St. Patrick's Day 2025

 

Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Dolores Bermudez

[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.]

Dolores Dios Bermudez is a little-known Spanish actress. There’s no biographical information online or in print other than her marriage to actor Miguel Arenas, She has only two film credits “Las salvajes en Puente San Gil” in 1966 and her only Spaghetti western film “Le tre spade di Zorro” (Three Swords of Zorro) in 1963. Since her roles are uncredited it’s not possible to identify and find a photo of her.

BERMUDEZ, Dolores (Dolores Dios Bermudez) [Spanish] – film actress, married to actor Miguel Arenas (Miguel Arenas Guixot) [1902-1965] (1942-19??), mother of actress, singer father of actress, singer Rosita Arenas (Rosa Arenas) [1933-    ], grandmother of writer, actress Rosa Salazar Arenas [1960-    ].

Three Swords of Zorro – 1963

Two new German Blu-ray releases “Die rechte und die linke Hand des Teufels”, “Vier Fäuste für ein Halleluja”, “

 

“Die rechte und die linke Hand des Teufels”

They Call Me Trinity

(1970)

 

Director: Enzo Barboni

Starring: Terence Hill, Bud Spencer

 

Country: Germany

Label: Retro Gold 63

BluRay/DVD combo Mediabook, 7 different options: Cover A padded, 363 copies; Cover B padded, 333 copies; Cover C 250 copies; Cover D German poster 222 copies (Retro shop exclusive); Cover E padded, 222 copies (Retro shop exclusive); Cover F/G padded, 63 copies (Retro shop exclusive)

    Disc 1 (BluRay):

Italian version (new Italian master). Runtime 114min; Video: 2.35:1; Audio: German and English DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono; Subtitles: New German subtitles for the English audio German theatrical version (HD). Runtime 113min; Audio: German DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono

    Disc 2 (DVD contains the Italian cut only, plus the extras), PAL

    Extras: additional scenes (7:12min with German subtitles); German theatrical trailer (1:44min); German re-release trailer (3:11min); English trailer (3:01min); Italian trailer (3:01min); gallery with artwork (plays at 8min); 24- page booklet by Jean Rises.

Available: March 17, 2025

“Vier Fäuste für ein Halleluja”

(Trinity is STILL My Name)

(1971)

 

Director: Enzo Barboni

Starring: Terence Hill, Bud Spencer

 

Country: Germany

Label: Retro Gold 63

BluRay Mediabook, 7 different options: Cover A padded, 363 copies; Cover B padded, 333 copies; Cover C, 250padded; Cover D, German poster artwork, 222 copies (Retro shop exclusive); Cover E padded, 222 copies (Retro shop exclusive); Cover F/G padded, 63 copies (Retro shop exclusive).

    BluRay disc 1: 1982 Comedy-Version

New Italian transfer, 116mins (at 24fps); 2.35:1; German and English audio (DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono); new German subtitltes for the English audio. Original German theatrical comedy version (HD), 118min (at 23,976fps); 2.35:1; German audio only.

    BluRay disc 2: 1972 theatrical version

Original German version; 126min (at 24fps); 2.35:1; German and Italian audio (DD 2.0 mono); German subtitles.

    Extras: German original theatrical trailer (2:52min); German re-release trailer (3:12min, HD); English international trailer (2:59min); English international trailer with Italian audio (2:56min); US trailer (2:54min); French trailer (2:13min); Italian trailer (2:56min); old German theatrical opening titles (2:45min, HD); artwork gallery (2min); 24-page booklet by Jean Rises.

Available: March 17, 2025

Spaghetti Western locations Then & Now – “The Proud and the Damned”

In a scene from 1969’s “The Proud and the Damned” we see a rider approaching a church. The church, Mosteiro de Ecce Homo, located in Orgulho e Maldicao, Brazil.

Here’s the same location as seen today.

