Arizona Bill: Attack on the Train

Arizona Bill: L’attaque d’un train – French title
Outlaws Foiled – English title
Arizona Bill: Attack on the Train – English title

A 1910 French production [Lux (Paris)]
Producer:
Director: Jean Durand
Story:
Screenplay:
Cinematography: [black & white]
Running time:


Cast:
Joë Hamman (Jean Hamman), Gaston Modot

RIP Claude Desailly

French writer Claude Desailly died on April 26 in Gordes, Luberon, Vaucluse, France. He was 87. Desailly along with Dario Argento wrote the screenplay for Robert Hossein's 1969 western classic "Cemetery Without Crosses". He also wrote an earlier Euro-western for Hossein "The Taste of Violence" (1961).

New DVD reissue

A new German re-release from NEW “Adios Gringo”, "Hartbox" packaging; 2 different covers, Languages: German, English, PAL Region 2, ratio 2,35:1, running time 92 minutes, anamorphic widescreen extras Interview with Giuliano Gemma, Italian trailer, photo gallery, alternative credits, soundtrack

Happy 65th Birthday Agnes Spaak

Agnes Spaak is a former model and the older sister of actress Catherine Spaak and the daughter of screenwriter Charles Spaak. Born in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Saine, Ile-de- France, France on April 29, 1944 she appeared in several Spaghetti Western in the late 1960s. She developed a love for photography and decided in 1975 to devote her career to it. Moving to Milan she became a fashion photographer. She became the editor and photographer of Edilio Rsuconi’s Publishing Co. In 1999 she became a freelance photographer and works with several world renowned companies. Today she continues her passion for photography while still living in Milan. We wish her a happy 65th birthday.

Aragon, Land of the Western

Aragon, terre de western – French title
Aragon, Land of the Western – English title

A 2003 French production [3 Sud/K Production (Toulouse)]
Producer: Jacques Mitsch
Director: Claude Ledu, Eric Cherriere
Screenplay:
Cinematography: [color]
Music:
Running time: 26 minutes

Cast:
Narrator - Maurice Poli
with; Craig Hill


A documentary on the Balcazars and the westerns they made in Aragon near Barcelona. Spain. The risk they took to build a western set and transform it into a Southwestern town. They also used the western to reveal growing tensions and society’s problems in their own country.

Happy 65th Birthday Neil Summers

Born Nicholas Summers on April 28, 1944 in Blackpool, Lancashire, England. His parents moved to Arizona when he was still a child and Neil grew up in the Phoenix area graduating from Saddleback High School in 1965. He became a stuntman and then a character actor. He’s acted with some of the biggest names in the business including John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. An avid western fan, Neil has one of the largest collections of Western movie stills in the world. Still active today he was the stunt coordinator on the recently completed TV film ‘Doc West’ with Terence Hill. Today we wish him a happy 65th birthday.

RIP Enzo Monteduro

Matt Blake is reporting that Italian character actor Enzo Monteduro has apparently died. Monteduro was known as the Italian Buster Keaton and was primarily associated with comedies and appeared in two Spaghetti Westerns - as the stage driver in Ciccio Forgives, I Don't (1968) and as Jones in The Crazy Adventures of Len and Coby (1975). I also found the news posted on the Nocturno board.

New DVD reissue

A new German re-release of “Ein Loch im Dollar” (One Silver Dollar) on NEW DVD
Italian, German and English language, 92 minutes, PAL, Region 2, ratio 2.35:1, format 16:9, extras: Giuliano Gemma interview, trailers, photo gallery, limited edition of 500 copies.

Remembering Marianne Hoppe

Born Marianne Stefanie Paula Henni Gertrud Hoppe on April 26, 1909 in Rostock, Germany into a wealthy land owning family. She received a private home education and then attended school in Berlin and Weimar where she became interested in theater. Her first professional appearance was at 17 as a member of Berlin’s Deutsches Theater.under the direction of Max Reinhardt. During her time acting at the home of the Prussian State Theatre, the Schauspielhaus, Hoppe developed her analytical approach to acting, which she stated consisted in her "taking apart every sentence" and giving the use of language a brilliance. This method was to be associated with Hoppe throughout her working life. Marrianne appeared in two German westerns “Massacre at Marble City” in 1964 and her best remembered role as Mrs. Butler in the 1962 Karl May film “The Treasure of Silver Lake”. We remember the ‘Queen of the German Stage' Marianne Hoppe today on what would have been her 100th birthday.

Blood, guts and bullets

Death scenes tell you everything you need to know about spaghetti westerns, the most brutal and inventive of all film genres. Alex Cox picks his 10 favorite on-screen exits

For some reason I thought it would be fun to gather all the Italian-made western DVDs and tapes I could lay my hands on, and watch them in the order they were made. An interesting experiment, which maybe I could turn into a book, or a long article on the development of one of the most peculiar and popular cinematic sub-genres.


Some 200-odd spaghetti westerns later, the experiment is complete, but I am not sure what I have learned from it. Spaghetti westerns are violent, sexist, homophobic, intermittently racist, sometimes funny, most often boring and repetitive - like all westerns, or films generally.

Yet I still love the spaghetti western, for its anarchic politics, for its surrealism, for its stoic heroes and diabolical villains, and for its many macabre murders and massacres. Here, then, follow my Top 10 Italian Western Deaths.

1 & 2 For a Few Dollars More
Sergio Leone's second western (his first was a remake of Kurosawa's samurai film, Yojimbo) features the most horrible deaths of all. Both happen off-screen. It's early in the film, and we're getting to know the principal villain, El Indio (played by the wonderful communist actor Gian Maria Volontè - blacklisted till Leone made him a star again). Escaping from prison, Indio kills his cell-mate, numerous guards and the warden, but doesn't really establish himself as the Most Diabolical Western Villain of All Time until the following scene.

This takes place in an old church. Indio and his gang of outlaws have caught up with one Tomaso (played by Spanish actor Lorenzo Robledo), who turned Indio over to the law a couple of years ago. Indio remarks that the amount of time he spent in prison is the age of Tomaso's young child: "You took the reward money and used it to start a family." El Indio wants to kill Tomaso in a duel, so, in order to give Tomaso more of an incentive, he decides to do something really nasty to him. He orders his men to take his enemy's wife and baby outside. Two shots ring out.

If this were a Hollywood film of the period, mother and child would not be killed. Such things didn't happen in American films: the shots would have been fired in the air, the baby would be safe. Not in For a Few Dollars More, where Tomaso weeps because he knows his family is dead. Here is the hideous genius of Leone and the other masters of the Italian western: they weren't bound by a self-imposed censorship regime, known as the Hays Code. Unlike American westerns, spaghettis could include mercy killings, prolonged scenes of sadistic cruelty, and the murders of whole families in order to provoke revenge. And so they did.

3 Django
Sergio Corbucci was Leone's friend and rival. His first westerns were uninspiring. In the wake of For a Few Dollars More, he directed a truly remarkable one: Django. Much emulated (there were at least 50 sequels), Django is a truly original and demented film. The hero, played by Franco Nero, is a shell-shocked veteran of the civil war. He has no horse, and drags a coffin through fields of mud. Inside the coffin is a machine gun that he hopes to trade for gold. He fetches up in a ghost town dominated by two rival gangs: Mexican bandidos and southern racists.

Of the two sides, the Confederates are the worse. They run a protection racket in the town's only business, a brothel. The collector of the protection money is a protestant priest, the black-cloaked Brother Jonathan (Gino Pernice). It's Brother Jonathan's demise that earned Django trouble with the censor, and a worldwide reputation. Jonathan is caught by the Mexicans, who accuse him of being a spy. To make their point more clearly, the Mexican bandit chief cuts off the preacher's ear ... and makes him eat it. This is truly bizarre, utterly unexpected. And then they shoot him! Talk about over-egging the pudding. Corbucci was a hard-line leftist, and had no time for priests or pacifists, who are frequently murdered in his western films. But the death of the obnoxious pastor Jonathan is one of the high points of spaghetti history.

4 Requiescant
A fine, crazy western by the prolific and talented Carlo Lizzani, Requiescant has as its hero a Mexican killer-priest (played by the Uruguyan actor Lou Castell) who prays for the souls of his victims. His adversary is a white racist, Fergusson (an American, Marc Damon).The film's best moment comes when Requiescant (for that is his name) recovers his lost memory, and runs through the desert graveyard where his family was massacred, uprooting their rib cages, skulls and bones. Fergusson is memorably effete and manic, murdering his wife and dallying with the houseboys. In the final showdown, wounded, he begs the hero to let him die like a gentleman. "I don't know how a gentleman dies," Requiescant replies. He shoots Fergusson several times, after which a large church bell falls and crushes him.

5 Quién Sabe?
Quién Sabe? - also known as A Bullet for the General - is one of a number of spaghetti westerns set in Mexico during the Revolution. Leone's Duck, You Sucker! is set in this period, as are two or three of Corbucci's westerns. But Quién Sabe? - directed by Damiano Damiani - is by far the best. It is a time of liberation, yet all of its characters are trapped. El Chucho, the revolutionary peasant played by Gian Maria Volontè, is imprisoned by his own vanity and stupidity; Bill Tate, the gringo assassin portrayed by Lou Castell, is trapped by his lack of understanding and his obsessive love for Chucho.

