Saturday, November 30, 2019

Spaghetti Western Trivia ~ The tragic life and death of screenwriter Jerry Harvey



Jerry Harvey [1949-1988] wrote the screenplay and the song for “China 9, Liberty 37” (1978) starring Fabio Testi, Warren Oates, Jenny Agutter and directed by Monte Hellman.

Harvey had a tragic history with women. Harvey's two older sisters, Mary and Ann, both committed suicide, in 1975 and 1978 respectively. These deaths haunted Harvey, helping destroy two longtime relationships: first with actress Doreen Ringer-Ross, who lived with Harvey from 1973–78, and then with photographer/filmmaker Vera Anderson. Anderson and Harvey were married in 1978, shortly after Ann's suicide; they were divorced in 1984. Harvey married again in February 1986, to Deri Rudulph. They remained together until April 9, 1988, when Harvey killed Rudulph with a pistol before turning the gun on himself.

Spaghetti Western Locations for “The Relentless Four”


We continue our search for film locations for “The Relentless Four”. The sheriff brings Garrett his horse along with the rope rig which Sam demonstrates how it worked at the hanging. The body of Alan passes by as it is taken to the sheriff’s office. Sam mounts his horse and slowly rides out of town while the entire town waves goodbye.


This scene was filmed at the Mini Hollywood / Oasys movie set.




For a more detailed view of this site and other Spaghetti Western locations please visit my friend Yoshi Yasuda’s location site: http://y-yasuda.net/film-location.htm and Captain Douglas Film Locations http://www.western-locations-spain.com/

Lauren Compton Interview



In an exclusive interview with Villain Media, actress Lauren Compton talks about her role in the western thriller, Once Upon A Time In Deadwood. Find out how the old west was won in co-writer/editor/cinematographer/director Rene Perez’s action-packed western.

A notorious gunslinger is slipped a slow-acting poison by an heiress and told he has three days to track down and rescue her sister, who has been kidnapped by a band of hoodlums and holds the antidote. Abigale (Compton) is being held against her will by the brutal and cruel Swearengen.
With Once Upon A Time In Deadwood available now on VOD, Lauren Compton discusses her role as Abigale, working with Michael Paré, who plays the unforgettable antagonist, Swearengen, and her upcoming projects. Check out our review as we head to the actor’s studio and discuss the craft of character-building.

Villain Media: Tell me how you became involved in the project.

Lauren Compton: I am friends with Jeff Miller, who is a producer on the film. I did a film with him called Clown Town. We had a fun time working on that movie. He called me up for this one and asked if I would be in it. And I saw yes!

VM: What I loved about Abigale is that even though she is a prisoner, she still acts motherly and caring towards Daisy. What interested you about the role?

LC: I guess I liked the adventure aspect. I thought it was cool that she gets kidnapped, she’s also trying to protect the little girl. And that was very interesting! While she’s going through the stress of being being held captive, she’s also super concerned about somebody else. She wants to make sure that they’re safe.

VM: Tell me about working with Michael Paré, who plays Swearengen.

LC: Michael’s really cool! And he’s an amazing actor because as a person, he’s not frightening at all. He’s super humble. We’re still friends. I met him on that set. The experience of working with him was really cool.

VM:  Was it a challenge being scared, or pretending to be, by Michael Paré? Abigale is incredibly frightened by the menace of Swearengen.

LC: No. [laughs] If I can’t act afraid, I shouldn’t be an actress. I think acting afraid involves all the basic emotions. Acting in love, acting in tears, acting happy, acting sad — all of that is really basic training. Any time you indulge in acting in one of those ways, you have to pull from truth. You have to find something you can relate to. Whenever I’m afraid, I go to a part of my life where I have been afraid. Even being lost in a foreign country, or walking in a dark alley, you can imagine in your head how scary that can be. I’ve had those feelings, even though I’m making it up in my head. I think acting afraid is just encountering a truth that I lived and making it come to life, in a different scenario.


VM: Not only is this a western, it’s also a costume drama. Tell me about how the outfit added to the performance.

LC: I think any time you put a costume on, and you have a role to play, it adds to the role. It adds to character development. It’s like putting on a pair of gloves. It’s something that helps you adapt. That’s what it’s like being in costume. It was making it easier to play a character.

VM: How did Once Upon A Time In Deadwood change you as an artist?

LC: I think if you do any kind of project, you grow as an artist. You’re experiencing new scenarios. You’re working with new actors. I always love to talk to people, like Michael about his past and what he wants for the future; and what he’s been through. Working on any of these projects for me is about meeting people on set. That’s one of my favorite things about it. With this particular film, I really enjoyed the cast and the production. Every project that you do, you grow. You’re trying to perfect an art.

