Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Vivian Allen

 [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.]

Vivian Allen appears to be an American theater, film and TV actress who has only two credits at the IMDb. The first is for a 1950-1952 TV series called ‘The Show Goes On’ and her only film 1970’s ‘Doc’ as a whore. This is where the possible connection to Penelope Allen may come into play. As I posted yesterday Penelope Allen played Mattie Earp in ‘Doc’. Vivian also acted in the theater where I can find three plays she appeared in beginning with her participation in 1941’s “Crazy With the Heat” followed by “Stars on Ice” in 1942 and then “Oklahoma” 1943 as a replacement actress for the roles Ado Annie and Gertie Cummings. Since both actresses were theater actresses and appeared in the same film it’s a good bet they are or were related.

ALLEN, Vivian – film actress.

‘Doc’ – 1970 (whore)

New German Blu-ray release “Django - Sein Gesangbuch war der Colt”









 “Django - Sein Gesangbuch war der Colt”

(The Brute and the Beast)

(1966)

Director: Lucio Fulci

Starring: Franco Nero, George Hilton, Nino Castelnuovo

 

Country: Germany

Label: Explosive Media

Aspect ratio: 16:9 - 2.35:1

Languages: German, English

Running time: 92 minutes

ASIN: ‎B0BMSXSPRQ

Available: March 23, 2023

Voices of the Spaghetti Western ~ “The Last Gun”

 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 “The Last Gun”

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

Bill/Jim Hart – Cameron Mitchell (I) Riccardo Cucciolla, (G) Gert Günther Hoffmann

Guitar - Carl Möhner (I) Silvano Tranquilli, (G) Rainer Brandt

Jane - Ketty Carver (I) Mirella Pace, (G) ?

Jess – Capobanda – Livio Lorenzon (I) Alessandro Sperli, (G) Werner Lieven








Alessandro Sperli  (1925 – 1990 )

Alessandro Sperli was born in Borzoli, Genoa, Italy on February 23, 1925. He was an Italian actor and voice actor, sometimes credited as Sandro Sperlì or Nick Sperlì. He graduated from the National Academy of Dramatic Art in 1951 and appeared in numerous television dramas in the 1960s and 1970s. He appeared in such films as “Giants of Rome” (1964), “The Possessed” (1972) and “The Valachi Papers” (1972). In addition to this activity, he combined cinema, theater and dubbing. He voiced Burt Young in the two chapters of the Rocky saga (in the second and third films) with Sylvester Stallone and many other actors including Christopher Lee, Robert Loggia, Charles Durning, Ernest Borgnine. His daughter Valentina, born in 1960, is an actress and worked as a voice actress in the 1980s. He died in Rome on November 2, 1990.


Special Birthdays

 Antonio Pica (actor) would have been 90 today but died in 2014.



Monday, March 20, 2023

First Day of Spring 2023

 


Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Penelope Allen

 [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.]

Penelope Allen, also known as Penny Allen was born on January 29, 1941 and is an American stage, film and television actress. Although primarily a theater actress, she is best known as the head bank teller being held hostage in the film “Dog Day Afternoon” (1975). She also played Annie, the wife of Francis Lionel "Lion" Delbuchi in the film “Scarecrow”. Speaghetti western fans will remember her for her portrayal of Mattie Earp in 1970’s “Doc” with Stacy Keach.

Allen is married to actor, acting coach Charles S. Laughton and they live in Santa Monica, California.

ALLEN, Penelope (aka Penny Allen) [1/29/1941, U.S.A. -     ] – theater, film, TV, voice actress, married to actor Charlie Laughton (Charles S. Laughton) [1929-    ].

‘Doc’ – 1970 (Mattie Earp)

RIP Ann Green de Toth

 


Ann Green de Toth, a screenwriter and film industry veteran who worked alongside her husband producer André de Toth on several projects, died on March 3 in Toluca Lake, California. She was 82. She was a member of the Writers Guild of Great Britain and the WGA West. She also worked as an executive secretary at Warner Bros. for studio chief Bob Daly. Born in London on June 16, 1940, de Toth attended a convent school for 10 years before she pursued secretarial training and held several secretarial roles. She then worked at the Berlitz Schools of Language, where she organized special courses and recruited English teachers for European schools. She spoke seven languages. Green worked as a production assistant on 1969’s Eiro-western “El Condor” starring Lee Van Cleef and Jim Brown.