European Western Comic Books – Capitan Miki 6

 

Captain Miki 6

This comic book series came out as a supplement to Tuttomiki. The first issue is not numbered. It presents publications "outside the series", as they are not works by the famous Essegesse, but by other authors. Practically, they are stories created by Amilcare Medici (texts), Franco Bignotti (#1/9) and by Studio Del Principe [Eugenio Benni, Nestore Del Boccio and Gianni Corsi] (drawings), already published in Italy, some of which you can find (even with different titles) in the Freccia Gigante Collection.

The series was published in 1989 with issue #1 being released in July of that year and it ended with issue #10 in March of 1993. It was published by CED in Milan, Italy under the direction of Maurizio Rigo. Each issue contained anywhere from 184-240 black and white pages with color covers.

Titles

01 (00.07.89) - “La palude del mistero” (The Swamp Mystery)

02 (00.04.90) - “Il principe mascherato” (The Masked Prince)

03 (00.05.91) - “Il grande duello” (The Great Duel)

04 (00.08.91) - “Bandiera gialla” (Yellow Flag)

05 (00.11.91) - “Il mistero di Campo Alto” (The Mystery of Campo Alto)

06 (00.02.92) - “Frontiera rossa” (Red Frontier)

07 (00.05.92) - “Il segreto di Manuela” - “La Banda della Misericordia” (Manuela’s

                          Secret” - “The Band of Mercy)

08 (00.09.92) - “Sentieri di guerra” (Paths of War)

09 (00.12.92) - “Il totem perduto" - "Missione speciale” (The Lost Totem” - “Special

                           Mission

10 (00.03.93) - “Barriera di fuoco" - "Rhum e cavalli” (Barrier of Fire” - “Rum and

                           Horses

Special Birthdays

 Gabriele Ferzetti (actor) would have been 100 today but died in 2015.

Mario de Simone (actor) would have been 95 today but died in 1999.

From the WAI! vault

 

Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Uwe Choroba

[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.]

Uwe Choroba was born on September 8, 1962, and grew up in Hanover, where he still lives today. From an early age he was interested in film and music and was able to gain his first experience in the fields of light, sound and photography. He began to help out on various film shoots and thus got his first extra and speaking roles, although he never became a professional actor. Rather, he accompanied a number of independent films, mainly from the horror film sector, with his expertise and took on some minor roles. He had his first role in Jochen Taubert's trash film “Spiel mir am Glied bis zum Tod”. He then appeared as a pedophile on Olaf Ittenbach's “5 Seasons”, where he was responsible for co-organizing, among other things. This was followed in 2016 by the films “The King of the Cannibals”, “Hi8: Resurrectio”, “Bittersweet Revenge” and “The Power of Dreams”.

Uwe has appeared in two Euro-westerns: “Tot Oder Lebendig” (Scalped Alive) in 2014 and “Lebendig skalpiert” in 2020.

CHOROBA, Uwe [9/8/1962, Hannover, Lower Saxony, Germany -     ] – cameraman, film actor.

Scalped Alive – 2014 (pilot)

Lebendig skalpiert – 2020

Who Are Those Singers & Musicians ~ Slávka Procházková

 

Jaroslava Prochazkova, later known as Slavka, was born in Ukraine in Lvov on July 14,1912, (then part of Austria-Hungary). She studied acting at the Prague Conservatory in 1931. She also studied singing with several famous opera singers.  After the conservatory she joined the Uranie Theater [1931-1932], followed by short-term engagements outside Prague, at the Municipal Theater in Pilsen [1932-1934] and the East Bohemian Theater in Pardubice [1934-1935]. After that, she became a successful and popular operetta singer, originally in Prague's Great Operetta [1935-1937] and the Nusle Tyl Theater [1937-1940]. During the occupation, she played and sang in Olomouc and České Budějovice, after the war she became a soloist of the Deutsches Opera in Prague [1945-1948].  She also guested in Vienna and Graz in [1947-1949]. The Great Opera was merged with the National Theater in 1948 and Prochaskova remained a soloist until her retirement in 1973. She was a great soprano with a wide voice range and excelled in Czech operas (“Devil and Kate”, “Rusalka”, “Hubicka”, “Katya Kabanova”, “Jenůfa”, “Lucerna”), but thanks to her comic timing she also sang roles in buffo Italian operas.