VM: What are you working on now?

LC: I’m a standup comedian. I do standup comedy a lot. I get a lot of offers for films. I have an offer on the table. I don’t know if I’m going to take it or not. At this point in my career, I’m more 
interested in quality projects. There was a point in my life where I just wanted to build my resume. If you’re starting out, and if you don’t know it’s something you want to do, do everything! Try it all!
I personally want to be part of projects that move my career forward. As I become busier in my daily life, I have less room for projects that go nowhere. That’s the reason why I like working with Jeff Miller. He constantly creates projects that have depth and are fun. I have enjoyed every single project that I have ever done with him!

I have a bit of a network that I trust. If someone comes to me, asking if I want to be a part of this, I’ll say yes. Outside of that, I’m in a comedy. I enjoy doing that. I really want to stay focused on comedic things. I’m shifting my focus and I’m looking for more comedic type of roles. 



Special Birthdays


Charles Hawtrey (actor) would have been 105 today, he died in 1988.













Mihai Mereuță (actor) would have been 95 today, he died in 2003.













Adam Greenburg (cinematographer) is 80 today.













Richard Brake (actor) is 55 today.

Friday, November 29, 2019

New DVD Releases ~ “Der Kampf der Brüder”, “Drummer of Vengeance”


Der Kampf der Brüder
(The Oil, the Baby and the Transylvanians)
(1981)

Director: Dan Pita
Starring: Ilarion Ciobanu, Mircea Diaconu, Jean Constantin, Stefan Iordache

Country: Germany
Label: Cargo Records
Discs: 1
Language: Dolby Digital 2.0 German
Subtitles: None
Region: 2 PAL
Aspect ratio: 4:3
Running time: 104 minutes
Extras: None
Rescheduled release: November 15, 2019



Tag der Vergeltung
(Drummer of Vengeance)
(1971)

Director: Robert Paget (Mario Gariazzo)
Starring: Ty Hardin, Craig Hill, Gordon Mitchell

Country: Germany
Label: 375 Media
Discs: 1
Language: Dolby Digital 2.0 German, Italian
Subtitles: None
Region: 2, PAL
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (16:9)
Running time: 88 minutes
Extras: None
ASIN: B07YTDYF6Z
Released: November 29, 2019


Spaghetti Western Location ~ Rambla de los Bancos (Fonelos)


In the northernmost part of the municipal territory of Fonelas, about eighteen kilometers north of the city of Guadix, lies a small beautiful valley (Rambla de los Bancos) which was chosen as the location for some westerns in the mid-1960s. Beside the NE-36 road (leading to Banos de Alicun de las Torres). Access to the location is blocked by a chain. Beyond lies a picturesque gorge (opposite Cerro Mencal, which rises to the west, on the other side of the Rio Fardes valley) in which erosion has created bizarre geometric shapes, one enters a small valley bordered by arid hills at whose bottom lies a complex of picturesque messas (Loma de la Sepultura) developed, similar to those of New Mexico. Unlike other Spanish natural scenes subsequently changed or distorted by transformations or environmental interventions, this small hidden valley keeps intact the fascination it revealed in “Seven Guns for the MacGregors” (1965) (in the sequence in which the MacGregor brothers succeed in trucking a big load with silver ingots) and in “Up  the MacGregors” (1966) (in which it represents the Gola del Sol, the access to the lair of the Mexican bandit Maldonado, through which passes the wagon of the itinerant dentist / Victor Isreal and then Rosita Carson / Agata Flori). This location was also used in a sequence with Burt Reynolds in "Navajo Joe", filmed at the end of May 1966, and with different angles compared to the previous films, in some scenes of the movie “The Taste of Vengeance (1968).




“Seven Guns for the MacGregors” (1965)
 





“Up  the MacGregors” (1966)





“Navajo Joe” (1966)






“The Taste of Vengeance” (1968)

Special Birthdays


Roland Brand (actor) would have been 90 today, he died in 1984.










Bigote Arrocet (actor) is 70 today.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Thanksgiving 2019


Terence Hill opense his Terence Hill Ice Saloon in Dresden, Germany



In July it was announced that the Terence Hill family’s ice cream would be opening a branch store called “Gelateria Girotti’ in Germany by the end of the year. The German store is called “Terence Hill Ice Saloon”. It will be located at Hauptstraße 35 in Dresden-Neustadt. With the start of the Dresden Christmas Market on November 28, 2019. Ice cream will be sold in the front of the shop. To coincide with the occasion, Christmas varieties such as mulled wine, Stollen, Spekulatius and egg liquor will also be offered. The grand opening of the entire ice cream parlor itself will take place with the presence of Jess Hill on Friday, December 20, 2019.

