rival club to take Leo down. This British thriller has an old-fashioned gangster plot but updates it with risque and elaborate strip routines, and a subplot about underage trafficking. Too many songs and routines for my taste but Jayne is quite impressive off the stage here, giving a heartfelt performance.

THE TOUGHEST GUN IN TOMBSTONE (58) - Lawman George Montgomery goes undercover to flush out who's rustling cattle and smuggling silver. Old-fashioned plot for this late date but Montgomery is a solid, likeable lead. Jim Davis is the main badman.

TWO IN THE DARK (36) - Walter Abel wakes up in the street with amnesia caused by a blow to the head. He sits in a nearby park where he meets Margot Grahame who feels pity for him and volunteers to help him solve the mystery of his identity. Before long it looks like Walter is mixed up in a murder. Fun mystery that unravels at the pace of Walter's various discoveries. The cast of supporters includes Wallace Ford, the great Eric Blore, J. Carrol Naish and Alan Hale. Remade in 1945 as Two O'Clock Courage with Tom Conway in the lead.

THE CHEERLEADERS (72)

TRUNK TO CAIRO (66) - Audie Murphy goes to Egypt to work for German scientist George Sanders who is building an atomic rocket. But really he's a secret agent sent to destroy the project. In the meantime, Audie dallies with Sanders' daughter Marianne Koch. Adequate, unremarkable, low budget Eurospy adventure directed by Menahem Golan.

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Angel Rivera Enjoyed:

"War of the Gargantuas" (1966) I have the English dub which featured English dubbing by Russ Tamblyn. which played on some premium cable channels until being replaced by what is called Toho's "International dub". Tamblyn's dialogue features some mild humor not in the International dub. The movie is very enjoyable. It features two giant monsters, a good one with brown fur. The other with green fur who likes to eat people. Great monster battle scenes. The film features an American song, "Feel in My Heart" (aka "The Words Get Stuck In My Throat") sung by Kipp Hamilton, Carol Burnett"s sister-in-law and is used in a scene where after Hamilton sings the song she is almost eaten by the Green Gargantua. (When I saw this in the theatres, we in the audience all shouted out to the screen "She is gonna get stuck in his throat.)

"King Kong" (1933) The colorized version. I prefer this one to the B/W one because the colorization is not bad. One of my favorite films. Great music; great dialogue. Just a masterpiece.

"The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" (1953) a Ray Harryhausen masterpiece. With screenplay loosely based on a Ray Bradbury short story. The beast making his way through my native New York's crosstown traffic and famous Coney Island roller coaster; albeit in miniature and Hollywood sound stages is a riot for this native New Yorker. A classic.

"Montana" (1950) an Errol Flynn western. Not one of his best. He plays an Australian transplanted to Montana in the old west to raise sheep in cattle country. He has the lovely Alexis Smith as his love interest, but even she can't help save this by the numbers film. One of his last westerns, Flynn seems to be sleep walking through his performance.

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Bertrand van Wonterghem Enjoyed:

Dark command (1940, Raoul Walsh)

The flight that disappeared (1961, Reginald Le Borg)

Alibi.com 2 (2022, Philippe Lacheau)

Mildly enjoyed

La vie très privée de monsieur Sim (2015, Michel Leclerc)

Silo – season 1 – episode 6

Bulldog Drummond escapes (1937, James Hogan)

Jikû senchi Spielban / Dimensional warrior Spielvan – episode 1

Did not enjoy:

Le spie uccidono a Beirut (1965, Luciano Martino)

Confessions from the David Galaxy affair (1979, Willy Roe)

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