Two New Italian CD releases “I tre spietati”, “Requiescant”, “O Cangaciero”, “The Mercenary”

 








“I tre spietati”, “Requiescant”, “O Cangaciero”

(Gunfight at High Noon, Kill and Pray, Viva Cangaceiro)

(1964 1967, 1969)

Composer: Riz Ortlani

 

Directors: Joaquín Luis Romero Marchent, Carlo Lizzani, Giovanni Fago

Starring: Richard Harrison, Fernando Sancho / Lou Castel, Mark Damon / Tomas Milian

 

Country: Italy

Label: BEAT

# CDCR148

Tracks: 35

Listening time: 54:37

 

Track listing

01. I tre spietati –Seq.1 2:26

02. I tre spietati –Seq.2 1:00

03. I tre spietati –Seq.3 2:03

04. I tre spietati –Seq.4 1:40

05. I tre spietati –Seq.5 1:29

06. I tre spietati –Seq.6 2:13

07. I tre spietati –Seq.7 2:22

08. I tre spietati –Seq.8 1:21

09. I tre spietati –Seq.9 1:13

10. I tre spietati –Seq.10 1:04

11. I tre spietati –Seq.11 2:01

12. I tre spietati –Seq.12 4:25

13. Requiescant - Seq. 1 1:36

14. Requiescant - Seq. 2 1:29

15. Requiescant - Seq. 3 1:07

16. Requiescant - Seq. 4 2:29

17. Requiescant - Seq. 5 1:39

18. Requiescant - Seq. 6 1:43

19. Requiescant - Seq. 7 2:25

20. Requiescant - Seq. 8 1:19

21. Requiescant - Seq. 9 1:55

22. Requiescant - Seq. 10 3:25

23. Requiescant - Seq. 11 2:44

24. Requiescant - Seq. 12 2:16

25. Requiescant - Seq. 13 1:02

26. Requiescant - Seq. 14 2:33

27. Requiescant - Seq. 15 1:59

28. Requiescant - Seq. 16 1:34

29. Requiescant - Seq. 17 1:05

30. Requiescant - Seq. 18 2:02

31. Requiescant - Seq. 19 1:33

32. Requiescant - Seq. 20 1:30

33. Requiescant - Seq. 21 1:09

34. Mulhe rendera 1:56

35. Vou caminhando 3:10

BEAT is releasing REQUIESCANT and O’CANGACEIRO on one CD, with tracks included from the score to I TRE SPIETATI these are three westerns by Maestro Riz Ortolani, the latter has never been released before, with the former two already being released. Ortolani was the odd man out when it came to Spaghetti western scores, he often opted to go for a more romantic or melodic approach as opposed to the raw and savage sound as achieved by other composers within the genre.









Il Mercenario

(The Mercenary)

(1968)

Composer: Ennio Morricone

 

Director: Sergio Corbucci

Starring: Franco Nero, Tomas Milian, Giovanna Ralli, Jack Palance

 

Country: Italy

Label: Beat

#BCM9610

Tracks: 16

Listening time: 38:14

Available: March 20, 2023

 

Track List

01. BAMBA VIVACE (titoli di testa) 2:13

02. ESTASI 2:01

03. IL MERCENARIO (sueno mejicano) 2:28

04. FIESTA (mariachi) 0:55

05. IL MERCENARIO (ripresa) 2:06

06. CANTO A MIA TIERRA 3:12

07. IL MERCENARIO 1:33

08. LIBERTA' 4:13

09. IL MERCENARIO (sueno mejicano 2) 1:46

10. FIESTA (valzer) 1:44

11. NOTTE DI NOZZE 1:19

12. IL MERCENARIO (ripresa terza) 2:09

13. IL MERCENARIO (suspense) 2:15

14. PACO 2:29

15. RICCIOLO 2:25

16. IL MERCENARIO (l'arena) 4:44

 