Charles Bronson Doppleganger Robert Bronzi Talks Once Upon a Time in Deadwood


MovieWeb.com
By B. Alan Orange
11/16/2019

Now available on digital, and available November 19 on DVD, Rene Perez's Once Upon A Time in Deadwood concerns a notorious gunslinger who is slipped a slow-acting poison by an heiress and told he has three days to track down and rescue her sister, who has been kidnapped by a band of hoodlums and holds the antidote. We speak to the film's star, Charles..er, Robert Bronzi.

Now, first things first, you aren't actually Charles Bronson reincarnated, are you?

I have to say no, I'm not his reincarnation. I'm his double. I was born with this face, with this body and with this talent. I have used my appearance to my advantage throughout my career as a stuntman and actor. I'm grateful for the resemblance to Bronson and I'm very proud to be his double. Charles Bronson always was and will always be my favorite actor.

When was the first time you realized you looked like the iconic actor? Did someone mention it to you?

Pretty much my whole life when I was a young man I started to cut my hair and moustache like Bronson. Many years ago in Hungary I worked as a horse breeder and horse trainer. At the horse breeding center we had a lot of visitors every day, people told me "hey boy! You know you look like Charles Bronson?" I worked with my very good friend Peter, he would always say that I looked like him, and he began to call me Bronzi. So he gave me my nickname. After that everyone called me Bronzi and it become my artist name.


And when was the first time you purposely embodied his presence for a production?

In my first film years ago in Spain at the western village, where I worked as a stunt performer. That was a short film called American Night, the film director was Julian Rosefeldt from Germany. In this film I was Bronzito a Mexican cowboy. I had a small role in the movie, but anyway I was very satisfied with it.

Did you ever meet him?

Unfortunately I didn't meet him personally. But I wanted to meet him and tell him that I'm very proud to be his double, and find out what he thought of me.

Have you heard from any of Bronson's relatives? They must be shell-shocked - you look so much like him!

No, I haven't heard from them. Maybe they don't know about me. I would be interested to know what they think about me.

Death Kiss, which came first, was your homage to Bronson's Death Wish. What do you recall about the shoot?

The resemblance created many opportunities for me, like to have the lead role in the Death Kiss film. I tried to do everything well with my best knowledge and talent as an actor. I should say yes, I think this is my best homage to Charles Bronson as an actor, and for his Death Wish movie. I really enjoyed the shooting, it was very easy to work with the film director Rene Perez. Moreover I was lucky to work with some very talented and professional actors like Eva Hamilton, Daniel Baldwin and Richard Tyson. Everyone on Death Kiss set was helpful and professional. They are amazing people.

And whose idea was the film?

It was Rene Perez who wrote the Death Kiss movie. I suppose when Rene started writing Death Kiss he had a vision of giving me the lead role in the movie. He told me a few sentences about his plan, but he was very mysterious.

And it was so successful, that you've now gone to do some more tributes to Charles Bronson.

I have made some films and commercials in Europe, but really this film exposes me to bigger audiences and American fans.


When was Once Upon A Time in Deadwood shot? Where did you shoot?

The Once Upon a Time in Deadwood movie was shot this year in January. We started filming the first part in Spain at the same village where more than fifty years ago Sergio Leone shot the Once Upon A Time in the West movie with famous actors like Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale, Henry Fonda etc. The second part and finish of the movie we shot in northern California.

Is this your first western? How different was it to doing an action movie - like Death Kiss?

My first western style movie was shot three years ago, also with Rene Perez the film director, the name of the film was From Hell To The Wild West. This is the western movie with horror elements. So Deadwood is my second western movie.

They are two different films if we see the themes, but the actions and the gunfight scenes are very similar.

It must be pretty empowering getting to wear the cowboy gear?

I don't think so, I very much like to wear it. I performed at western shows in Hungary and Spain over the years and to use every day the cowboy gear in front of the live audiences is what I really enjoyed.

Did you have to do any weapons training for the film?

I train regularly with replica firearms. The gun part comes naturally. As a stuntman at the western shows I used six-shooter colts and rifles every day in the live shows.

What about stunts? Do you do your own stunts in the film?

I work hard to keep my body in shape. I am a sportsman. Moreover in Hungary I have some good friends and they help me get ready for the movies. They teach me martial arts such as Judo and Thai-boxing , and three times a week I visit the Gym. All of this helped me in my preparation for the movies. So, I have to say that, I'm my own stuntman!