The whole messed-up situation is visible in one scene, early on, when the revolutionaries stop a military train carrying arms. How to do this? Simple: capture an army captain and crucify him on the railroad tracks. The train, under the command of a lowly sergeant, won't be able to proceed unless the captain orders it to do so, crushing him in the process. This he won't do.

So the train is pinned down and Chucho's guerrillas are able to decimate its guards. By the time the order is given to move the train forward - killing the captain - the battle is already lost.

6 The Big Silence
Corbucci found himself in an interesting quandary. When he made films he didn't care about - such as Minnesota Clay with Cameron Mitchell, or feeble comedy-westerns such as Ringo and His Golden Pistol, aka Johnny Oro - the films were picked up by American studios and distributed around the world. When he made a film he liked, such as Django, it got limited distribution or was banned.

Nevertheless, incensed by the deaths of Malcolm X and Che Guevara, Corbucci embarked on a new, anti-authoritarian western with a mute hero called, yes, Silence (the French actor Jean-Louis Trintignant) set in the snow. The Big Silence is his masterpiece: a great, pessimistic, bitter western by a director who had once loved, and now hated, westerns. The film features many cruel deaths, none more awful than that of the hero himself.

Earlier in the movie, Silence - the mute, killer-of-bounty-killers - is jumped by the villains, who stick his hand into a burning brazier. Now he can no longer use his gun. But, when the innocent farmer-renegades are captured by the villainous banker's mercenaries, and their leader, Loco (Klaus Kinski) challenged him to a duel, Silence is obliged to respond.

The death of Silence - shot in the most cowardly and offhand manner, by subsidiary villains, through the saloon windows - is one of the saddest moments in any spaghetti western. It confirms Corbucci's pessimistic genius. And - thus annoying the American studio which had acquired the rights - The Big Silence remained unseen for many years.

7 Once Upon a Time in the West
Leone's art western features many memorable deaths. As in For a Few Dollars More, an entire family is slaughtered - simply to prove the villainy of Henry Fonda's bad guy, Frank. There is also an unforgettable death-by-flashback, in which the hero witnesses his brother's lynching. But for the jaded enthusiast, the most remarkable demise is that of Morton, the crippled railroad magnate. Throughout this long, angst-ridden film, Morton, writhing in physical agony, has survived due to his determination to reach the Pacific Ocean. This is why he's hired Fonda's character, the killer Frank, "To remove small obstacles from the track" - so that Morton may see the sea.

But Morton mixes his meetings, and attempts to have Frank killed. Frank returns to the train to settle their account, but finds only a host of corpses ... and the dying Mr Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti) scrabbling in the brackish, trackside ditch. Ennio Morricone adds to the irony with a delicate piano score; Leone's sound design includes waves, crashing on the Pacific shore that Morton will never see.

8 Day of Anger
This is a modest western by one of Leone's assistants, Tonino Valerii. It pairs Lee Van Cleef, the venerable American character actor, with Giuliano Gemma, sexiest and most muscular of all Italian leading men. Van Cleef's character trains Gemma's to be a gunfighter. A predictable scenario ensues. But the film has two high points: a manic cameo by a recently-arrived Canadian actor, Al Mulock (who sadly fell out of a window during the filming of Once Upon a Time in the West) and a great showdown between Van Cleef and veteran Italian stuntman, Benito Stefanelli.

Stefanelli plays a self-assured, somewhat theatrical bounty hunter who's after the gunfighter played by Lee Van Cleef. Their gunfight - with rifles, aboard galloping horses - is simply splendid: a moment of epic drama (which ends badly for Stefanelli's character) in a mediocre film.

9 Don't Touch the White Woman!
A French western directed by an Italian, Marco Ferreri, and starring a Buñuelian repertory cast including Marcello Mastroianni, Michel Piccoli, and Catherine Deneuve. This is the story of the battle of Little Big Horn, in which General Custer fields the US cavalry against the working-class citizenry of Les Halles. Shot during the destruction of the famous market, the film draws a parallel between Custer's genocidal mission and the 60s urban planners' loathing for the communities they were determined to "regenerate". It's all insane, all over the top, but very well done, and mysteriously unknown, given its outrageousness, its substantial budget and its all-star cast. Deneuve plays a simpering southern belle, flawlessly clad in pristine white, who has the hots for Custer (Mastroianni). Her death - an arrow through the throat as she professes banal love for Le Général - is notable slice of spaghetti savagery.

10 Django Kill
Django Kill belongs with the complete works of Buñuel and David Cronenberg's Shivers in the awesome armoire of surrealist cinema. Its director, Giulio Questi, didn't like westerns; when, at the height of the spaghetti boom, a producer friend asked him if he had any western scripts, Questi wrote a fantasy based on his own experiences as a teenage anti-fascist resistance fighter during the second world war. Unlike any other war film, or any other cowboy film, Django Kill - which the director prefers to call If You Live, Shoot! - is a catalogue of murder, hypocrisy, and perversion.

There are no good characters in the film: the worst of those present is one Hagerman, sometimes called the Alderman - played by Piero Lulli, an Italian who specialised in highly-strung maniacs. Hagerman locks up his wife, insisting she is mad and will burn down the house. Django, the hero, doesn't believe this and lets the woman go. But she is mad, and she does set the house on fire. Returning to find the Hagermans' home ablaze, Django watches as Hagerman races through the flames to the attic, where his gold is stored. But when he opens his strongbox and upends it, he discovers that the gold has melted with the heat of the blaze. Molten gold, one of Middleton's revenge mechanisms in Women Beware Women, pours forth all over his head and hands. Blind and ablaze, Hagerman, covered in melted gold, staggers through his collapsing, burning mansion.

RIP Bernard Haller

Swiss born humorist and actor Bernard Haller died of heart complications in Geneva, Switzerland on April 24th he was 75. Haller was born in Geneva on December 5, 1933 and appeared in over 50 films and television programs. Although his face is not familiar to most of us it was his voice that was heard as Lucky Luke's faithful dog Ran Tan Plan in three of his animated western films: Lucky Luke: Ballad of the Daltons (1976), Escape from Grumble Gulch (1983) and the "Lucky Luke" TV series (1984).

Glenn Saxson

I received this You Tube link from Christian Keller on Glenn Saxson. It was made by Glenn's son and shows recent pictures of his family life


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GU9UX39V5Os

Thanks Christian.

APACHES

Apaches das Gesetz heisst Rache – German title
Apachen – German title
Punaisen veren huuto – Finnish title
Apasii – Romanian title
Apasi – Yugoslavian title
Apaches – English title

A 1973 East German, Romanian, U.S.S.R. co-production [DEFA Film (Potsdam/
Babelsburg), Buftea-Film (Bucharest), Mosfilm (Moscow)]
Producer: Dorothea Hildebrandt
Director: Dr. Gottfried Kolditz
Screenplay: Gottfried Kolditz, Gojko Mitic, Hans-Joachim Wallstein
Cinematography: Helmut Bergmann [Orwocolor, Totalvision]
Music: Hans-Dieter Hosalla
Running time: 94 minutes

Cast:
Ulzana - Gojko Mitic
Johnson - Milan Beli
Nana - Colea Rautu
Ramon - Leon Niemczyk
shopkeeper - Gerry Wolff
Captain Brown/Burton - Rolf Hoppe
Theresa - Elsa Grube-Diester
Miguel - Fred Ludwig
Doctor Klein - Fred Delmare (Werner Vorndran)
Gleason - Hartmut Beer
Ulzana’s mother - Elena Sereda
Ulzana’s aunt - Consuela Darie
Ulzana’s woman - Elena Albu
army commander - Thomas Weisgerber
sergeants - Fritz Mohr, Pedro Hebenstreit
Colonel Keanrey - Horst Schön
Bagule - Werner Kanitz
Hackii - Dorel Iacobescu
Pedro - Florin Scarlatescu
Chico - Lucian Iancu
Juan - Victor Marrodineanu
José’s woman - Ilena Ploscaru
Juan José - Sandu Simionica
Morrie - Wilfried Zander
Black Knife - Willi Schrade
Bagule’s sister - Carmen María Strujac
miners - Hermann Eckhardt, Horst Kuhe, Gert Hänsch, Eckhardt Becker, Peter Heiland
with: Renate Blume, Kaspar Eichel


In the middle of the 19th century, the Mimbreno Apaches and a Mexican mining company make a deal about mining claims for the Mexicans on the territory of the Apaches. There is also an American geologist who interferes in the finding of the coveted precious metals. Lead by their commander Johnson, the Americans commit genocide and kill nearly the entire tribe at the Santa Rita settlement. The few survivors, including their chief Ulzana, take up the pursuit of the fugitive soldiers to seek their revenge for their fellow dead tribesmen. Gottfried Kolditz's 1973 Apachen is an East German Western, influenced by (and made in the mold of) classic American cinematic forays into the Old West, such as the works of Howard Hawks and John Ford. The picture covers some of the same territory as Robert Aldrich in his 1972 Ulzana's Raid. It begins with the mass slaughter of a group of Apaches at the dawn of the Mexican American War, and then follows Apache chief Ulzana as he rallies his fellow warriors, hell-bent on bloodthirsty revenge. Kolditz followed it up with a sequel, the 1974 Ulzana.

You Tube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsQcSKFffNI

RIP Ken Annakin

Film director Ken Annakin has died at the age of 94.

The British-born filmmaker is best known for directing the 1965 World War II epic "The Battle of the Bulge" with Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Robert Shaw and Telly Savalas.