BEAT records in Italy are re-issuing THE MERCEANRY or A PROFESSIONAL GUN, which is a classic spaghetti western score from Ennio Morricone and Bruno Nicolai, probably one of the best non-Leone westerns the movie belonging to the Zapata western sub-genre of the Italian western. Directed by Sergio Corbucci, it stars Franco Nero Tony Musante, Giovanna Ralli, and Jack Palance. One of the handful of politically slanted westerns within the genre it is a polished and entertaining piece of cinema, the score being rousing and up-beat with a flawless performance from whistler Alessandro Alessandroni and exhilarating choral performances from his I Cantori Moderni who are both uncredited on the soundtrack release which is criminal. No extra cues are available, this edition being the same track line up as the original LP records, and all of the subsequent re-issues on CD and digital platforms.


European Comic Books – Albi Raid

 






Albi Raid

This comic book series contains the adventures of different themes (western, war, fantasy) written, drawn and published by Pini Segna. In each issue a complete episode. In the appendix to #6/8 reissue of The Little Wolves. Announced, but never published, the #9 The Man of the Past, which is then published in Kansas-Jack of the Series Albo K2 (1954). #5 and #6 have the same title and the same cover.

The series was published in 1952 with issue #1 released on April 11, 1952 and ending with issue #8 on December 31, 1952. It was published in Milan, Italy by Pin Segna Publishing under the direction of Pini Segna. Each issue contained 16 black and white pages with color covers.

Titles

01 (04.11.52) - “La mia vita per la legge” (My Life for the Law)

02 (11.11.52) - “Gladius il re degli schiavi” (Gladius the King of the Slaves)

03 (18.11.52) - “Gli uomini squalo” (The Shark Men)

04 (25.11.52) - “Grise Ors l’indomabile del Kansas” (Grise Ors the Indomitable of Kansas)

05 (02.12.52) - “Il ritorno dei piccoli lupi” (The Return of the Little Wolves)

06 (09.12.52) - “Il ritorno dei piccoli lupi” (The Return of the Little Wolves)

07 (24.12.52) - “I due ribelli” (The Two Rebels)

08 (31.12.52) - “Il superstite della legione” (The Survivor of the Legion)

Special Birthdays

 Manuel Bermudez (actor) would have been 110 today but died in 1978.







Ilse Petri (actress) would have been 105 today but died in 2018.







Walter Marsh (actor) would have been 100 today but died in 2005.







Anthony Blond (actor) would have been 95 today but died in 2008.



Sunday, March 19, 2023

RIP Uwe Jellinek

 


German actor and voice dubber Uwe Jellinek died on March 17, 2023, in Germany he was 69. Born in East Berlin on December 25, 1953, Jellinek began his film career in East Germany beginning in 1980 and made 36 films and TV appearances until 2018. He was most well known as a film dubber and voice actor who was known for the ‘Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog’ television series. As well as that, he was the German voice actor for Baraqiel from ‘HighSchool DxD Born’ and Tom Dupain from ‘Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir.’ His lone Euro-western was as Private Harper in 1982’s “The Scout” starring Gojko Mitic. He was also the German voice of Randy Roybal in one episode of Terence Hill’s 1991 TV series ‘Lucky Luke’ as Barbiere and was most recently heard in the new 2023 ‘Django’ TV series as the German voice of Adam Astill in the role of Bobby McGee.

Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Audrey Allen

 [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.]

I can only find bits and pieces on the life of Audrey Allen. She was living in Van Nuys, California when she was named Miss Van Nuys 1956 so that makes her most likely born sometime in the mid-1930s. She appeared in five films starting as a raider in 1955’s “Son of Sinbad” starring Dale Robertson. Her film career ended in 1974 with her only appearance in a Euro-western as Kate Foreman in “Valley of the Dancing Widows”. IMDb says she was a dance teacher, but I can find no other information on her.

