Friday, March 31, 2023

Spaghetti Western Trivia ~ Trading places in “Massacre at the Grande Canyon”

 

James Mitchum was hired to star in the 1963 Italian film “Massacre at the Grand Canyon” also in the cast was Giacomi Rossi Stuart and George Ardisson. During early filming Mitchum seemed on edge and lost. The producers approached George Ardisson and asked if he would take the lead and they would make Jim the protagonist. Ardisson had developed a friendship with Mitchum and turned the producers down as he didn’t want to hurt Jim’s feelings and felt it was his film.



Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Pablito Alonso

 [These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be gven and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]

Pablito Alonso was a child actor seen in seven films from 1961 to 1965. He was a contemporary of the legendary Spanish child actor Joselito [1943- ]. They even appeared together in Pablito’s first film “Los 2 Gofillos” in 1961.

Pablito appeared in two Spaghetti westerns; “Gunfight at High Noon” as Brad as a child with Richard Harrison and Robert Hundar. His second western was as Chico in “A Pistol for Ringo” with Giuliano Gemma.

After 1965 he disappears and I can find no reference to him or his whereabouts today.

ALONSO, Pablito [195?, Spain -     ] – child film actor.

Gunfight at High Noon – 1963 (Brad as a child)

A Pistol for Ringo – 1965 (Chico)

70th Karl May season at Bad Segeberg

 


The Karl May Festival was founded in 1952, the exciting stories from the dream world of the author Karl May have been performed on Kalkberg. Due to the cancellation of the play in 2020 and 2021 due to the corona pandemic, the anniversary season was also postponed by two years. In the summer of 2022, the Karl May Play returned and experienced the eighth attendance record in a row. 406,917 people saw the new play "The Oil Prince".

The 2023 season runs from June 24th to 3 September 3rd. The play is performed from Thursday to Saturday from 3 and 8 pm and Sundays from 3 pm. The premiere starts on 24 June 24th at 8.30 pm. Alexander Klaws plays Winnetou for the third time.

Django - Secrets from the Set: Behind the scenes with the cast of Sky Atlantic’s Spaghetti Western

 Nicholas Pinnock, Lisa Vicari and Noomi Rapace talk to BT TV about the making of Django, a 10-part remake of the Sergio Corbucci classic on Sky Atlantic with NOW.

BT TV

By Alex Fletcher

February 28, 2023

Sky Atlantic is reinventing the Spaghetti Western for 2023 in the thrilling 10-part series Django.

From the creative team behind Italian crime drama Gomorrah, Django is loosely inspired by Sergio Corbucci's cult classic movie and stars Matthias Schoenaerts in the title role as the mysterious gunman with a tragic past.

The series follows four key characters: Django, his estranged daughter Sarah (Lisa Vicari), John Ellis (Nicholas Pinnock), founder of the idealistic city New Babylon, and Lady of Elmdale, Elizabeth (Noomi Rapace), who wants to wipe out Babylon.

A story filled with violence, dark secrets and a modern slant on the Western genre, Django is a gritty gun-slinging thriller.

We caught up with the Django cast and creative team to get some behind-the-scenes secrets about the making of the series.

A gang of Western fanatics

“If you look at my social media, it says in my bio that I spend my spare time dreaming of being a cowboy and that’s not a lie,” laughs Nicholas Pinnock, who reveals he grew up on a diet of Westerns.

“When I was presented with the opportunity at being John Ellis, I ran with it. He seemed a really complex character and after lots of back-and-forth conversations with the creatives, I was aware that this was going to be a hard task and I wanted it.”

Noomi Rapace, who plays the puritanical and brutal Elizabeth, grew up on a farm and has been waiting for the right role to come along to allow her to live out her dreams of horse riding and gun-toting.

“Westerns was my favourite genre growing up and I saw this and it had Nicholas, Matthias and it was the perfect combo of everything. It was an easy choice to come aboard.”

Lisa Vicari, who plays Django’s estranged daughter Sarah, didn’t grow up on a diet of Westerns, but has fallen in love with the genre after signing up for the series.

“I was introduced to the Spaghetti Western through this project. I’d seen Django Unchained and newer films, but I fell in love with them preparing for the series.

“I watched a few of them and discovered the beauty of them. I’m happy we took something so original and specific and brought it into modern times and made them relevant again.”


Special Birthdays

 Bob Simmons (actor) would have been 100 today but died in 1987.