Annakin's daughter, Deborah Peters, says he died at his Beverly Hills home Wednesday night April 22. Peters says her father had been in good health until February, when he had a heart attack and stroke within a day of each other.

Annakin's other films include "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines," for which he received an Academy Award nomination for original screenplay. He also directed "The Hellions a 1961 South African adventure film, "Call of the Wild," a 1972 adaptation of Jack London's adventure, and the 1960 Disney film "Swiss Family Robinson."

Spaghetti Western Locations

Located near Los Albaricoques is the site of Stevens farm from “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”.

Sentenza/Angel Eyes is sent by Baker to find out information on Bill Carson. Little is left of the water wheel that Antonio Ruiz is seen riding his donkey around on, accept this lone cement post. The Stevens building in the background is still here but is not lived in and was boarded up when I was there in 2005. The interior shots were filmed at another location.

On the left side of this photo next to this location is a row of buildings used in the opening of “El Condor” where Jim Brown finds Lee Van Cleef in a cantina. Many locations were used in more than one Spaghetti western or sites close by were also used.

For a more detailed view of this site and other Spaghetti Western locations please visit my friend Yoshi “Garring” Yasuda’s excellent website: http://garringo.cool.ne.jp/

APACHE WOMAN

Una donna chiamata Apache – Italian title
Apassinainen – Finnish title
Une fille nommée Apache – French title
Apache Woman - German title
Sfagi stin hora ton Apache – Greek title
Uma mulher chamada Apache - Portuguese title
Mujer Apache – Spanish title
La hermana de Keoma – Spanish title
Una mujer llamada Apache – Spanish title
Apache-kvinnan – Swedish title
Apache Woman – English title

A 1976 Italian production [National Cinematografica/Zenith Cinematografica (Rome)]
Producer: Enzo Doria, S. Belket
Director: George McRoots (Giorgio Mariuzzo)
Strory: George McRoots (Giorgio Mariuzzo)
Screenplay: George McRoots (Giorgio Mariuzzo), Antonio Raccioppi
Cinematography: Serge Rubin (Sergio Rubini) [Eastmancolor]
Music: Budy Maglioni (Roberto Doanti, Maria Maglioni)
Song: “Apache Woman” sung by Judy Hill
Running time: 93 minutes

Cast:
Tommy - Al Cliver (Pierluigi Conti)
Honest Jeremy/Geremia - Corrado Olmii
Sunsirahè - Yara Kewa (Clara Hopf)
Preacher Masters - Peter MacSing (Piero Mazzinghi)
Frankie - Roque Oppedisano (Stephan Oppedisano)
Snake - Mario Maranzana
Keith - Rick Boyd (Federico Boido)
Palmer - Henry Kalter
Indian - Nadir Brown
Sunsirahè’s brother - Raul Cabrera
Master’s daughter - Ely Galleani (Federica Galleani)
Master’s sons - FrankWarner, RobertThomas
First Sergeant - Eugen Bertil
with: Marie-France Boyer, Venantino Venantini, Carmella N. Hall (Nola Hall), Ottaviano
dell’Acqua


This film is a take-off of the American made “Soldier Blue”. A young cavalry officer named Tommy falls in love with a beautiful Apache woman named Sunsirahè after rescuing her from a gun-runner named Honest Jeremy. Jeremy and his gang pursue Tommy and Sunsirahè after the rescue and when a final showdown is filled with violence. Their also seems to be a lot of influence from the Maurizio Merli film “A Man Called Blade”.


You Tube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE39xVqGwrU

Al Mulock's Red Barn Theatre burns!

FIRE GUTS HISTORIC RED BARN THEATRE
But officials say shows must go on for 60th anniversary
Apr 20, 2009 04:30 AM

ADRIAN MORROW
THE TORONTO STAR STAFF REPORTER

Hugh Sibbald was just about to leave work Saturday night when a piece of his family's history went up in flames.

Night staff at The Briars Resort, which Sibbald runs, alerted him that the nearby Red Barn Theatre was on fire. He opened the gates for fire crews and watched as Canada's oldest professional summer theatre burned to the ground.

"There wasn't much they could do but keep it from spreading," said Sibbald, whose great-great-uncle Frank built the barn in 1883 on the family's land at Jackson's Point on Lake Simcoe.

The fire started about 10:30 p.m. When it was extinguished about two hours later, nothing was left standing but two partial walls. The silo is the only part of the landmark that may be saved, Sibbald said. "It was one of the things that brought prestige and awareness to the community," he said. "We're all sad."

Toronto actor Alfred Mulock rented the barn from the Sibbald family in 1949 and converted it into a theatre. It quickly developed into an important proving ground for young actors, and hosted some of the biggest Canadian stage stars, comedians and writers. Martha Henry, Barbara Hamilton and June Callwood all appeared there.
This season, the company's 60th, was scheduled to start June 18 with a production of Tennessee Williams' classic The Glass Menagerie helmed by artistic director Jordan Merkur. The same play graced the theatre's inaugural season.

"On opening nights, it feels like you're going to a party where everybody knows each other," said Merkur, who has run the place since 2001. "We've had audience members in their 70s who have been coming since they were kids."

Despite the fire, the company says the show must go on. "We've got to try our darndest and our best to put on all or at least the majority of our 60th annual season," said Bob Smith, president of the theatre's board of directors. "It's very distressing and there's a lot of deep sadness in the community."

The company hasn't determined exactly how they will continue, but Georgina Mayor Rob Grossi is planning to ask town council today to come up with a plan to keep it going.
No one was hurt in the fire, and investigators are looking for a cause.


Thanks to Mike Ferguson for e-mailing me the above story. - TB

Clint Eastwood: How the West was won

Twenty years after the death of his friend, director Sergio Leone, Clint Eastwood recalls how they changed Westerns forever
By Damon Wise
Tuesday, 21 April 2009



The last time Clint Eastwood saw Sergio Leone was in 1988. His Charlie Parker biopic, 'Bird', had just been released in Italy, to great acclaim, and he was visiting Rome on a press tour. While he was there, the great director called him. They hadn't seen each other in years, not since the late Sixties, and for a long while Eastwood thought they'd fallen out.

After three lucrative Spaghetti Westerns, Eastwood had bowed out of a fourth collaboration, called Once Upon a Time in the West, fearing the horse-opera boom would bottom out and take his burgeoning career with it. Leone was furious, but downplayed his disappointment; he later claimed, petulantly, that the actor only had two expressions anyway: "With or without a hat".

Yet that day Leone wanted to bury the hatchet. They went for a long lunch, with Lina Wertmüller, the director of Swept Away, and when Eastwood asked what he was doing next, Leone replied that he was still working on an idea for a film about Leningrad, a project he'd talked about while making The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in 1966. He just never could pull it together, noted Eastwood.

If there had ever been any animosity between them, though, it faded that day. Leone, a big, proud man in his prime, wanted to put all that in the past; he was reaching out. "It was almost like he was saying goodbye," remembers Eastwood, his voice soft and clear, not at all like the gravelly growl of Dirty Harry or Gran Torino's Walt Kowalski. "Like he was feeling vulnerable." A few months later, in April 1989, Leone died of a coronary. He was 59.

They met back in the early Sixties, when Leone was prepping a script called 'Il Magnifico Straniero' ('The Magnificent Stranger') based not too subtly on Kurasawa's Yojimbo. "Sergio had only done one movie," says Eastwood, taking a break from shooting his as-yet-untitled Mandela biopic, his 31st feature as director in 38 years. "But everybody said he was quite well thought of in Rome as a guy with a great sense of humour. I said, 'I can tell he has a great sense of humour by his writing.' And I thought it was a good opportunity at that time, too.

"I was doing a TV series, Rawhide, and I'd been doing it for quite a few seasons, so I was kinda bored with it. I didn't necessarily want to do a Western on a hiatus period, but I thought it seemed like a nice thing to do. Especially because Yojimbo, when I first saw it back in the Fifties, I thought of as a great Western screenplay. I thought nobody would have the nerve to do it that way. But, fortunately, Sergio did."

Originally Leone wanted the cowboy star Rory Calhoun for the title role, but settled for the 34-year-old Eastwood. "Because I was cheap," he laughs. "Sergio spoke very little English, and I didn't speak any Italian at that time. So we got together with an interpreter when I reached Rome. And through the interpreter – plus a lot of hand signals – we kind of got the idea." For the part of the Stranger, later dubbed by savvy American marketeers as "The Man with No Name", Leone trusted Eastwood to sort out his own wardrobe, and he duly arrived on set with a selection of hats and ponchos. "I also went out and bought a bunch of cigars that I thought would look good in a Western," he recalls. "I had no idea they'd taste so vile! But I brought those along with me and I gave them to props and we cut them all up. They were long cigars, called Virginia. I made a slew of them that I carried around in my pocket: different lengths to match up with different scenes."

And as for his character, Leone let Eastwood get on with that, too. "Well," he says, "he was an enigma, just as he was in 'Yojimbo'. In Yojimbo they explain that he was a samurai, someone who was almost outmoded in society, and the Western hero is pretty much the same, as depicted in those movies."

Leone was a funny guy, Eastwood says. "And he loved food. He loved food. The first day we filmed, we were shooting in a studio outside of Rome, and we sat down for lunch. We had this huge meal. Spaghetti. I love spaghetti, so I loaded myself up. And then they served wine. Everybody was having wine. So I said, 'Okay, I'll have a few glasses of wine, too.' Well, we went back to work, and suddenly I realized, 'I'm not going to be able to do this.'" He laughs. "For that first hour or two after lunch everything was pretty much done in slow motion!"