If this one is a hit, do you see yourself doing a series of films that serve as a homage to Bronson? Any you'd personally like to do?

I'm grateful for the resemblance that I have to the great Charles Bronson and everything that I'm doing for my part is a deep respect to him. I would love to do the sequel of Death Kiss, or to have a role in any other similar kind of Bronson film, but it doesn't just depend on me. One thing is for sure!, The Stranger still has much work to do! Don’t you agree?


 

 

Special Birthdays


Luciano Rossi (actor) would have been 85 today, he died in 2005.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

RIP Vittorio Congia


 
Italian film, TV and voice actor Vittorio Congia died in Rome on November 27, 2019. He was 89 years-old. Born in Iglesias, Sardinia, Italy on November 4, 2019, He was a familiar face, between cinema and TV, especially between the end of the 1950s and the end of the 1970s. Congia appeared in about forty films - including twelve musicals - between 1957 and 1978. He appeared in three Euro-westerns: Don’t Sing, Shoot (TV) (1967) Colonel Gaudenzio Forrester; “The Ballad of Ben and Charlie” (1972) as Alan ‘3%’ Smith and “The Three Musketeers of the West” (1973) as the wedding announcer. He was the Italian voice of Philip Ahn from 1972-1975 in the TV western “Kung Fu”.

50th Anniversary of “A Bullet for Sandoval”


November 26th 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the premier of “A Bullet for Sandoval” in Rome, Italy. The Italian/Spanish production was directed by Julio Buchs and starred Ernest Borgnine, George Hilton, Alberto de Mendoza, Leo Anchoriz and Antonio Pica. The story is about an army deserter John Warner (George Hilton) who forms an outlaw band, and eventually gets even with landowner Sandoval (Ernest Borgnine), who is responsible for the death of Warner's child (who Warner had with Sandoval's daughter). The film was not released in Spain until December 15, 1969.

Quei disperati che puzzano di sudore e di morte – Italian title
Los desesperdados – Spanish title
A vingança é minha – Brazilian title
Desperado il man omatuntoa – Finnish title
Kosto veressä – Finnish title
Les quatre deperdados – French title
Um sie war der Hauch des Todes – German title
Oi desperados – Greek title
Oi Ektelestai tis Avgis – Greek title
Homens em Fúria - Portuguese title
Revansch – Swedish title
6 desperados – Swedish title
Those Desperate Men Who Smell of Dirt and Death – English title
Blood for Blood – English title
A Bloody Job – English title
Vengeance is Mine – U.K. title
The Desperate Men – U.K. title
A Bullet for Sandoval – USA title

A 1969 Italian, Spanish co-production [Leone Film, Daiano Film (Rome), Atlántida Film
(Madrid)]
Producers: Elio Scardamaglia, Ugo Guerra
Director: Julio Buchs (Julio Garcia)
Story: Julio Buchs Garcia, Federico De Urrutia, José Luis Martínez Mollá
Screenplay: Julio Buchs Garcia, Federico De Urrutia, Ugo Guerra, José Luis Martínez
Mollá
Cinematography: Francisco Sempere [Eastmancolor, Cromoscope]
Music: Gianni Ferrio (Giovanni Ferrio)
Running time: 108 minutes

Cast:
Corporal John Warner - George Hilton (Jorge Lara)
Don Pedro Sandoval - Ernest Borgnine (Ermes Borgnino)
Lucky Boy - Alberto de Mendoza
Friar/ Father Converso - Leo Anchóriz (Leopardo Fustel)
Sam Paul- Antonio Pica (Antonio Serrano)
Francisco Gonzales Sandoval - Manuel Miranda
Guadalupano - Gustavo Rojo (Gustavo Pinto)
Morton - Andrea Aureli
José Gonzales Sandoval - Manuel de Blas (Manuel Munoz)
Carol Day - Annabella Incontrera
Guerico/Will/”The Only One Eye”/Johnny One Eye - José Manuel Martin (José Perez)
General Jackson - George Rigaud (Pedro Delissetche)
Texibal - Mary Paz Pondal
Captain Parker - Vidal Molina (Mariano Molina)
Confederate General - Andrés Mejuto (Severino Mejuto)
Captain Parker - Antonio Molina
Confederate Corporal - Lorenzo Robledo
stage station patron - Alfonso Rojas (Alfonso Gonzalez)
stage station patron’s wife - Tota Alba (Dolores Alba)
Sandoval henchman - Alfonso de la Vega
Mexican rancher - Tito Garcia (Pablo Gonzalez)
Mexican foreman - Luis Barboo
Mestizo - Dan van Husen (Daniel van Husen)
Pablo Gonzales Sandoval - Jesús Aristu
Mexican Governor - José Guardiola
Mexican Colonel - Fernando Sanchez Polack
Senator - Alfredo San Tacruz (Alfredo Santa Cruz)
soldiers - Claudio Trionfi, Adalberto Rossetti
with; Charly Bravo (Ramon Bravo), José Riesgo (José Cortina), Rafael Hernandez (Esteban Herrero)