Salvatore Billa (actor) would have been 80 today but died in 2006.








Adrian Enescu (composer) would have been 75 today but died in 2016.



Thursday, March 30, 2023

RIP Alfio Cantarella

 


Former drummer for Equip 84 died in Villafranca di Verona, Veneto, Italy on March 30, 2023. He was 81. Born in Biancavilla, Catania, Italy on July 19, 1941. As a boy Alfio Cantarella moved to Milan and in 1960 joined the ‘Marino’s’. The group, after merging with Francesco Guccini and Victor Sogliani’s Snakers, later became ‘I Gatti’. From the union of some elements of this complex and another Modena group, ‘Le Tigri’, a new formation was born in 1963 that Victor Sogliani, Maurizio Vandelli, Franco Ceccarelli and Alfio Cantarella decided to call themselves ‘Equipe 84’. The group debuted with the 45 rpm “Canarino va”, the anthem of the Modena football team and, after signing his first recording contract, made their debut on the Vedette label with two 45 rpm singles (“Papà e mammà” and “Now You Can Return”) in 1964. The year later, in addition to releasing five 45s, Equipe 84 released the eponymous debut album and in 1966 participated in the Sanremo Festival with “Un giorno tu mi cercherai”, which has on the back “L’antisociale”, written by Francesco Guccini. After the group’s first real success with “Io ho in mente te” and the album of the same name, followed by the album “Stereoequipe”, in 1970 Alfio Cantarella was found in possession of drugs and, due to the arrest, was forced to suspend his activities with the group. Once these problems had been resolved, in 1973 Cantarella returned fully to the line-up, which in the same year released the album “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”. Equip appeared and performed in the 1966 film “A Fistful of Songs” performing ‘Io ho in mente yu’ (I Have You in Mind).

30 Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Maruja Garcia Alonso

 [These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be gven and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]

Maruja Garcia Alonso was born in Gijon, Spain in 1926. She began her acting career in the theater and then branched off into films and television when she was determined to be two old for leading lady roles. She appeared in eleven films from 1957 to 1982. Her only Euro-western was a Jeremy’s wife in 1968’s “Zorro the Conqueror” starring Charles Quiney.

ALONSO, Maruja Garcia (aka Maruja Gª AlonsoMaruja Gª. Alonso, María García Alonso) [1926, Gijon, Spain – 1/17/2012, Santovenia, de Pisuerga, Valladolid, Spain] – theater, film, TV actress.

Zorro the Conqueror – 1968 (Jeremy’s wife)

A Fistful Of Dollars' Score Transformed The Film For Clint Eastwood

 MGM

By Jeremy Smith

February 17, 2023

The Western might be the quintessential American film genre, but it probably would've fallen completely out of favor in the 1960s were it not for Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone. With loads of ingenuity and not a lot of money (initially at least), Leone overhauled the increasingly staid formula, and knocked out a surprise international hit via "A Fistful of Dollars." Aside from Leone's striking widescreen compositions, there were two keys to the film's success: Clint Eastwood's taciturn portrayal of The Man with No Name and Ennio Morricone's bizarrely innovative score.

When Eastwood traveled to Spain in 1964 to shoot "A Fistful of Dollars," he was nearing the end of his run as cowboy Rowdy Yates on CBS' Western series "Rawhide." Despite the name, his character was a bit of a cliched bore, so teaming with the up-and-coming Leone far away from Hollywood gave Eastwood the opportunity to transform his image by building an archetype from the ground up.

After wrapping principal photography in June, Leone zipped through post-production and had the film in theaters by September. When the movie exceeded commercial expectations, the producers hit up Eastwood for a sequel. Though the actor was certainly interested, he had one simple request: could he watch the first movie?

Morricone revolutionized the sound of the Western

"A Fistful of Dollars" might have been a roaring success in Europe, but American distributors were hesitant to release the film in the U.S., so a screening had to be arranged for Eastwood in Hollywood. The star was immediately knocked sideways by the stylized opening credits, which featured Morricone's peculiar main theme. As Eastwood told NPR's Terry Gross in 2007:

"[I] came in and, all of a sudden, this score comes on, and I thought, 'Wow, this score is really unusual.' And unusual is the thing I would say about Ennio Morricone is that–and I don't know whether it's him or a combination of Sergio Leone, but Sergio was always very interested in music and he was always interested in the framing of sound effects and music in films."