After production wrapped, The Magnificent Stranger disappeared. "And then," says Eastwood, "I started reading in Variety about this picture that was causing quite a stir in Rome and Naples. It was called Per un Pugno di Dollari (For a Fistful of Dollars) and it didn't seem at all familiar to me! I just kept reading about how well this picture was doing. And then, finally, I guess after a couple of weeks of reading about this film, I noticed they said, 'A Fistful of Dollars, starring Clint Eastwood...' I thought, 'Oh my God, it's that picture!' I didn't know what had happened to it! It didn't even have Sergio Leone's name on it, because he'd changed his credit to Bob Robertson, because he wanted to have an English or American-sounding name. So I didn't get the association until they called me up and asked me to do a second picture."

But Eastwood could tell this director was something special and he agreed to return, completing an astonishing Western trilogy in just two years and causing a box-office sensation in the US that made Eastwood a star. "Sergio was visual from the very beginning," he says. "He had an interesting approach. He tied things up very well. I was used to filming where the shooting was on a much smaller scale, and he seemed to shoot things in a fairly large scope, which I liked. He was a big fan of John Ford, people like that. He wanted to be a director of size, so to speak. But I was always amazed that Sergio was never very prolific after that."

Clint Eastwood's full interview, with further photos, can be found in the June issue of 'Empire' magazine on sale from Thursday 23 April. The 20th Anniversary Edition is guest-edited by Steven Spielberg and includes exclusive interviews with Jack Nicholson and Tom Hanks as well as specially commissioned photo shoots with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson, Christian Bale, Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster. Copyright Empire Magazine 2009.

Spaghetti Western Essential Library

Author: Howard Hughes
Paperback: 106 pages
Publisher: Pocket Essentials 8 May 2000, revised edition May 2009
Language English
ISBN-13: 978-1-84243-303-4

This is a great little primer for the Spaghetti Western genre. Hughes briskly covers the key films in chronological order, adding informative notes to each review and ending the slim volume with a useful bibliography and website guide. Also included is a chapter on Spaghetti Western soundtracks. All-in-all, an ideal introduction by an author who knows his stuff. One of the best titles in this compact series. A must for the novice and those not completely familiar with all the genre’s offerings. The revised edition show will be available in May of this year.

New Euro-Western!

WinneToons – Die Legende vom Schatz im Silbersee – German title
WinneToons: The Secret of Silver Lake – English title

A 2008 German, Belgium co-production [ASL (Hamburg)]
Producer: Wolfram Greifenberg, Gert Ludewig, Daina Sacco, Linda Van Tulden, Egon
Kemmerich, Christoph Ludz, Till Weitendorf, Marc Gabizon
Director: Gert Ludewig, Jody Gannon
Story: Jeffrey Scott, Lee Maddux
Screenplay: Jeffrey Scott, Lee Maddux
Animation: Animationsstudio Ludewig
Music: Adrian Askew
Running time: 80 minutes

Cast:
Old Shatterhand, Nscho-tschi, Winnetou, Colonel Brinkley, Bobby, Sam Hawkens, Aunt Droll, Hobble Frank, Matron, Black Hawk, Jake


This animated film removes all connection between Karl May’s characters and the Winneotu films of the 1960s films which were based on his books, only the framework and the names of the main characters remain. The main roles are played by not the noble Apache chief Winnetou and his blood brother, Old Shatterhand, but a New York orphan boy and Winnetous’ rebellious teen sister: Bobby and Nscho-Tschi are together, searching in the Wild West for the legendary treasure of Silver Lake, with a roguish bandit on their heels and with the help of good friends.

The tricky situations, in which the children find themselves in, however, are overly simplistic with staged slapstick: The "Winnetoons" are a pretty silly bunch, and follow the path of least resistance and on to the next gag, and the repetition of more. For children, surely it will be fun, because the protagonists are quite loving and identifiable figures - from prominent speakers like Christian Tramitz, Cosma Shiva Hagen and Thomas Fritsch which are synchronized. The film is laces with great adventure packed, and not always successfully, with issues like friendship, loss and tolerance to deal with. Adults, however, should avoid it and will prefer for the umpteenth time, Pierre-Brice repeats on TV.


You Tube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDgoQir5GUs

APACHE GOLD

Winnetou I – German title
Vinnetou I – Yugoslavian title
La valle dei lunghi coltelli – Italian title
Winnetou – Finnish title
Winnetou - L'invincible peau-rouge – French title
La révolte des indiens apaches – French title
Ouro Apache - Portuguese title
Furia Apache – Spanish title
Winnetou the Warrior – U.K. title
Apache Gold – USA title

A 1963 German, Yugoslavian, French, Italian co-production [Rialto Film (Berlin), Jadran
Film (Zagreb), S.N.C. Film (Paris), Atlantis Film (Rome)]
Producer: Horst Wendlandt
Director: Harald Reinl
Story: “Winnetou der Rote Gentleman” by Karl May
Screenplay: H.G. Petersson (Harald G. Petersson)
Cinematography: Ernst W. Kalinke (Ernst Wilhelm Kalinke) [Eastmancolor,
Techniscope]
Music: Martin Böttcher
Running time: 106 minutes

Cast:
Old Shatterhand - Lex Barker (Alexander Barker, Jr.)
Winnetou - Pierre Brice (Pierre de Bris)
Frederic Santer - Mario Adorf
Nscho-tschi - Marie Versini
Sam Hawkens - Ralf Wolter
Bill Jones - Walter Barnes
Instschu-tschuna - Mavid Popovic (Milivoje Popovic-Mavid)
Belle - Dunja Rajter
Lord Jefferson Tuff Tuff - Chris Howland
Bancroft - Branco Spoljar
Klekih-petra - Hrvoje Svob
Tangua - Tomislav Erac
Dick Stone - Demeter Bitenc
Will Parker - Husein Cokic
Bullock - Niksa Stefanini
Joaquin - Ilija Ivecic
Randolf - Teddy Sotosek
Harvey - Vlado Krstulovic
Hicks - Antun Nalis
Lemmy - Vladimir Bosnjak
Vollmond - Ana Kranjcec
Black Eagle - Dusko Dobudj
Apaches - Sime Jagarinac, Gojko Mitic
track layer - Miro Buhin (Miroslav Buhin)
railroad worker - Ivo Kristof
saloon patron - Karl Dall
narrator - Curt Ackermann (Kurt Ackermann)


This is the second of the German made Winnetou films based on the stories of Karl May. This film concerns itself with the building of the railroad across the western plains, which creates many conflicts with the various Indian tribes and the settlers. An outlaw name Santer decides to capitalize on the problem. He wants to take possession of a gold mine located on land held sacred by the Indians. He convinces the railroad construction boss to change the course of the railway to cut-through the Indian lands. A surveyor hired by the railroad discovers the plan to change the route he originally set. After he gets into a fistfight he is then nicknamed Shatterhand for his smashing blows. He becomes a blood-brother to Winnetou who has become chief of the Apaches after Santer has killed his father. He and Shatterhand help unite the Indians against the outlaw and his gang.

You Tube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vraxhux3tlQ

Spaghetti Collectables

Man With No Name 1/6 Scale Resin Model Kit $89.99

This model hobby kit is sure to make a statement displayed in your home or office. This renegade gunslinger stands almost 12 inches tall and is posed in a calm but confident stance. Designed by Pat Delaney and Tom Gilliland this kit captures a fantastic likeness of Clint Eastwood as the Man With No Name from "A Fistfull Of Dollars", "For a Few Dollars More" and "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly". It comes with painting and assembly instructions and is made of expertly pressure cast resin parts. A great starter kit for beginners. Photo and built up by Gen Hirata. Unassembled Model Kit. Building and Painting Skills Required.

http://www.janespalstoys.com/hollywoodfigures.htm

APACHE FURY

El hombre de la diligencia – Spanish title
Cerco de muerte – Spanish title
La furia degli Apaches – Italian title
Apachin Raivo - Finnish title
La furie des Apaches – French title
Furie apache – French title
Überfall auf Fort Yellowstone – German title
Apachernas vrede – Swedish title
Fury of the Apaches – English title
Ranch of the Doomed – English title
Doomed Fort – English title
Apache Fury – USA title

A 1963 Spanish, Italian co-production [Producciones Cinematografiches Algancio
(Rome), P.C. Alesanco/Four Aces (Madrid)]
Producer: Tomás Cicuender
Director: Joseph de Lacy (José Elorrieta)
Story: Edward Goodman (Eduardo Guzmán)
Screenplay: José María Elorrieta, José Luis Navarro (José Carrion)
Cinematography: Alfonso Nieva [Eastmancolor, Techniscope]
Music: Fernando García Morcillo
Running time: 105 minutes

Cast:
Major Steve Loman - Frank Latimore (Frank Kline)
Judge Driscoll - George Gordon (Germán Hernandez-Cobos)
Burt - Mark Vidal (Mariano Molina)
Burt henchman - Francisco Braña
Lou/Ruth – Liza Moreno
with: Joe Punter (Jesús Alzaga), Ángel Ortiz (Ricardo Ortiz), Alfonso de la Vega,Yvonne Bastien, Nancy Torray (Nuria Resplandi), Pat Slaughter (Heriberto Serrador), Julio P. Tabernero (Julio Pérez Tabernero), Jorge Martin (Francisco Celeiro), Aldo Sambrell (Alfredo Brell), Rufino Inglés (Rufino Garcia), Guillermo Vera, Guillermo Méndez

When a stagecoach is attacked by Apaches the passengers take refuge at a stage station. Unknown to the other passengers is the fact that Driscoll has with him a fortune secreted away with his other belongings. At the stage station is Major Steve Loman who was sent to prison by Driscoll years before so he could obtain his mining claims. The apaches continue their assault on the station. With stress mounting and tempers flaring a secret is divulged: Judge Driscoll is responsible for the death of Ruth’s first husband. The embittered passengers must put aside their differences and feelings to battle for their lives. Once the Apaches have been defeated they can again square accounts and battler each other.