Uder her stage name of Slávka Procházková she had a film career of some ten films from 1937 70 1976. She sang two songs for the 1949 puppet Euro-western “Song of the Prairie”.

PROCHAZKOVA, Slávka (Slávka Procházková) [7/14/1912, Lvov, Halič, Austria-Hungary – 12/22/1978, Prague, Czechoslovakia] – film actress, singer, married to photographer Karel Hájek [1900-1978] (1940-19??), mother of a daughter.

Song of the Prairie – 1949 [sings: “Sou fár tu jú aj mej”, “So far”]

Special Birthdays

Primiano Muratori (actor) would have been 100 today but died in 1996.

Mike Dietrich (actor) is 60 today.

From the WAI! vault

 

Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Michael Cholewa

[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.]

Michael Cholewa was born in Nazareth, Israel on September 4, 1968. He is a producer, writer and character actor. He’s produced and acted in six films and written for three.

Cholewa has appeared in three recent Spaghetti westerns: “The Ballad of Zarkis and Laskari” and “Execution” as the man at the telegraph office both in 2018 and “Un bastardo una ciudad y los Muertos” (A Bastard, a City and the Dead) in 2019 as Texas Roy.

In 2010 Cholwea wrote a script for a video that included an interview with Horst Frank called, “Horst Frank - Der Flußpirat vom Mississippi”. This interview with actor Horst Frank was recorded on April 17, 1999, after his last performance on stage in "Bullets over Broadway". The actor died only a couple of weeks later and this seems to be his last interview ever.

CHOLEWA, Michael [9/4/1968, Nazareth, Israel -     ] – producer, writer, film actor.

The Ballad of Zarkis and Laskari - 2018

Execution – 2018 (man at the telegraph office]

A Bastard, a City and the Dead – 2019 (Texas Roy)

Spaghetti Western Locations for “The Forgotten Pistolero”

We then see Francisco and his men riding through the countryside with Rafael as their prisoner. Francisco tells two of the men to ride Oaxaca to warn Senor Tomas and they ride off. The rest ride on. Sebastian, searching for Rafael, sees the two riders and pursues them. Getting ahead of them he disposes of them with his rifle and returns to find Rafael.

This scene was filmed in the countryside north of 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

Karl Löb (cinematographer) would have been 115 today but died in 1983.

Augusto Martelli (composer) would have been 85 today bit died in 2014.

Spaghetti Western Trivia - 8 Wired Sad Hill Texas Brown Ale

 

8 Wired is a New Zealand craft beer brewery. They released a new brown ale called Sad Hill with Tuco on the label.  

RIP Maria Grazia Spina

 

Maria Grazia Spina died in Padua, Veneto Italy on March 13^th. She was 88. Born Maria Grazia Spinazzi was born in Venice on June 3, 1936, she began her acting career with the Stabile theater company in Trieste, continuing her career in the troupes of Vittorio Gassman, Aroldo Tieri, Elisa Cegani, and Glauco Mauri. She also had a notable film career, although despite numerous appearances, especially in comedies, Peplum and adventure films, she failed to achieve total stardom. Her career in television proved more satisfying, allowing her to take on significant roles in successful television series. She also hosted the Sanremo Song Festival in 1965. Spina appeared in two Zorro films “Zorro in the Court of Spain” in 1962 as Consuela and “Zorro and the 3 Musketeers” in 1963 as Manuela and on Spaghetti western “Samson and the Slave Queen” in 1963 starring Pierre Brice and Alan Steel.

Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Giorgio Cholet

[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.]

Born Giorgio Sciolette on November 12, 1906, in Rome, he appeared in 22 films and television appearances from 1966 to 1982. He may be best remembered for his appearances in “Danger: Diabolik” (1968), “Colpo di stato” (1969) and “Blood and Bullets” (1976).

As Giorgio Cholet he appeared in only one Spaghetti western as Don Estaban in 1968’s “I nipoti di Zorro” (The Nephews of Zorro) with Franco and Ciccio.