The instrumentation is all over the place: there's a guitar, click-clacking percussion, a church bell, and chanting. Eastwood knew he was hearing something truly original (in the most formulaic of genres), and committed to the sequel, "For a Few Dollars More."

One of the greatest, and most versatile, to ever do it

By the time the "Dollars Trilogy" concluded with 1966's "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," Eastwood was an international movie star. As we know, he had ambitions outside of acting, and pursued them to Oscar-winning effect over the ensuing five decades. And while Eastwood typically favored more subdued music for films he directed, he did perform in two very different movies featuring radically different scores from Morricone.

Don Siegel's 1970 Western, "Two Mules for Sister Sara," might be a minor effort from the great filmmaker, but it's well worth seeing for Morricone's sound-effects-laden music (some of which was featured in Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained." 23 years later, the maestro slathered on the strings and brass for the propulsive main theme to Wolfgang Petersen's superb thriller "In the Line of Fire," while breaking out the pan flute for the unexpectedly gorgeous romantic cue that plays as Eastwood's Secret Service agent falls hopelessly in love with his colleague (Rene Russo).

Eastwood was, like so many of us, a huge Morricone fan, and he explained his admiration thusly to Gross: "The Leone pictures were very operatic, and Morricone could go flat-out on those with great trumpet solos and all kinds of different sounds and stuff, and he's very clever, very innovative for that particular time especially, and now he's been imitated by many people since then."

Imitated, but never, ever equaled.


Spaghetti Western Location “Price of Power”

 In 1969’s "Il prezzo del potere" (aka La muerte de un president, The Price of Power) starring Giuliano Gemma and Van we see a Dallas street scene which was filmed on the same town site used for Flagstone in 1968’s “Once Upon a Time in the West”.

What’s left of the set buildings which are located in La Calahorra, Spain as seen today.




Special Birthdays

 Roger Hubert (cinematographer) would have been 120 today but died in 1964.

Luis Bacalov (composer) would have been 90 today but died in 2017.



Wednesday, March 29, 2023

50th anniversary of the premier of “Deaf Smith & Johnny Ears”

 

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the premier of “Deaf Smith & Johnny Ears” directed by Paolo Cavara and starring Franco Nero and Anthony Quinn. The film tells a story based on a real character who lived Texas’ fight for freedom and then admission to the Union In 1834, Texas is about to join the Union. But an ex-army general has other plans. He wants the state for himself, and, secretly backed by German finance, he gathers together an army of desperados to overthrow the President and seize control. The President hears of the plot and, without the money to pay an army of his own, is forced to call upon two extraordinary characters – Deaf Smith (Anthony Quinn) ageing deaf mute and his excitable young sidekick Johnny Ears (Franco Nero). Together, the gun-totin' duo take on a whole garrison of soldiers in this exciting tale that explodes at the seams with action and adventure!

The film made 387,899 lire at the Italian box office and ranks 170 on the all-time Spaghetti western box office list.

 

Los amigos – Italian title

El sordo Smith y Johnny Orejas – Spanish title

Los Amigos – Spanish title

Rápidos, Brutos e Mortais – Brazilian title

Смит Глухаря и Джони Слухаря – Bulgarian title

Døve Smith & Johnny Øre – Danish title

Los amigos – Finnish title

Los amigos – French title

Das Lied von Mord und Totschlag – German title

Oi iroes tis siopis – Greek title

Βίβα Αμίγκος – Greek title

Lung fu ping mong – Hong Kong title

Süket Smith és Nagyfülű Johnny – Hungarian title

ロス・アミーゴス – Japanese title

Deaf Smith i Johnny Ears – Polish title

Los Amigos – de två professionella – Swedish title

İsyancılar – Turkish title

Deaf Smith & Johnny Ears – English title

 

A 1972 Italian, Spanish film co-production [Prima Compagnia Cinematografica (Rome), Co. Film (Madrid)]

Producers: Joseph Janni, Luciano Perugia

Director: Paolo Cavara

Story: Oscar Saul, Harry Essex

Screenplay: Oscar Saul, Harry Essex, Paolo Cavara, Lucia Brudi, Augusto Finocchi

Cinematography: Tonino Delli Colli (Antonio Delli Colli) [Technicolor, Panavision]