You Tube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_pSdczogbo

Happy 80th Birthday Michael Forest

Born Gerald Michael Charlebois on April 17, 1929 in Harvey, North Dakota is a TV, film and voice actor. Moving with his family at an early age to Seattle, Washington, he later attended the University of Washington. He became a fine athlete and was training to be a boxer when he decided to save his face and become an actor instead. In 1955 he moved to Los Angeles and began taking acting lessons from Jeff Corey. He also became a member of Roger Corman’s stock company. He made appearances on many TV and stage shows. In 1968 Forest moved to Rome and remained there for ten years. He made more than two dozen films and dubbed more than 500 during his stay. Returning to the U.S.A. in 1979 he would soon sign on for the TV soap opera “As the World Turns”. Relocating to New York he also appeared in a Broadway Show “Breakfast with Les and Bes”. He then moved to Atlanta to appear in another Soap Opera “The Catlins”. He now lives in Los Angeles with his wife and does occasional work on animated films. Michael appeared in several Spaghetti Westerns among them “The Wrath of God” (1968), “100 Rifles” (1969), “The Last Rebel” (1971), “Now They Call Him Amen” (1972). He also dubbed the English voice of Maurizio Merli in the 1977 film “A Man Called Blade”. Today we celebrate Michael Forest’s 80th birthday.

ANY GUN CAN PLAY

Vado…l’ammazzo e torno – Italian title
Vou, Mato E Volto - Brazilian title
300.000 $ - Finnish title
La mort en retour – French title
Je vais…je tire…et je reviens – French title
Voy, lo mato y vuelvo – Spanish title
Que nadie quede vivo – Mexican title
Leg’ ihn um, Django! – German title
Glory, Glory Hallelujah – German title
Pago com plombo – Mexican title
O último fica vivo – Portuguese title
Skjut först - änglarna betalar – Swedish title
Framlingen – Swedish title
Idem… ubijamga I vracam se – Yugoslavian title
Blood River – U.K. title
I’ll Go… I’ll Kill Him, and Come Back – English title
For A Few Bullets More – English title
Go Kill and Come Back – English title
Any Gun Can Play – USA title

A 1967 Italian production [Fida Cinematografica (Rome)]
Producer: Edmondo Amati
Director: Enzo G. Castellari (Enzo Girolami)
Story: Sauro Scavolini, Romolo Guerriari (Romolo Girolami)
Screenplay: Tito Carpi, Giovanni Simonelli, Enzo G. Castellari (Enzo Girolami), John
Hart
Cinematography: Gianni Bergamini [Technicolor, Techniscope]
Music: Francesco De Masi
Songs: “Stranger”, “Come Mai” sung by Raoul
Running time: 105 minutes

Cast:
Clayton - Edd Byrnes (Edward Breitenberger)
The Stranger/Bounty Hunter/Django - George Hilton (Jorge Lara)
Monetero - Gilbert Roland (Luis de Alonso)
Wapa/Marisol - Kareen O’Hara (Stefania Caredu)
Bahundo/Pajondo - Pedro Sanchez (Ignazio Spalla)
Lawrence Backman - Gérard Herter (Gerhard Haerter)
Quinto - Guglielmo Spoletini
captain - Ivan Staccioli (Ivano Staccioli)
sergeant - Marco Mariani
Paco - Rick Piper (Riccardo Pizzuti)
Jose Huerta - José Torres
Conchetta - Adriana Giuffrè
Pablo - Rodolfo Valadier
Samson - Arnaldo Fabrizio
Bahunda henchman - Gonzalo Esquiroz
Monetero’s henchmen - Rocco Lero, José Yepes (José Cardo)
prison guard - Sal Borgese
townsman - Claudio Ruffini
with Valentino Macchi

This film starts with one of the most ingenious beginnings of the genre. Three men are shown riding into a deserted town. Obviously they are look-alikes for The Man with No Name, Colonel Mortimer and Django. They come across an undertaker carrying three coffins. A lone pallbearer follows the wagon. When the Mortimer clone asks who they are the Stranger names the three men on horseback and then guns them down. He then states, “Now it’s your turn Monitero”. The undertaker asks if he thinks he thinks he’s fast enough to take on the famous outlaw, he replies, “Faster. You can bet your last dollar on it.” The film then cuts to a train robbery by Monitero while a young banker rides inside the train. When the gold is stolen the film follows a familiar pattern of protagonists searching for gold, double-crossing one another and a high body count. The three main characters continually change allegiances and get the upper hand only to be thwarted by fellow outlaws, mysterious insurance investigators and each other. A great De Masi score holds the whole film together and it’s quite enjoyable.




This was Hilton’s first major Spaghetti Western and one of his best. Like Terence Hill, Hilton would fall into the trap of making comedic westerns and although he was very good I feel he was cut out to be a dramatic western hero and should have stayed in that type of role.


You Tube link – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRrLvqpyl4o&feature=related

RIP Peter Rogers

Peter Rogers, producer of the 'Carry On' film series has died at his home aged 95. Peter & his long time Director Gerald Thomas, who passed away in 1992, created what has become the most successful series of films in British cinema history. Peter produced over 31 Carry On films between 1958 & 1992 & in recent years talked of Carry On London being the next. Sadly, this last comic caper failed to raise enough interest or investment.

Close friends & colleagues from Pinewood Studios, where Peter has worked for over 50 years had been concerned about his ill health for some months. He died peacefully in his sleep at 4pm today (Tuesday)

'Carryoon' producer Ken Burns has paid tribute to Peter by saying "We've lost so many original Carry On stars over the years that constantly dilute the chance of another future Carry On comedy being produced, & now without Mr Carry On at the helm, I think its time to call it a day". Ken Burns is currently producing an animated Carry On spin-off entitled, The Carryoons. It features a host of vocal impressionists bringing Sid, Kenny, Hattie, Charlie & the rest of the team back to life in a brand new series of cartoon adventures. Peter loved this project, so we hope to make the Governor proud, says Burns.

We like to think that Peter is now happily reunited with his wife Betty Box & their loving dog Heidi. He may also be chatting to Sid, Kenny, Charlie & the team about his next film.......Carry On Heaven !

Peter lived long enough to attend the 50th anniversary of the Carry On films held at Pinewood Studios in March 2008.

Peter produced the 1965 Euro-western "Carry on Cowboy"

Spaghetti Western Locations

Turillas is located between the Sierra de los Filabres and the Sierra Alhamilla off of the A 370 highway. The landscape here is almost identical to that of the Arizona desert, yet it's surrounded by almond trees, olives and green fields. The nearby Sierra de Alhamilla is a natural beauty spot which contains a wood of Holm Oak, pine trees and some excellent bird watching points. This small Spanish village sits high on the side of a mountain and you must drive up a winding road to reach the location. The church here was in ruins when Sergio Leone used it for the interior shots where El Indio assembles his gang and preaches his sermon on the carpenter. Sergio gave the church a large donation for its use that the congregation was able to restore the church to what you see today.


For a more detailed view of this site and other Spaghetti Western locations please visit my friend Yoshi “Garring” Yasuda’s excellent website: http://garringo.cool.ne.jp/

ANOTHER TRY, EH PROVIDENCE?

Ci risiamo, vero Providenza? – Italian title
El bruto, el listo y el capitán – Spanish title
Otra vez, verdad, Providenza? – Spanish title
Tässä me tulemme - Finnish title
Här kommer vi – Swedish title
Here We Go Again, Eh Providence? – English title
Here We Are Again Providenza – English title
Another Try, Eh Providence? – English title

A 1973 Italian, Spanish, co-production [Oceania Produzioni Internationali
Cinematografica/PEC (Rome), Producciones Cinematográficas D.I.A. (Madrid)]
Producers: Alfonso Donati, Luciano Catencci
Director: Alberto De Martino
Story: Castellano (Franco Castellano), Pipolo (Giuseppe Moccia)
Screenplay: Castellano (Franco Castellano), Pipolo (Giuseppe Moccia), Ramón Llidó
Cinematography: Alejandro Ulloa, Jr. [Eastmancolor, Cinemascope]
Music: Ennio Morricone, Bruno Nicolai
Running time: 100 minutes