Spaghetti Western Voices ~ “Arizona Returns”


As we know most of the Euro-westerns were co-productions from Italy, Spain, Germany and France which incorporated British and American actors to gain a worldwide audience. The films were shot silent and then dubbed into the various languages where they were sold for distribution. That means Italian, Spanish, German, French and English voice actors were hired to dub the films. Even actors from the countries where the film was to be shown were often dubbed by voice actors for various reasons such as the actors were already busy making another film, they wanted to paid additional salaries for dubbing their voices, the actor’s voice didn’t fit the character they were playing, accidents to the actors and in some cases even death before the film could be dubbed.

I’ll list a Euro-western and the (I) Italian, (S) Spanish, (G) German and (F) French, (E) English voices that I can find and once in a while a bio on a specific voice actor as in Europe these actors are as well-known as the actors they voiced.














Today we’ll cover ~ “Arizona Returns”
[(I) Italian, (S) Spanish, (G) German (F) French, (E) English]

Anthony Steffen – (I) Sergio Graziani, (G) Klaus Kindler
Roberto Camardiel – (I) Carlo Romano, (G) Gerd Duwner
Jose Manuel Martin – (I) , (G) Friedrich Schoenfelder
Aldo Sambrell – (I) Carlo Alighiero (G) Michael Chevalier
Paloma Moreno – (I) Rosalba Neri, (G) Renate Küster














Renate Küster

Renate Kuster was born in Gdańsk, Poland on September 12, 1936, she is a cabaret artist actress and film dubber. In the years 1956 to 1958 Renate Küster was a student at the Max Reinhardt School for Acting in Berlin. At Tatjana Gsovsky she took ballet lessons. For a short time she worked as a TV announcer . She starred as a young actress in the films “Night Nurse Ingeborg” and “Father, Mother and Nine Children” (1958).
From 1960 she played theater, including at the GRIPS theater and for television. Special roles were Die Ilse ist weg“,“Die große Flatter” and “Sechs Wochen im Leben der Brüder G.”
As a voice actress Küster lent many other actors such as film stars like Jane Fonda, Faye Dunaway, Alida Valli, Catherine Deneuve, Raquel Welch, Stéphane Audran, Claudette Colbert the voice. In the German-language film “Die Nibelungen”, she referred to Karin Dor, as she was twice prevented from filming the James Bond movies . Also made Küster some audiobooks.
Küster was married since 1992 until his death in 2013 with the cabaret artist Dieter Hildebrandt [1927-2013], with whom she had also performed together, for example, in the Munich Laughter and shooting society.

Who Are Those Guys? ~ Günter Clemens



Günter Clemens was born in Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany on May 6, 1941. He studied at the Munich Drama School and began his acting career on stage at various German theaters among which was the Volkstheater and the Residenztheater in Munich. He became known for his role of “Martin von Beyenbach” in the television series ‘Fernsehserie Verbotene Liebe’ which he played from 2000 until 2001. He was also known for his roles in the TV series ‘Alle my Daughters’ and ‘Verbotene Liebe’ (1995), ‘Klinik unter Palmen’ (1996) and ‘Sturm der Liebe’ (2005). In all Clemens appeared in over 100 films and television series from 1962 until 2016. His only Euro-western appearance was as Joe in the 1972 film “Cry of the Black Wolves” directed by Harald Reinl and starring Ron Ely and Raimund Harmstorf.

Clemens is the father of actor Oliver Clemens born in 1973.

Günter Clemens died in Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany on December 31, 2016.

CLEMENS, Günter (aka Gunther Clemens) [5/6/1941, Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany – 12/31/2016, Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany] - theater, film, TV, voice actor, married to ? father of actor Oliver Clemens [1973-    ]
Cry of the Black Wolves – 1972 (Tom Lafferty)

Special Birthdays


Henri Piccoli (actor) would have been 130 today, he died 1975.










Josef Albrecht (actor) would have been 125 today, he died in 1966.













Jack Natteford (screenwriter) would have been 125 today, he died in 1970.
Emilio Linder (actor) is 70 today.