Music: Daniele Patucchi

     Songs: “The Ballad of Deaf and Ears”, “Even if You’re Not the First One” sung by Ann Collin

Running time: 97 minutes

 

Cast:

Erastus ‘Deaf’ Smith - Anthony Quinn (Antonio Quinn)

Juanito/Johnny Ears - Franco Nero (Francesco Sparanero)

Susie - Pamela Tiffin (Pamela Wonso)

General Lucius Morton - Franco Graziosi

J.M. Hoffman - Renato Romano (Raffaele Romano)

Hester McDonald Morton - Ira Fürstenberg (Virginia von Fyrstenberg)

Reverend Williams - Adolfo Lastretti

Senator - Antonio Faa Di Bruno (Antonino Faà di Bruno)

Mrs. Porter - Francesca Benedetti

Rosita McDonald - Cristina Airoldi (Conchita Airoldi)

Bull Logan - Romano Puppo

Bess - Franca Sciutto

Barrett - Enrico Casadei

James - Lorenzo Fineschi

Corey - Mario Carra

Moss - Luciano Rossi (Luciano Romano)

Von Mittler - Tom Felleghy (Tamás Fellegi)

Colonel Mitchell McDonald - Renzo Moneta

Mrs. McDonald - Margherita Trentini (Margherita Horowitz)

Saloon barman - Franz Colangeli

Brother bartender – Giorgio Dolfin

Saloon artist - Pasquale Nigro

Man watching artist - Vizio Nitili

Man with Susie – Fulvio Grimaldi

Saloon patron - Mirko Bajocchi

Morton henchman - Mario Ingrassia

Hitman – Omero Capanna

Man in bedroom – Gennarino Pappagalli (Primo Gennaro)

With: Paolo Pieri, Freddy Unger (Goffredo Unger)



Who Are Those Guys? ~ James Daly

 

James Firman Daly was born in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin on October 25, 1918. Daly studied drama and acted in shows before serving in three branches of the armed forces, including six months as an infantryman in the U.S. Army, two months as a cadet in the Army Air Corps, and more than four years in the Navy as an ensign during World War II.

Daly attended the University of Wisconsin, State University of Iowa, and Carroll College before receiving a degree from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Cornell College later presented him with an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree.

James was an accomplished stage actor, starting out in 1946 as Gary Merrill's understudy in “Born Yesterday”. His starring roles on Broadway included Archibald MacLeish's Pulitzer Prize- winning “J.B.” and Tennessee Williams' “Period of Adjustment”.

A hard-working actor intent on diversifying into different media, Daly clearly understood the potential of live television drama. He made his small screen debut in the late 1940s and soon starred in early Playhouse productions. Within a few years he featured in his own weekly syndicated series, ‘Foreign Intrigue’ (1951), about a family of foreign correspondents in Europe. This was one of the first TV shows to be shot on location and it necessitated his and his family's temporary relocation to Paris and Stockholm. Throughout the next twenty years, Daly remained much in demand as a reliable leading television actor with 'gravitas', often playing tragic or despairing figures. He was commanding as the titular star of ‘Give Us Barabbas!’ (1961). Four years later, he picked up an Emmy for his role in the Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951) episode ‘The Eagle and the Cage’. There were countless other guest starring roles and even a few choice movie parts, such as “Planet of the Apes” (1968). Daly enjoyed another recurring role in the long-running (170 episodes) ‘Medical Center’ (1969) as resident 'elder statesman' to young surgeon Chad Everett. He had just completed filming on an episode of "Roots: The Next Generations" and was scheduled to appear in the play "Equus" at the historic Westchester Theatre, Tarrytown Music Hall, when he died of a heart attack at the age of 59.

Daly was married to Hope Newell (Mary Hope Newell) [1921-2009] (1942-1966) and was the father of Pegeen Michael Daly [1943- ], writer, actress, singer Tyne Daly (Ellen Tyne Daly) [1946- ], Glyn Daly [1947- ], producer, director, writer, actor Tim Daly (James Timothy Daly) [1956- ], and grandfather of production assistant Alisabeth Brown (Alisabeth Douglas Brown) [1967- ], actress Kathryne Dora Brown [1971- ], producer, writer, actor Sam Daly [1984- ], actress Emelyn Daly [1989- ].

His only Euro-western role was as Captain Augustus in 1969’s “The 5-Man Army” starring Peter Graves, Bud Spencer, Nino Castelnuovo and Tetsuro Tamba.