Cast:
Providence - Tomas Milian (Tomas Rodriguez)
The Hurricane Kid - Gregg Hunter (Palmer Lee)
Countess Pamela DeOrtega - Carole André (Carol Smith)
Count DeOrtega - Luciano Catenacci
Solon/Chiao - Yu Ming Lun
Captain Burton - Manuel Gallardo (Manuel Lechet)
judge - Dante Maggio
maids - Antonella Cocconcelli, Nadia Cocconcelli
bandit - Rick Boyd (Federico Boido)
Gorilla - Nello Pazzofini (Giovanni Pazzafini)
waiter - Dante Cleri
Indian chief - Rafael Albaicín (Ignacio-Rafael Escudero)
hospital patient - Verano Ginesi (Voriano Ginesi)
waiter in saloon - Gianni Brezza
soldier - Goffredo Unger
bank client - Quinto Gambi
saloon patrons - Claudio Ruffini, Renzo Pevarello, Vincenzo Maggio
with: Ángel Ortiz (Ricardo Ortiz), Claude Berthy, Ettore Geri, Luigi Antonio Guerra, Giancarlo Bastianoni, Edda Ferronao, Rosario Borelli, Carla Mancini, Francesco D’Adda (Francesco Salvaterra), Cesare Nizzica, Giancarlo Grestini, Paolo Ferrari, Omero Capanna, Pietro Fumelli, Paolo Ferrari, Nando Martellini, Artemio Antonini, Aldo dell’Acqua, Domenico Cianfriglia


Milian plays his Charlie Chaplin character in this sequel comedy western. He falls in love with the Countess Pamela DeOrtega and plans on asking her father for her hand in marriage. The problem is she has already been promised to a Captain in the military, who the Count owes a very large sum of money to. If Providence wants to win her hand he must come up with a million dollars. With the help of his servant Chiao and his old partner the Hurricane Kid he tries various ways of accumulating the money: a rigged roulette wheel, swindling the inhabitants of a small town with a crooked bank scheme, and a gold heist. Every attempt falls short thanks to the ineptitude of the Hurricane Kid. In the end the false father turns out to be a wanted criminal Chan Ku an old acquaintance of Providence and the husband of the Countess.


You Tube link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1tqMlrifP8

Issue #74 of Westerns...All'Italiana! now available!

The latest edition of Westerns…All’Italiana! is or will be available on these sights this coming week. This issue finds part 4 and concluding interview with Lars Bloch. Also an interview with Alfio Caltabiano before his death. A film review of JOHN THE BASTARD, all the latest DVD reviews by Lee Broughton and of course the Boot Hill section where we honor those recently departed participants of the genre.

Drive-In Connection http://www.thedriveinconnection.com/
The Spaghetti Western Database: http://www.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/Main_Page
Western Clippings: http://www.westernclippings.com/index.shtml

New Euro-Western!

LUCKY LUKE made in Argentina
The film was shot during four months in Mendoza, Salta, Jujuy and Buenos Aires in September, 2008 and will be released during Christmas, 2009.

By: Pablo O. Scholz
With a tired walk, and the little cigarette that he rolled with one hand hanging from his mouth - until the cartoonist Morris changed it to a little straw, which won him the acknowledgement of the World Health Organization – the most famous animated cowboy in the history of comics will ride along locations in Mendoza, Jujuy and Salta, Argentina and the interior of a studio that will be built in Buenos Aires. The producers and the director of Lucky Luke the film’s provisional title, found in those Argentinean provinces sufficient facilities and aesthetics to venture filming a super production in our country worth several million dollars. The film will be shot in French, and the powerful production company UGC, which also distributes films and owns several cinemas, is behind the project. Local company K&S (www.ks-films.com) will provide production services.

Oscar Kramer, who worked as a producer on The Piano Lesson, Plata Quemada and I Don't Want to Talk About It, with Marcello Mastroianni, says that "the logical thing, due to locations and as a homage to western films, was to shoot in the United States, or Spain, where westerns have been made. But the producers came to Argentina, did a search for locations, and in the last three months, a whole team came over twice."

Among them was the director, James Huth, who had a success of five million viewers with Brice de Nice (2005), a comedy starred by Jean Dujardin, the “new” Lucky Luke, as well as the producer, Ives Marmion, from UGC, the director of photography, the production designer Pierre Queffelean -who worked as art supervisor on Seven Years in Tibet, shot in Mendoza- the costume designer OIivier Bériot (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) and an assistant director.

By March, 2008 they settled here, getting ready to shoot in September, 2008, for four months. It was unknown who will accompany Dujardin, who, strangely enough, had a supporting role in Les Dalton (2004), based on the four clumsy cowboys who want to kill Luke. But there will certainly be a local casting, “to cover some major and medium roles. It’s all based on Dujardin.” Dujardin has become a star, he has done stand-up comedy and even had a very successful TV show on French television. The plot is a mixture of different adventures, which the director himself wrote, based on several published stories, "but on none in particular." We do know that the Dalton brothers - for the fans, are key in the saga.

The director has already re-written the script not once but three times, once due to the locations he saw in Uspallata (Mendoza) and in the Northern provinces. He worked with absolute freedom. “It’s a pretty enviable production structure”, says Kramer. Lucky Luke created a lot of jobs "not only for technicians - they're fascinated with the equipment, they interviewed a lot of camera and lightning people -, we all learned a lot.” Shooting on Lucky Luke will ended in late December, 2008, it will have "a year in post-production, because of the special effects", and will be ready to premiere in Christmas 2009.

ANOTHER MAN, ANOTHER CHANCE

Un autre homme, une autre chance – French title
Un homme, une femme et des fusils – French title
Uusi mies, uusi elämä – Finnish title
Un altro uomo, un’altra donna – Italian title
Ein anderer Mann, eine andere Frau – German title
Kainourgia synora – Greek title
Kolejny mężczyzna, kolejna kobieta – Polish title
Otro hombre, otra mujer – Spanish title
Emigranterna – Swedish title
Another Man, Another Woman – U.K. title
Another Man, Another Chance – English title

A 1977 French production [Les Films Ariane/ Les Film 13/Les Films Productions
Artistes Associés (Paris)]
Producers: Alexandre Mnouchkine, Georges Dancigers
Director: Claude Lelouch
Screenplay: Claude Lelouch
Cinematography: Jacques Lefrançois, Stanley Cortez (Stanislaus Kranz) [color by
Deluxe]
Music: Francis Lai
Song: “La complainte du nouveau monde” sung by Jacques Higelin
Running time: 138 minutes

Cast:
David Williams - James Caan
Jeanne Leroy - Geneviève Bujold
Francis Leroy - Francis Huster
Mary Williams - Jennifer Warren
Debbie/Alice - Susan Tyrrell
Simon Williams - Rossie Harris
Sarah Leroy - Linda Lee Lyons
Mary’s mother - Diana Douglas (Diana Dill)
Mary’s father - Fred Stuthman
Springfield - Bernard Behrens
Evans - Oliver Clark (Richard Msrdirosian)
telegrapher - William S. Bartman
Sheriff Jake Murphy - Burton Gilliam
Don - Bill Fransworth (Richard Farnsworth)
Foster - Walter Barnes
Mr. Roberts - Jerry Brown
Mrs. Roberts - Charlcie Garrett
H. P. Evetts - John Roberts
Bill - Walter Scott, Jr.
hanged man #1 - Rock A. Walker
hanged man #2 - Mike H. McGaughy
loser in saloon - John Megna
winner in saloon - Monty Laird
street singers - Pierre Barough, Phillipe Duval, Jacques Higelin
Francis’ friend - Simon Eine
Jeanne’s father - Jean François Rémi
customer - Jacques Villeret
preacher - Jack Ging
Sheriff Carter - George Flaherty
wagon master - Rance Howard
wagon train preacher - Dick Armstrong
store owner - Charles Knapp
man in town - Duke Fishman (Leo Fishman)
woman in town - Jeannie Barton
Miller - Milton Selzer
blacksmith - Robert Tessier
1st bandit - Michael Berryman
2nd bandit - Lennie Geer (Leonard Geer)
3rd bandit - Charles Horvath
wounded man - Dominic Barto
Jesse James - Christopher Lloyd
Billy the Kid - Tony Crupi
rancher #1 - Tiny Wells
rancher #2 - Pat O’Connor
train traveler - Vincent Schiavelli
old timer in bath - Ken Johnson
Mexican widow - Alma Beltran
Stevens - Scott Walker
hotel clerk - Jeffrey Chayette
veterinarian - Charles Young
bank director - Donn Starr
Sheriff Gibson - Stephen Blood
Sheriff Borden - Gene Earl
race judge - Aram Chorbanian
man - Jeff Ramsey
hanging preacher - William A. Walker
Atlantic telegrapher - Les Hohler
the friend - Jerry Cipperley
the bandman Don Davis (Donald Davis)


France 1870: Napoleon III has just lost the war against Prussia and left the country in poverty. Young Jeanne falls in love with photographer Francis, who soon takes her with him when he imigrates to America. In a small western town they build a photography shop. Meanwhile a veterinarian, David lives on a small farm together with his unhappy wife. It takes years and two tragedies to unite Jeanne and David. She has already decided to return to France as soon as possible, but then silently and carefully they fall in love for the second time in their lives. Great cast but very artsy and overly long in the story telling.

HAPPY EASTER!