ALLEN, Audrey – Miss Van Nuys, California [1956], dancer, film, TV actress.

Valley of the Dancing Widows – 1974 (Kate Foreman)

Who Are Those Singers & Musicians ~ Lola Falana

 

Loletha Elayne Falana was born on September 11, 1942, in Camden, New Jersey. Her father was from Cuba and often sang to Lola in Spanish. Falana left home as a teenager to seek her fortune in entertainment. She often slept in subway stations before finding work. She studied African dance, and her big break came when she appeared opposite Sammy Davis Jr. in "Golden Boy" on Broadway in 1964. She then toured Italy and won fame there in two Italian movies, including her only Euro-western “Black Tigress” (1967). She toured with the Tavares Brothers in the 1970s and married Feliciano "Butch" Tavares in 1971 but they were later divorced in 1979. In 1979 she became the highest-paid entertainer in Las Vegas, thus earning her the title "First Lady of Las Vegas". Lola was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis; after a brief period of (1987) remission, her MS returned in 1996. She has recovered sufficiently from her recurrence of multiple sclerosis and was living in her parents' home in Philadelphia; she now makes her own home in her beloved Las Vegas.

FALANA, Lola (Loletha Elayne Falana) [9/11/1942, Camden, New Jersey U.S.A. -     ] – model, singer, dancer, theater, film, TV actress, married to singer Feliciano Vierra Tavares Jr. [1948-    ] (1971-1975).

Black Tigress – 1967 [sings: “Why Did You Go?”, “You’re the One I Love”, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”]

Special Birthdays

 Cecil M. Hepworth (producer, director, writer, actor would have been 150 today but died in 1953.









Paul Manson (actor) would have been 150 today but died in 1920.

Anna Maria Custodio (actress) would have been 115 today but died in 1976.









Jose Villasante (actor) would have been 110 today but died in 1990.









Giuseppe Rotunno (cinematographer) would have been 100 today but died in 2021.







Patrick McGoohan (actor) would have been 95 today but died in 2009.









Vito Brushini (writer) is 80 today.



Saturday, March 18, 2023

Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Andrea Allen

 [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.]

 

Andrea Allen was born Andrea Allan on I November 18, 1946 in Glasgow, Scotland. She appeared in many British films of the 1960s and '70s. She started her career as a model and appeared in magazine spreads for both Playboy and Penthouse.

In the mid-1970s she changed her name to Ellie Reece-Knight and appeared in a few more films and an episode of ‘The Benny Hill Show’ before apparently retiring from acting on screen.

ALLEN, Andrea (aka Ellie Reece Knight, Ellie Reece-Knight) (Andrea Allan) [11/18/1946, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K. -     ] – model, film, TV actress.

Carry on Cowboy – 1965 (Minnie)

Terence Hill returns to the Western: "Take off Don Matteo's clothes, call me back Trinity"

 


Chronist

by Silvio Prudentino

March 17, 2023

Hill announced it himself in a long interview with the Corriere: Terence Hill is about to return to being "Trinity" again in another western film. A genre that "I didn't want to shoot anymore, I thought it was useless". What convinced him was "a book with the true story of an Italian nun who emigrated at the end of the 1800’s to America from the Ligurian hinterland with her peasant and very poor family".

Beyond the touching story of this woman who alone and "from Cincinnati" has decided "to go to the West", he is asked about the role of Trinity in this true story that will inspire the film. "You see Trinity on her famous "litter" and then she, the nun, surrounded by three menacing cowboys. He realizes that she is in danger and saves her from those three."

This is the story, from which the new film "entitled “Trinity, the Nun and the Gun” is born. Where the gun is Billy the Kid because she really met Billy the Kid in her life." It is not a hoax, Mario Girotti told it in person at the "tender" age of 84, with a great desire to do iy. To the point that "we have already been working on the script for 18 months, among various difficulties as is normal".

Filming will begin in the beloved Abruzzo this summer. "I will also direct the spaghetti western of Trinity that is intertwined with real characters from the West like Billy the Kid. The nun in the film is called Blandina, the real name was Rosa Maria Segale".