DALY, James (James Firman Daly) [10/25/1918, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, U.S.A. – 7/3/1978, Nyack, New York, U.S.A. (heart attack)] – theater, film, TV actor, singer, married to Hope Newell (Mary Hope Newell) [1921-2009] (1942-1966) father of Pegeen Michael Daly [1943-    ], writer, actress, singer Tyne Daly (Ellen Tyne Daly) [1946-    ], Glyn Daly [1947-    ], producer, director, writer, actor Tim Daly (James Timothy Daly) [1956-    ], grandfather of production assistant Alisabeth Brown (Alisabeth Douglas Brown) [1967-    ], actress Kathryne Dora Brown [1971-    ], producer, writer, actor Sam Daly [1984-    ], actress Emelyn Daly [1989-    ].

The 5-Man Army – 1969 (Captain Augustus)

Special Birthdays

 Alain Tissier (actor) would have been 80 today but died in 2001.



Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Florentino Alonso

 [These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be gven and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]

Florentino was a Spanish child actor whose career spanned 10 years from his first film in 1968 until his 12th film and television appearance in 1978. No other information on him can be found.

ALONSO, Florentino [Spanish] – child film, TV actor.

Arizona Returns – 1970 (boy)

What Am I Doing in the Middle of the Revolution? – 1971 (young soldier)

New U.S.A. Blu-ray “Seven from Texas”

 









Seven from Texas

(1964)

 

Director:  Joaquin Romero Merchant

Starring: Paul Piaget, Robert Hundar, Gloria Milland, Fernando Sancho

 

Country: U.S.A.

Label: First Line Films/MVD

Discs: 2

Region: 0

Format: NTSC, Anamorphic, Widescreen

Languages: Dolby Digital 2.0 English

Subtitles: English, Spanish, Italian, German

Bonus DVD “$100,000 for Lassiter” (Dollars for a Fast Gun) (1966)

Extras: 12-page booklet by Mike Hauss, 8 Page booklet by Tom Betts, 2 mini poster cards

ASIN: B08PJPWK3R

Available March 28, 2023

An engaging spaghetti western, mastered in 2K, tells the story of seven dangerous men hired to escort a sick woman and her husband across treacherous territory. Each of the mixed bag of seven has lives altered by circumstance and their own unique motives in helping the pair. They meet hostile Indians and then must brave through the expansive, barren desert in a seemingly doomed trek to civilization, overcoming death in more ways than one. This gritty masterpiece of ill-fated hope, the power of love and the burning desire for revenge, is considered as one of Spanish director J. R. Merchant's most impressive westerns.

Voices of the Spaghetti Western “Four Bullets for Joe”

 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 be 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 “Four Bullets for Joe”

[(I) Italian, (S) Spanish, (G) German, (F) French, (E) English]

Frank Dalton – Paul Piaget (S) José Martínez Blanco

Sheriff Paul – Fernando Casanova (S) Claudio Rodríguez

Katy - Liz Poitel (S) Lola Cervantes

Margaret - Barbara Nelli (S) Ángela González

Judge - Rafael Bardem (S) Eduardo Calvo










Eduardo Calvo  (1918 – 1992)

Eduardo Calvo Muñoz was born in Lozoyuela, Madrid, Spain on March 26, 1918. The son of actor Rafael Calvo (Rafael Calvo Ruiz de Morales) [1911-1966] and the nephew of actor Ricardo Calvo (Ricardo Calvo Agosti) [1875-1966]. He is the brother of actor Rafael Luis Calvo (Rafael Luis Calvo Muñoz) [1911-1988].

Eduardo and his older brother Rafael Luis Calvo were children of the famous film actor Rafael Calvo, and in the 1940s they decided to follow in his footsteps by playing small roles in the movies and dubbing foreign films.  Rafael Luis settled in Barcelona while Eduardo stayed in Madrid. Eduardo He began his career on stage in 1937 and ten years later, he made his screen debut in "El Verdugo", but his career in cinema didn't take off until the 1970s. He is known for his work on “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” (1988), “The Heifer” (1985) and “Travelling Companion” (1979).