New Spagetti Western CD

RETURN OF DJANGO
Composer: Piero Umiliani
Vocal by John Balfour, I Cantori Moderni
CD Released by GDM #GDM4124
Limited edition 500 copies

Track listing
1. Il Figlio Di Django (Titoli Base Strumenale) 2:28
2. Triste Deguello 2:09
3. La Sfida 3:09
4. Verso La Citta 3:14
5. Il Sospetto 1:04
6. Libero E Selvaggio 4:56
7. They Called Him Django 3:05
8. Tracy Il Pistolero 0:56
9. Nella Valle 1:15
10. Saloon 2:11
11. Cavalcata 1:35
12. Piano Saloon 0:43
13. In Memoria Di Django 2:31
14. Missionne Segreta 2:20
15. Falsa Tranquillita 3:15
16. Piano Saloon (Versione Alternative) 0:52
17. Attesa E Azione 2:23
18. Un Eroe Nel Canyon 1:21
19. Nostalgia Del Padre 0:58
20. Cavalcata (Versione 2) 2:02
21. They Called Him Django (Base Strumentale) 3:04
22. They Called Him Djnago (Versione Album) 2:57
Total Duration 46:28

ANOTHER DOLLAR FOR THE McGREGORS

Ancora dollari per i McGregor – Italian title
La muerte busca un hombre – Spanish title
Mas dolares para Cjamango – Spanish title
Palkkionmetsastajat – Finnish title
Des dollars pour McGregor – French title
Encore 1 dollar pour McGregor – French title
To kynigi ton epikirygmenon – Greek title
O caçador de prémios – Portuguese title
Juveljakten – Swedish title
Prisjägarna – Swedish title
More Dollars for the McGregors – English title
A Few More Dollars for the MacGregors – English title
Another Dollar for the McGregors – English title

A 1970 Italian, Spanish co-production [Prodimex Film (Rome), Órbita Films (Madrid)]
Producer: Arrigo Colombo, Ricardo Merino
Director: José Luis Merino
Story: Enrico Colombo
Screenplay: José Luis Merino, Enrico Colombo, María del Carmen Martínez Román
Cinematography: Emanuele DiCola [Eastmancolor, Cinemascope]
Music: Augusto Martelli
Song: “Still Water” sung by P. Limiti
Running time: 100 minutes

Cast:
George Forsyte - Charles Quiney (Carlos Quiney)
Robert McGregor/’Blondie’ - Peter Lee Lawrence (Karl-Otto Hirenbach)
Ross Steward - Stan Cooper (Stelvio Rossi)
Joe Saxon - Mariano Vidal Molina
Gladys McGregor - María Mahor (María Horcajada)
sheriffs - José Marco, José Jaspe (José Rivas)
Mexican henchman - Luis Marín (Jose Gutierrez)
Boarding house owner - Antonio Jiménez Escribano
Yuma - Marisa Longo
Frank Landon – Dan van Husen
Indian squaw - Marta Monterrey (María Salerno)
townsman - Antonio Mayans (Antonio Hervas)
with: Stephano Capriati, Renato Paracchi, Giancarlo Fantini, Claudio Trionfi, Enzo Fisichella, Santiago Rivero, Enrique Ávila

Bounty hunter Forsyte uses his wife Gladys as bait to attract outlaws with bounties on their heads. One day the trick backfires and she is killed by Joe Saxon. A mysterious stranger on Saxon's trail helps George kill him. The pair then decide to go after Steward, a pot smoking crazed outlaw who lives with an Indian woman named Yuma, who is said to have magical powers, while supressing her tribe to work for him. Slowly losing his mind, he is suddenly losing his life when George and the stranger, who turns out to be Gladys' brother, earn the $5,000 on his head.

You Tube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=ES&hl=es&v=2pRXCoyIz_E

Happy 85th Birthday Aldo Giuffrè

Born Adolfo Giuffrè on April 10, 1924 in Naples, Italy. He is the older brother of actor Carlo Giuffrè. Aldo has appeared in over 90 Italian films between 1948 and 2001. He is also a comedian and is best know for his role as Captain Clinton in 1966 film “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”. He also appeared in the 1964 Spaghetti Western “Two Mafiamen in the Far West” with Franco and Ciccio. Today we wish him a happy 85th birthday

New Spagetti Western CD

FOUR DOLLARS FOR VENGEANCE
Composer: Benedetto Ghiglia
Vocal by 4x4 di Nora Orlandi
CD Released by GDM #GDM 4126
Limited edition 500 copies

Track listing
1. Let Him Go 1:58
2. Fuorilegge 2:17
3. Let Him Go (Versione 2) 2:40
4. Fuorilegge (Versione 2) 1:52
5. Let Him Go (Versione 3) 2:15
6. Deguelloe Per Una Vendetta 1:39
7. Fuorilegge (Versione 3) 1:40
8. Valzer Dei Ricordi 1:56
9. Fuorilegge (Versione 4) 1:40
10. Valzer Grazioso 1:33
11. Let Him Go (Versione 4) 2:57
12. Fuorilegge (Versione 5) 1:12
13. Valzer Grazioso (Versione 2) 0:59
14. Buffo Saloon 3:01
15. Allegro Pianino 1:15
16. Let Him Go (Versione 5) 1:09
17. Fuorillege (Versione 6) 2:45
18. Let Him Go (Versionne 6) 1:27
19. Valzer Dei Ricordi (Versione 2) 2:02
20. Fuorilegge (Versione 7) 1:49
21. Valzer Grazioso (Versione 3) 2:07
23. Let Him Go (Versione 7) 1:24
22. Fuorilegge (Versione 8) 1:57
24. Degeullo Per Una Vendetta (Versione 2) 2:35
25. Buffo Saloon (Versione 2) 5:11
26. Valzer Grazioso (Versione 4) 1:06
27. Let Him Go (Finale) 3:14
Total Duration 53:23

AND NOW MAKE YOUR PEACE WITH GOD

Ed ora… raccomand l’anima a Dio! – Italian title
Et maintenant, recommande ton âme à Dieu – French title
Aftokratoria katharmaton – Greek title
Treis Gringos kai o diavolos mazi tous – Greek title
E Agora... Se Encomende a Deus – Brazilian title
Y hora, reza por tu muerte – Spanish title
Stranger Say Your Prayers – English title
And Now I Recommend My Soul To God – English title
And Now Make Your Peace With God – English title

A1968 Italian production [Mila Cinematografica (Rome)]
Producers: Miles Deem (Demofilo Fidani), Corrado Pataro
Director: Miles Deem (Demofilo Fidani)
Story: Demofilo Fidani
Screenplay: Miles Deem (Demofilo Fidani), Mila Vitelli (Mila Valenza)
Cinematography: Franco Villa [Eastmancolor, Widescreen]
Music: Bixio (Franco Bixio), Frizzi (Fabrizio Frizzi), Tempera (Vincenzo Tempera)
Song: ‘Just a Coward’ sung by Mary Usuah
Running time: 84 minutes

Cast:
Steve Cooper - Fabio Testi
Stanley Missouri - Jeff Cameron (Goffredo Scarciofolo)
Sanders - Fardin (Mohammed Fardin)
Jonathan Clay - Ettore Manni
Suzanne - Cristina Penz
Dan - Ivan Giovanni Scratuglia
Johnson - Anthony Stevens (Calisto Calisti)
Ericson - Gualtiero Rispoli
storekeeper - Armando Visconti
Miss Claire - Virginia Darval
John H. Corbett - Custer Gail (Amerigo Leoni)
Boyd - Paolo Figlia
judge - Giovanni Querrel
doctor - Luciano Doria
Becky/Betty - Franca Haas (Franca Itor)
with: Max Dean (Massimo Righi), William Reed (Rino Sentieri), Simone Blondell (Simonette Vitelli), Mel Gaines, Homayoon (Hümayun Tebrizi)


Stanley Missouri and Steve Cooper are traveling by stagecoach to Denver City. Suddenly bandits appear and Stanley and Steve try to hold them off a Sanders, a passenger riding on top of the coach, joins in and the bandits are defeated and losing a few lives. After the robbery the trio enjoys a smoke and we see a flashback which fills in why Stanley and Steve are heading to Denver City in the first lace (Stanley to claim an inheritance after the massacre of his family and Steve to recover stolen gold). Both atrocities have been committed by Jonathan Clay and his gang. Sanders also has a reason for being in Denver City but it is never clearly revealed. Arriving in town they find they will get no help from the law as the candidate for sheriff is corrupt and an ally of Clay. When Clay learns Sanders and Cooper are in town for revenge he sets out to eliminate them but the tables are eventually turned. Sanders managers to find the gold and returns it to Stanley and Cooper gets Clay to sign a legal document returning his inheritance before meeting his death at the hands of Cooper.