Terence Hill, from Western to Western: From the beginning and to the end of his career in the same way, "they hired me to take over when the actor who was to play the cat was injured".

It therefore becomes impossible not to enter into the merits of his films that have opened the doors of success. Before 1967, before he became Terence Hill, Mario Girotti had already taken part in many films. However, when he was in Yugoslavia with the crew of a "German film about the Nibelungen", he approached "a Roman Mario Brega" who said: "You don't know what's happening in Rome, they're shooting a western full of actors, they're all crazy".

He realized that he might risk losing "the western bus" and decided to come to Rome. He met Giuseppe Colizzi who hired him for the film "The Dog, the Cat and the Fox", which later became "God Forgives... I Don't!" He came to replace the interpreter of Cat (Peter Martell) who "had quarreled with his girlfriend and had broken his foot". A story that we know well, but every time the actor fills it in with more details. They looked at him and the producer suggested, "And take him! Don't you see it? He has blue eyes, you put a hat on his head and he's like Franco Nero!"

The anecdote about "Sergio Leone, Roman, disenchanted who cried like a child"

"I am reminded of the days I spent with Sergio Leone, a friend I miss so much. We were shooting “My Name is Nobody”, and we watched in slow motion the scene of the wild bunch of cowboys coming together at full speed. That's when he took me by the hand and we went to a dark area of the set, where I could barely see his face. He broke the silence and said to me with a very serious face on which I noticed that tears were falling: "This is the western". Seeing that Roman Leone, brusque, disenchanted, who could be moved by the impulse of freedom of the cowboys, of the hero of the West, a character greater than life itself, made me understand that there was something supernatural, mystical precisely in that vision of the world. Which from that moment also became mine".

Terence Hill


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

 After six months in the insane asylum King escapes and gets the gang together again in a town that they’ve already robbed the bank in twice before. They are all broke but the sheriff recognizes them and calls in a group of gunmen who he agrees to split the reward on the gang. The Bomba gang meet in an upstairs room at the saloon. King spots the gunfighters taking positions outside around the saloon and downstairs hiding behind tables. A firefight starts and the gunmen and sheriff are all killed. King and his men then board a riverboat and sail away.

This scene was filmed in Colemenar Viejo, Spain.


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

 Riccardo Pallottini (cinematographer) would have been 115 today but died in 1982.



Friday, March 17, 2023

Spaghetti Western Trivia – Levi jeans goes Spaghetti western

 Back in the day many companies would team up with a film distribution company to defray costs of advertising and benefit both the advertiser of the product the film it was associated with. A prime example is of this ad for Levi jeans and “Hannie Caulder”.



St. Patrick's Day 2023

 


Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Joseph Allegro

 [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.]

 

Joseph ‘Joe’ Allegro remains an enigma as I can find little to nothing about him. Joe as he was called sang with several orchestra's including Morty Craft and his own band ‘Joe Allegro and His Rockers’. He recorded under such labels as Teller House, RCA Victor, and Ronnex Records, Mohawk, Cham, End, Wizz, Laurie and Libert from the early 1950s to the mid-1960s and a single recording in 1976. He was a co-founder of Amalgam Films and still active as a producer in 2005 with co-producer credits for the documentary “Billy the Kid: The True Story”.

We think there's another Joe Allegro who is a guitarist and was in ducted into the Delaware Music Hall of Fame in 2018.

ALLEGRO, Joseph (aka Joe Allegro) [19??, New Jersey, U.S.A. -     ] – producer, cameraman, singer, actor, member of “Joe Allegro and the Rockers", co-founded Amalgam Films.