Unlike his brother, Eduardo combined his work in front of and behind the cameras until the end of his career, which brought a characteristic rough voice and a veteran presence.  He became a habitual dubber of cinematographic minorities like John Carradine and Walter Brennan and also dubbed himself in international co-productions.  In the cinema he worked under the direction of directors like Carlos Saura, Jaime de Armiñán, Juan Antonio Bardem, Luis Berlanga, Pilar Miró, Pedro Almodóvar, Jesus Franco and Francisco Rodríguez.  He acted in the TVE series ‘El picaro’ giving life to the character of Monipodio.  In 1983 he dubbed Alfred Hitchcock in the television series ‘Alfred Hitchcock Presents.’

All sources say erroneously that he died August 13th but it was actually July 25,1992.


Special Birthdays

 Ladislas Fodor (screenwriter) would have been 125 today but died in 1978.








Giusva Fioravanti (actor) is 65 today.



Monday, March 27, 2023

RIP Gianni Minà

 


Italian journalist, documentary film director Gianni Minà died in Rome from a heart attack on March 27, 2023. He was 84. Born in Turin on May 17, 1938, Mina was one of Italy’s most respected journalists who began his career in 1959 at the sports newspaper Tuttosport, where he was also director between 1996 and 1998. In 1960 Minà made his debut at Rai as a sports reporter for the Olympic Games in Rome. Five years later was his baptism in the renowned sports program Sprint, directed by Maurizio Barendson. At that time, his reports began to be very recognized. The same goes for his documentaries and feature films that marked an era on Italian TV at the time. Gianni wrote and directed “Il ritorno di Zapata” in 1994 and “Once Upon a Time There was Cinema: Sergio Leone and His Films” in 2014.

Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Ángel Alonso

 [These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be gven and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]

Ángel Alonso was a Spanish film actor, production assistant and production manager. He worked behind the scenes on two films and appeared in front of the camera as Lieutenant Davis in 1964’s “Gli eroi di Fort Worth” (Charge of the 7th Cavalry). Other than that, I can find no other information on him. Having such a common Spanish name doesn’t help the situation as there are several men with the same name that were active in the Spanish and Mexican film industry during this time period.

ALONSO, Ángel [Spanish] – production manager, film actor.

Charge of the 7th Cavalry – 1964 (Lieutenant Davis)

Kill Django… Kill First – 1971 [production manager]

New German/Spanish Western short “McBains Revenge”

 







McBains Revenge – English title

 

A 2022 German short film production [D.E.D. Independent Film ( ), Sweetwater Production Tabernas (Tabernas)]

Producer: Dirk Roche, John Hutchins, Janine Hutchins, Martina Mazanti

Director: Dirk Roche, John Hutchins

Story: Dirk Roche, John Hutchins

Screenplay: Dirk Roche, John Hutchins

Cinematography: Roberto Gardenzio, Martina Mazanti [color]

Music: Chris Keller, Marc Beasley, Alex Dew, Felipe Adorno Vassao, DireBeats,

     William Philipson, Marco Corvatta, Ron Bohn, Matthew Creid, Jari Peltola

Running time: 30 minutes

 

Cast:

Scorpio - Dirk Roche (Derk Roche)

Kathy McBain - Janine Hutchins

Jim McBain - John Hutchins

Sheriff Smithy – David Hubbard

 

Jim McBain and his wife live on a run down farm where nothing ever grows.  One day lo and behold a small shoot appears, but so does an injured man and things are about to change.

 

You Tube entire film link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix2Y8bI0_hM

European Comic Books – Albo Serie Classico West

 





Albo Series Classic West

This comic book series of at least 3 similar issues the publisher/distributor put on the market in the mid-1960s, without numbers or dates, declaring them non-periodicals similar to other editions and distributed under the DNP brand which reproduce some titles from the ALBI 2000 series (Fumetti Publishing, 1958). Images were drawn by Nestore Corti.

The comic book series was published in1962 with issue #1 being released in January and ended with #3 in March of that year. It was published by DNP in Milan, Italy under the direction of Gianmarcp Ordis. Each issue contained 96 black and white pages with color covers.

Titles

01 (00.00.62) - "Gli eroi del West", "L'assalto alla diligenza" ("The Heroes of the West", "The Assault on the Stagecoach"

02 (00.00.62) - "La morte nella prateria", "Agguato alle rocce rosse!" ("Death on the Prairie", "Ambush the Red Rocks!")