You Tube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9bQT0nWUww

New Spagetti Western CD

FOUR PISTOLS FOR TRINITY
Composer: Roberto Pregadio
Vocal by Peter Boom
CD Released by GDM #GDM 4125
Limited edition 500 copies

Track listing
1. I Quattro Pistoleri Di Santa Trinita 2:05
2. Attesa Jazz 1:20
3. Julie 0:38
4. Quattro Pistole 1:31
5. Nella Prateria 1:50
6. In Chiesa 0:46
7. Notturno 1:16
8. I Quattro Pistoleri Di Santa Trinita (Versione Alternativa) 3:08
9. Allegra Marcetta 1:18
10. Ricrodi 3:01
11. It Was A Joke 2:29
12. Mistero 3:15
13. Cowboy Swing 1:44
14. Tema D’amore 2:17
15. Attesa Di Morte 2:17
16. Verso La Frontiera 2:37
17. Crepuscolo Al Canyon 1:38
18. Pistoleri Nei Guai 1:54
19. Momento Drammatico 4:28
20 Julie (Versione Finale) 3:04
Total Duration 42:36

AND GOD SAID TO CAIN

E Dio disse a Caino… - Italian title
Satan der Rache – German title
Gejaagd door geweld – Flemish title
Et le vent apporta le violence – French title
Un homme, un cheval, unfusil – French title
Et Dieu dit a Cain – French title
Kai o Theos sihathike ton Kain – Greek title
Y Dios dijo Cain – Spanish title
Dödsjakten – Swedish title
Ponocni Obracun – Yugoslavian title
Cain’s Revenge – Australian title
Satan of Revenge – English title
Revenge at Sundown – English title
Fury at Sundown – English title
Shoot Twice – English title
And God Said to Cain – English title

A 1969 Italian, German co-production [D.C. 7 Produzione (Rome), Peter Carsten
Produktions (Munich)]
Producers: Giovanni Addessi, Peter Carsten
Director: Anthony M. Dawson (Antonio Margheriti)
Story: Giovanni Addessi
Screenplay: Antonio Margheriti, Giovanni Addessi
Cinematography: Luciano Trasatti, Riccardo Pallottini [Technicolor, Techniscope]
Music: Carlo Savina
Song: “Rocks, Blood and Sand” sung by Don Powell
Running time: 109 minutes

Cast:
Gary Hamilton - Klaus Kinski (Nickolaus Nakaszynski)
Acombar - Peter Carsten (Gunther Ransenthaler)
Dick Acombar - Antonio Canatafora
Mike - Furio Meniconi
Maria Acombar - Marcella Michlangeli (Marcella Ghelardi)
Rosy - María Luisa Sala
Joe/Uncle Jonathan - Gigi Bonos (Luigi Bonos)
Francesco Santamaria - Alan Collins (Luciano Pigozzi)
Miguel Santamaria - Lee Burton (Guido Lollobrigida)
Jim Santamaria - Lucio De Santis
Pedro - Osiride Pevarello
doctor - Guliano Raffaelli
old timer - Franco Gulà (Francesco Gulas)
prison warden - Conrado San Martin (Conrado Prieto)
bearded prisoner - Elio Angelucci
bounty killer - Mario Novelli
with: Joaquín Blanco, Marco Morelli, Giacomo Furia, Pedro Mendiconi



The film opens with Gary Hamilton working on a chain gang in a quarry. We find out later he’s been here for 10 years. One thing has kept him alive and going and that is revenge on Acombar, the man responsible for his imprisonment. The Acombar gang stole gold from a confederate transport wagon and put the blame on Gary. With Gary in prison Acombar was free to live a life of comfort and even married Hamilton’s girlfriend, Maria. Hamilton is now released from prison and catches a stagecoach back to Thornton City. On the ride back he is accompanied by young Dick Acombar who is unaware of Hamilton and his relationship with his father. The time shortly comes for the senior Acombar to pay the price for his treachery. Even though Acombar knows Hamilton’s intentions, Gary uses the cover of darkness to disperse the gang one by one until the ultimate showdown between Gary and Acombar will settle the score.

You Tube link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Wh9hklqlio

Happy 60th Birthday Janet Ågren

Janet Ågren was born on April 6, 1949 in Lanskrona, Sweden and was known mostly for her Italian exploitation films of the 1970s and 80s. Her modeling career brought her to Italy where she started to make appearances in films such as “Mangiati vivi” (1980) by Umberto Lenzi and in Richard Fleisher’s 1985 “Red Sonja”. Janet married producer Carlo Maietto in 1975 but quit acting in the early 1990s. Now separated from Maiett she moved to the United States in 1994 and is currently living in Miami, Florida where she works as an interior decorator. We remember her as Stella in the 1972 Spaghetti Western “They Call Me Providence”. Today we wish her a happy 60th birthday.

Remembering Gianni Rizzo

Giovanni Rizzo was born in Brandisi, Italy on April 5, 1924. He first appeared on film in 1944 “Macario contro Zagomar” directed by Giorgio Ferroni. He was perfect in playing government officials, senators and emperors in the Sword and Sandal films of the 1950s. He then appeared in several Spaghetti Westerns playing judges, town officials and crooked bankers. He retired from film after his 1982 appearance in “Le nom de la rose” directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud. Gianni Rizzo died in Rome on February 4, 1992. We remember him today on what would have been his 85th birthday.

AND FOR A ROOF A SKY FULL OF STARS

…e per tetto un cielo di stelle – Italian title
En kugle i panden – Dannish title
Teksasin taivaan alla – Finnish title
Ciel de plomb – French title
La belle etoile – French title
Amigos - Die Engel lassen grüßen – German title
Amigos – German title
Billy Boy, to pio grigoro pistoli – Greek title
Ekdikisis stin koilada ton keravnon – Greek title
Grigoros san astrapi, skliros san atsali – Greek title
Grigoros san astrapi, viaios san kataigida – Greek title
Quem dispara primeiro - Portuguese title
Por techo las estrellas – Spanish title
Duell under stjärnorna – Swedish title
Their Roof was a Sky Full of Stars – UK title
Billy Boy – UK title
A Sky Full of Stars for a Roof – English title
And for a Roof a Sky Full of Stars – English title

A 1968 Italian production [Documento Film (Rome)]
Producer: Gianni Hecht Lucari, Fausto Saraceni
Director: Giulio Petroni
Story: Stefano Strucchi, Fausto Saraceni
Screenplay: Alberto Areal, Francesco Martino (Mariano Laurenti), Bernardino Zapponi
Cinematography: Carlo Carlini [Eastmancolor, Cronoscope]
Music: Ennio Morricone
Running time: 100 minutes

Cast:
Billy Boy /Tim Larry - Giuliano Gemma
Henry/Harry Jim - Mario Adorf
Widow Ankam/Witwe/Vedova/Dorothy McDonald - Magda Konopka
Donna/Sirene - Julie Menard
Samuel Pratt - Anthony Dawson
Brent - Franco Balducci
Donna/Sirene’s man - Sandro Dori
Roger Pratt - Rick Boyd (Federico Boido)
Mr. Lawrence - John Bartha (Janos Barto)
stagecoach passenger - Chris Huerta (Cris Huerta)
innkeeper - Victor Israel (Victor Vilanova)
Pratt henchmen - Piero Magalotti (Paolo Magalotti), Benito Stefanelli
townsman - Luciano Bonanni
saloon brawler - Alberto Dell’Acqua
preacher - Renato Pinciroli
poker player - Riccardo Pizzuti
shopkeeper - Mimmo Poli
with: Peter Branco (Francesco Perez), Ivan Scratuglia, Franco Lantieri, Angiolino Rizzieri, Alfonso de la Vega, Nello Pazzafini (Giovanni Pazzofini), Esmeralda Barros, Osiride Pevarello, Omero Capanna, Franco Daddi


The opening of this film is one of the best of the genre. A stagecoach is stopped by the Pratt gang, a group of outlaws looking for someone. When they don’t find their prey they massacre the passengers and ride off. This is all set to a beautiful Morricone track featuring the haunting whistling style of Alessandro Alessandroni. A drifter named Tim witnesses the massacre and then starts to bury the dead passengers. Another drifter named Henry comes upon him and without a word exchanged between them, and with the haunting score in the background, pitches in to help with the burial. The two drifters travel on to a nearby town together where Tim helps Henry when he is being cheated in a card game. The typical saloon brawl erupts and what was once a serious drama turns to a light hearted comedy film. Henry tells Tim he has a bag of gold and Tim convinces him to put it in the bank. Tim is really trying to steal Henry’s money and now the double-crosses begin. We finally learn that the Pratt family is searching for Tim who killed two of their sons in a gunfight. Tim and Henry eventually make it to Henry’s dilapidated ranch where they meet the Pratts in the final showdown. What started out as one of the great films of the genre turns into a bawdy comedy which rambles from scene to scene with little cohesiveness.

Spaghetti Western Locations

One of the most impressive locations used in “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” is Cortijo de los Frailes which was used as the monastery scene where Tuco takes Blondie to recover and where Tuco’s brother, Pablo, is a monk. The first time I visited this site was in 2003 and Don Bruce took me up the ancient staircase to the roof, which was used as the roof for the prison where El Indio was jailed in “For a Few Dollars More”. Later in the same film it is used as Indio’s hideout after the El Paso bank robbery. It also was used for a scene in “Bullet for the General” where Klaus Kinski throws dynamite down on Mexican soldiers while quoting scripture. We actually walked on this roof but by 2005 it had collapsed as had several of the walls. This mission is an historical site and not a movie set, located in Cabo de Gata and it is truly sad to see the state of disrepair that it has fallen into. This is definitely one of the sites you must see before it is too late.


For a more detailed view of this site and other Spaghetti Western locations please visit my friend Yoshi “Garring” Yasuda’s excellent website: http://garringo.cool.ne.jp/

An Old Story

An Old Story – Belgium title

A 1964 Belgium production [? (Brussells)]
Producer: Robbe De Hert
Director: Robbe De Hert
Story: Robbe De Hert
Screenplay: Robbe De Hert
Cinematography: Guido Van Looy [black & white]
Music: ?
Running time: 13 minutes

Cast:
Paul Burners, Annie Arnold, Bert Long, Stan Deer, Andrew Deer

In the town of Tremolo the citizens prepare for a duel. When the time comes suddenly time stands still.

Spaghetti Collectables

Gum card - Single vintage collector card, issued in Holland in the 1960s. This is from set T which featured cowboys and western TV and movie stars. This card is the scarce thick card stock version, not the thin paper version. It measures approximately 1 3/4" x 2 3/4" and the back is blank.