The Great Adventure – 1974

 

“The Bad, the Cold, and the Cantankerous”

 

O Κακός, ψυχρός κι ανάποδος

 

Kakos, psyhros kai anapodos – Greek title

Ο κακός, ο ψυχρός και ο ανάποδος – Greek title 

Κακός, ψυχρός κι ανάποδος (Greece)  Κακός, ψυχρός και ανάποδος – Greek title 

The Bad, the Cold, and the Cantankerous - English translated title

 

A1969 Greek film production [Giannikapanis Bros.(Athens)]

Producer: Klearhos Konitsiotis

Director: Errikos Thalassinos

Story: Giorgos Lazaridis

Screenplay: Giorgos Lazaridis

Cinematography: Dinos Katsouridis [black & white]

Music: Kostas Seitanidis

Running time: 83 minutes

 

Cast:

Thymios / Kostas Papahatzis - Kostas Hatzihristos

Vasilis - Manos Katrakis

Alekos Valiris - Takis Miliadis

Giannis Reppas - Ketty Panou

Anna - Maria Ioannidou

Pagona - Maria Ioannidou

Eleni - Eva Fridaki

Thodoros Karalis - Dimitris Bislanis

Karakitsos - Nikos Fermas

Singer - Haroula Labraki

With: Elpida Braoudaki, Antonis Papadopoulos, Christos Kalavrouzos, Kostas Lygizos (Danos Lygizos), Panos Vellias, Hristos Daktylidis, Giannis Kyriakidis, Antonis Liotsis, P. Ktoros, Popi Deligianni, Thodoros Kefalopoulos, Miltiadis Pantoudis

Financially hard-pressed, the good-hearted but gullible coffee-shop owner, Thimios Papachatzis (Kostas Hatzihristos), arrives in Athens to ask his twin brother and famous actor, Kostas Papachatzis (Kostas Hatzihristos) for a loan. In high hopes that he will soon manage to marry his sweetheart, Pagona (Maria Ioannidou), Thimios pays a visit to his sibling not a moment too soon, as Kostas faints and collapses on stage before a speechless audience. Now, it's up to Thimios to save the day and his beloved brother's reputation by stepping into Kostas' shoes, as he rests by doctor's orders. Is Thimios up for the task?

You Tube Trailer link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX5noijh__o

 

[submitted by Michael Ferguson]


Jim Nantz tells embarrassing tale of Clint Eastwood and ‘adult film’

 What do you get when you combine Jim Nantz, Clint Eastwood … and an adult film?


Awful Announcing

By Jessica Kleinschmidt

03/05/2023

 

One epic story.

 

Don’t worry, I’ll explain.

 

Nantz, a long-time sports commentator, told a story when he stopped by the Five Clubs podcast. In the midst of telling the hosts about the last movie he saw, he was reminded of a story that made him blush in front of legendary actor and director Clint Eastwood.

 

“And I’ll go the roundabout way of telling you. I had, years ago, Clint Eastwood in the booth at Pebble Beach, as we had for 30 years,” Nantz said on Five Clubs. “And Davis Love had just won the tournament; he shot 64 to come from way behind. And Davis — great friend, great pal — had told me one time that growing up, his favorite childhood actor was Clint Eastwood. And one of the reasons why is that the first time he ever went to see a movie, with his dad, was a Clint Eastwood movie.”

 

“So we’re on camera, and I’m thanking Clint as we’re drawing near the end of the broadcast and he’s going to leave to go down to the green and give the trophy away,” Nantz continued. “And I said, hey, by the way, before you leave, I just want you to know that you’re going to be presenting that trophy to Davis, and he’s a huge Clint Eastwood fan. In fact, the first adult film he ever saw in his life, you starred in.”

The first … what?

“And I didn’t know what I had said. I just about said it again with you guys, about how I hadn’t been to an adult film in a long time,” Nantz said. “Yeah, I felt the temperature in the tower drop about 20 degrees when Clint looked at me — I didn’t know what I said — he said, ‘I never made an adult film in my life.’ That’s not what I meant!”

So that happened.

A “career lowlight” as described by Nantz.

Eastwood is a Carmel, CA native, only minutes away from Pebble Beach. He’s attended his fair share of events at Pebble Beach Golf Links and even served as mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea for two years.

But that’s not how we know him, of course.

We know him as an actor, producer and director for his work on countless grown-up films.

Special Birthdays

 Izidor Štefanko (actor) is 80 today.



Thursday, March 16, 2023

Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Alberto Allegrezza

 [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.]