03 (00.00.62) - "S.O.S. Polizia", "Il covo dei banditi" ("S.O.S. Police", "The Den of Bandits")

Sunday, March 26, 2023

Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Franco Aloisi

[These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be given and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]

Franco Aloisi was born in Genoa, Liguria, Italy on November 16, 1943. Today he is best known as one of Italy's most important artists of paintings and serigraphs. When he was very young, he asserted himself as an author of comic strips, which were printed in Italian, European and South American periodicals. Starting in the early 1950s, Aloisi contributed to magazines like Lo Scolaro, Calandrino and La Domenica del Corriere. Through Bottaro's studios, the Milanese artist created several characters for the publishing house Alpe, including 'Pietro e Genio', the monkeys 'Trik e Trak', the gorilla 'Napoleon', 'Re Pistacchio', 'Nicolino & Carmelino' and 'L'Incredible Ernesto'. Aloisi eventually abandoned comics to work in theatre, films and the television field.

Franco appeared in only one Euro-western as Fred in 1968’s “Uno di più all'inferno” aka (Full House for the Devil and One More to Hell) with George Hilton and Paolo Gozlino.

ALOISI, Franco [11/16/1943, Genoa, Liguria, Italy -     ] – cartoonist, film, TV actor.

Full House for the Devil – 1968 (Fred)

We continue our search for locations for “Bad Man’s River”

 Once on board the riverboat they are met by a Mr. Montero who has hired King and his men to blow up a mission on the Texas / Mexico border where the Mexican army has an arsenal of weapons. King keeps looking at the back of a woman playing the piano across the room from their discussion. He seems to recognize her for some reason. When she’s finished playing, she turns around and it’s Alicia.

The steamboat footage is stock footage while the interiors were filmed on a soundstage in Madrid.


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/


Special Birthdays

 Domenico Scala (cinematographer) would have been 120 today but died in 1989.

Eduardo Calvo (actor) would have been 105 today but died in 1992.









Renzo Marignano (actor) would have been 100 today but died in 1987.









Tinto Brass (director, screenwriter) is 90 today.









Ignazio Dolce (actor) is 90 today.



Saturday, March 25, 2023

Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Cristino Almodovar

 [These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be given and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]

Cristino Almodovar is a Spanish film, television and voice actor. He has no direct relationship to producer, director Pedro Almodovar. Cristino appeared in 20 films and TV series beginning in 1972 and ending in 1983. After that he disappears, and I can find no other information regarding him. Almodovar appeared in only one Euro-western as Deputy John in 1974’s “If You Shoot… You Live!” starring James Philbrook.

ALMODOVAR, Cristino (Cristino Almodóvar) [Spanish] – film, TV, voice actor.

If You Shoot... You Live! – 1974 (Deputy John)

Who Are Those Singers & Musicians? ~ La Famiglia dello zio Charlie

 

La Famiglia dello zio Charlie. (Uncle Charlie’s Family) were a 1970’s singing group much like the American groups The Cowsills and the Partridge Family. Among the members of the singing group were guitarist Marco Bellucci born in Rome on September 17, 1964 and Claudio Natali. According to a post on You Tube Bellucci has died but I can find no reference other than that to confirm his passing. Who the other members of the group were I don’t know.

Thanks to Michael Ferguson who was able to turn up information on the names of the family but no real biographical information on any of them except Marco (see below). 

LA FAMIGLIA DELLO ZIO CHARLIE (Enrico Beccucci -singer, Mirella Beccucci, - singer Clementine Beccucci - singer, Tizana Beccucci - singer, Marco Beccucci [9/17/1964, Italy -    ] singer, musician (guitar) ) [Italian] – singing group.

White Fang and the Kid – 1977 [Sings: “Evviva Zanna Bianca”]

Special Birthdays

 Mario Brega (actor) would have been 100 today but died in 1994.








Romano Puppo (stuntman, actor) would have been 90 today but died in 1994.



Friday, March 24, 2023

Spaghetti Western Trivia: Raquel Welch, Jim Brown and Burt Reynolds

 

Raquel Welch was well known for many reasons and one of them is making film history with African American actor Jim Brown. The duo starred in the 1969 Western 100 Rifles and made history for the first-ever interracial love scenes in a film. Burt Reynolds was also in the film.

According to Landrum C, Brown asked for a towel to be placed between his body and Welch's during romantic scenes but never said why. It's believed he wanted to lessen the impact of his being in such an intimate scene with a white woman. Brown did not socialize with Welch because he did not want anyone to get the assumption that he was "coming on" to his co-star. Reynolds said that he had to referee fights between Raquel and Jim and that Welch also was at odds with him.