Alberto Allegrezza is/was an Italian film actor with only one credited role on the IMDb. He’s not to be confused with the Italian singer and musician of the same name who was born in 1975.

ALLEGREZZA, Alberto [Italian] – film actor.

Bad Kids of the West – 1973

English voices of the Spaghetti Westerns ~ Robert Rietty

 

Nicknamed “The Man of a Thousand Voices” Robert Rietty was born Lucio Herbert Rietti in Paddington, London, England on February 8, 1923. The son of an Italian actor, Rietty began acting himself very early on, when he was only 8 years old, but his greatest contribution was as the film industry’s go-to voice. Throughout his prolific career, he voiced over an incredible range of roles, including iconic ones such as “Doctor Zhivago” in the 1965 movie, Orson Welles’ Long John Silver in “Treasure Island” (1970), various James Bond villains, and many more.

Rietty was most appreciated as a dubber, something he seemed to be born to do given his natural ease with languages and his talent for mimicking accents. He discovered these skills while revoicing parts of films, something that was routinely done in the pre-digital era when directors felt the need to adjust the quality of the sound or dialog and the original actors were inept or unavailable to contribute.

His incredibly adaptable voice is what made him so successful and requested within the film industry. Ironically, it’s also what made it impossible for audiences to recognize him. All the more so considering that he often was not credited for his contributions. He had his own company, which was responsible for the complete rerecording of films – such as when a movie with Scottish actors speaking with thick accents had to be made available to the American market. He was nominated for a Golden Reel award in Hollywood for dubbing much of Sergio Leone’s gangster movie “Once Upon a Time in America”. In 2000, he was nominated for the Bafta special award for outstanding work.

Rietty died in London on April 3, 2015. His Iraqi-born wife, Tina (nee Semah), died in 2008. He is survived by two daughters, Anya and Liana, and two sons, Jonathan and Benjamin.

 

Robert Rietty’s English dubbed Euro-westerns:

Desperados! – 1969 [English voice of Deputy Tate (David Thompson)]

Land Raiders – 1969 [English voice of Harper the wagon master]

The Valley of Gwangi – 1969 [English voice of Carlos dos Orsos (Gustavo Rojo)]

Captain Apache – 1971 [English voice of most of the characters except Lee Van Cleef, Stuart Whitman]

A Town Called Hell – 1971 [English voice of Paco (Michael Craig)]

A Talent for Loving – 1973 [English voice of ?]

Voices of the Spaghetti Western “Charge of the 7th ”

 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 “Charge of the 7th”

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

Major ‘Sugar’ Patterson - Edmund Purdom (S) Paco Valladares, (G) Peer Schmidt

Major Sam Allison/Sam Shane - Paul Piaget (S) Claudio Rodríguez, (G) Arnold Marquis

Colonel George Bonnet - Eduardo Fajardo (S) José Martínez Blanco, (G) Manfred Schmidt

Amanda - Mónica Randall (S) Matilde F. Vilariño, (G) ?

Nelly Patterson/Bonnet - Priscilla Steele (S) Lola Cervantes, (G) ?

Lieutenant Webb - Isarco Ravaioli (S) Juan Miguel Cuesta, (G)   Andreas Mannkopff

Chief Wild Horse - Rafael Albaicín (S) Carlos Revilla, (G) Martin Hirthe

Colonel Maxfield/Maxfield - Umberto Raho (S) Rafael de Penagos, (G) Friedrich W. Bauschulte










Manfred Schmidt  (1921 – 2008)

Manfred Schmidt was born in Germany on August 30, 1921. He appeared in some roles on television but his occupation was as a voice dubber and he dubbed over 340 different roles in his career and was mainly know as the voice of Q in the James Bond films which he performed nine times. Little to nothing else can be found about him. He died on August 30, 2008.


Special Birthdays

 Fabrizio Moroni (actor) would have been 80 today but died in 2006.









William Rothlein (actor) is 80 today.









Pablito Calvo (actor) would have been 75 today but died in 2000.



Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Angelo Allegretti

 [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.]

Angelo Allegretti is an Italian stunt coordinator and stuntman. He’s worked in two recent Spaghetti westerns under the direction of Emiliano Ferrera. Nothing else is known about him.

ALLEGRETTI, Angelo [Italian] – stunt coordinator, stuntman.

Shuna – 2012 [stunt coordinator]

Blood from Hell – 2016 [stunt coordinator]

New German CD release “Welcome to Blood City”

 








“Welcome to Blood City”

(1977)

Composer: Roy Budd

 

Director: Peter Sasdy

Starring: Jack Palance, Keir Dullea

 

Country: Germany

Label: Caldera Records

#A/CC6049

Tracks: 20

Listening time: 38:09

 

Track listing:

1. Main Titles (2:08)

2. Realisation (2:42)

3. Ride into Town (2:04)

4. Enter Friendlander (1:57)

5. Run For Your Life (0:52)

6. Fair Fight (1:53)

7. Blood City (unused) (2:53)

8. Later (0:13)

9. The Hunted (1:55)

10. Shootout (2:07)

11. Lewis and Katherine (unused) (1:29)

12. The Day Breaks (0:59)

13. Katherine and Lewis’ Argument (0:38)

14. Over My Dead Body (0:56)

15. Pinned Down (3:27)

16. Get Out (0:51)

17. Friendlander and Flint Have a Disagreement (1:23)

18. Friendlander is Upset (2:44)

19. Realisation (alternate) (2:42)

20. End Credits (2:22)

Who Are Those Guys? ~ Lucio Dalla

 

Lucio Dalla was born in Bolgna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy on March 4, 1943. He was considered one of the best Italian songwriters as well as a very talented instrumentalist, he began his career in the 1960s playing the clarinet in some jazz music groups and with famous names such as Bud Powell, Charles Mingus, Eric Dolphy and Chet Baker. After reaching a national reputation, he was the author of songs that became known all over the world (first of all the others "Caruso") and a source of inspiration for great performers such as Julio Iglesias, Andrea Bocelli and Luciano Pavarotti. During his multi-year career, he recorded hundreds of songs including albums, CDs and 45 rpm, and sold over 100 million records worldwide. He received several honors, including the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic and an "Honoris Causa" degree in Philosophy from the University of Bologna (1999). Dalla appeared in 30 films during his life including two Spaghetti westerns: “A Fistful of Songs” in 1966 as ‘The Italian’ and “Little Rita of the West” (1967) as Francis/Fritz Frankfurter/Fitzgerald Scott. Lucio Dalla died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of sixty-eight on March 1, 2012, in Certosa di Bologna, Bologna, Italy.

DALLA, Lucio [3/4/1943, Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy – 3/1/2012, Certosa di Bologna, Bologna, Italy (heart attack)] – singer, musician, songwriter, film actor, awarded Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic [1986], awarded Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic [2003].

A Fistful of Songs – 1966 (‘The Italian’)

Little Rita of the West – 1967 (Francis/Fritz Frankfurter/Fitzgerald Scott)

Special Birthdays

 Sheila Raynor (actress) would have been 115 today but died in 1998.








Miao Ching (actor) would have been 110 today but died in 1989.









Magda Konopka is 80 today.









Olga Schoberova (actress) is 80 today.



Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Liliane Allan

 [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.]

 

Liliane Allan is a French adult film actress most likely born in the 1950s. She was the wife of well-known French adult producer, writer and actor Richard Allan (Richard Lemieuvre) and participated in over 40 adult films. Sometimes together with her husband, but also with other male actors. She appeared in two Euro-westerns in 1974 “Gunfight at OQ Corral” and “Lucky Lucky and the Daltons”.

ALLAN, Liliane (aka Alice Allan, Karen Allan, Lilianne Allan, Karen) (Liliane Lemieuvre) [French] – film actress, married to producer, writer, actor Richard Allan (Richard Lemieuvre) [1942-    ] (1968-1978) mother of two children.

Gunfight at OQ Corral - 1974

Lucky Lucky and the Daltons – 1974