Reynolds also said that Welch required that she was never in the same scene with him but that she was professional and always showed up on time. Welch admitted in later years that she was afraid Reynolds would steal scenes from her because he was so charismatic. The film did not obtain great reviews and was considered a Spaghetti Western which most times were cheap B-grade films made in the 1960s-1970s in countries like Spain with characters whose names are Django or Sartana and are antiheroes.

In later years 100 Rifles has developed a cult following and the film is being thought about differently today than when it was made. Raquel Welch and Jim Brown set the stage for other film characters to have romantic scenes with co-stars of a different race. Even though they clashed during the filming of the movie Brown says they later dated.


RIP Marion Game

 


French theater, film, TV and voice actress Marion Game died in Paris on March 23, 2023. She was 84. Born in Casablanca on July 31, 1938, she was known for her TV role of Huguette in the series ‘Scènes de Ménage’. She had begun her career in the theater in the 1960s, where she had quickly established herself as a talented actress. Over the years, she explored different facets of the artistic world, moving into television and film with success. Throughout her career, she has worked with great directors and actors, and has thus marked the history of French entertainment. Game was known to Euro-western fans as a voice actress and was heard in two Lucky Luke films and TV series: “Lucky Luke and the Escape from Grumble Gulch” 1983 [various voices] and ‘Lucky Luke’ (TV) 1983-1984 [French voice of Arabella Films, Madam Van Buren].

RIP Maria Silva

 


It was announced by friend of Spanish actress Maria Silva passed away on March 17, 2023, in Madrid, Spain. No official obituary has been posted but there has been references to her passing on Facebook.

Born on August 16,1941, Palencia, Palencia, Castilla y León, Spain, Silva began her career in 1959 with “Una gran señora” (April in Portugal) playing the role of a model. Her career continued on for 74 more films and television appearances finishing in the 1991-1992 TV series ‘Taller mecánico’ in the role of Consuelo. Born María Jesús Marín Rodríguez on August 16, 1941 in Palencia, Palencia, Castilla y León, Spain she was married to director, writer, cinematographer José Grañena [1933- ].

Silva appeared in ten Spaghetti westerns: “Shadow of Zorro” 1962 (Irene); “The Terrible Sheriff” 1962 (Clementine); “Zorro the Avenger” 1962 (Irene) [as Mary Silvers]; “Shoot to Kill” 1963 (Mary Thompson); “Cavalry Charge”1964 (Valerie Jackson) [as Mary Silvers]; “Kill the Wicked!” 1967 (Shelley); “I Do Not Forgive... I Kill!” 1968 (Isabel Alvarez) [as Mary Silva]; “Santana Kills Them All” 1970 (María Anderson); “The Black Wolf” 1980 (Marquesa); “Revenge of the Black Wolf” 1981 (Marquesa).

Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ José Hita Almeria

 [These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be given and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]

 

José Hita Almería was born José Manuel Hita Segura in Almeria, Spain on November 24, 1961 where he graduated from the University of Almeria. He’s a student and teacher of Ninjutsu martial arts. Taking his stage name from his hometown, he’s appeared usually in small supporting roles and as an extra in nine recent Spaghetti westerns filmed in Spain and works as a stuntman at Texas Hollywood/Fort Bravo. He’s married to M. Tiande and is the father of a daughter named Stephanie.

ALMERIA, José Hita (aka José Hita) (José Manuel Hita Segura) [11/24/196, Almeria, Andalusia, Spain -     ] – film actor, married to M Tiande (198?-    ) father of Stephanie Hita [1989-    ].

Doctor Who: A Town Called Mercy (TV) – 2012 (townsman)

El Tenedor – 2013-2014 [as José Hita]

…and then the Vultures had a Feast – 2014 (alcalde) [as José Hita]

Hoodlums – 2016 [as José Hita]

Botas de Sangre – 2017 (Garcia)

Execution – 2018

A Bastard, a City and the Dead – 2019 (Jimmy Boy) [as José Hita]

Dead Men Don’t Die! – 2019

Recompensa – 2022

Special Birthdays

 Gaston Roudes (director) would have been 145 today but died in 1958.

Gerd Martienzen would have been 105 today but died in 1988.









Claudio Mancini (production manager) is 95 today.