Giorgio died in Rome on October 4, 1986, at the age of a few weeks shy of turning 80.

CHOLET, Giorgio (aka Giorgio Scholet, Giorgio Scioletta) (Giorgio Sciolette) [11/12/1906, Rome, Lazio, Italy – 10/4/1986, Rome, Lazio, Italy] – film, TV actor.

The Nephews of Zorro – 1968 (Don Esteban)

A new Spanish book release “American Western en Espana”

 

American Western en Espana

(American Western in Spain)

Author: Carlos Aguilar

 

Country: Spain

Publisher: SARGANTANA EDITORIAL

Language: Spanish

Pages: 264

ISBN-10: 8412835654

ISBN-13: 9788412835656

Available: February 7, 2025

 

This book documents and illuminates Spain's role (its film industry and political-social framework, its landscapes and settings, its personality) in the American western since it emerged in our country at the end of the 1950s, both through co-productions and in entirely American films. Structured chronologically, it inserts the cinephile assessment into the cultural and historical context, including costumbrist and anecdotal references and paying great attention to the locations (mainly the north of Madrid and the province of Almeria) and the sets (towns, ranches, forts, etc.). Prologue by Diana Lorys, actress in sixteen westerns shot in Spain alongside Hollywood stars.

A new German DVD release of “Black Killer”

 

Black Killer

(1971)

 

Director: Carlo Croccolo

Starring: Klaus Kinski

 

Country: Germany

Label: Great Movies / DA Music

Disc: 1

Language: German

Running time: 91 minutes

ASIN: ‎B0DR7JFJHH

Available: March 14, 2025

Special Birthdays

Filoteo Alberini (director, writer, cinematographer) would have been 160 today but died in 1937.

Horst Gentzen [voice actor] would have been 95 today but died in 1985.

Berko Acker (actor) would have been 80 today but died in 1978.

Sandra Cardini (actress) is 75 today.

Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Lee Chiu

[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.]

Lee Chiu is a Cinese actor, writer, producer and director who was born in Guangzhou, China and worked in films from 1969-2018. Lee has appeared over 120 films, directed over 60, produced over 35 and written scripts for over 10. He won at the 2018 Calcutta International Cult Film Festival and The IndieFest Film Awards for Best Documentary Film, “I Am the White Tiger”.

Lee appeared in only on Spaghetti western as a constable in 1974’s “La dove non batte il sole” (The Stranger and the Gunfighter).

CHIU, Lee aka (aka Li Chao, Lee Ying Chiu, Chueh Lee, Rober Lee, Ying-Kim Lee, Chiu Lee, Chiu Lei, Chao Li, Chiao Li, Zhao Li, Lee Ying-Kim, Li Ying-chien) [19??, Guangzhou, China -    ] – producer, director, writer, stunt coordinator, stuntman, film actor.

The Stranger and the Gunfighter – 1974 (constable)

New Italian Blu-ray of “Si Puo' Fare… Amigo”

 

“Si Puo' Fare Amigo”

(It Can be Done Amigo)

(1972)

 

Director: ‎ Maurizio Lucidi

Starring: Bud Spencer, Jack Palance

 

Country: Italy

‎Label: Mustang Entertainment

Language: Italian

Running time: 109 minutes

ASIN: ‎B0DTB228SQ

Available March 13, 2025

Voices of the Spaghetti Western “Django Kills Silently”

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 “Django Kills Silently”

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

Bill – George Eastman (I) Pino Locchi, (G) Rainer Brandt

Linda – Lina Orfei (I) Rita Savagnone, (G) Ursula Heyer

Dr. Thompson – Edwin G. Ross (I) Sergio Tedesco, (G) Michael Chevalier

El Santo – Mimmo Maggio (I) Glauco Onorato, (G) Arnold Marquis

Rosson - Peter Hellman (I) Luigi Vannucchi, (G) Horst Niendorf

The Nervous One - Rick Boyd (I) Daniele Tedeschi, (G) Gerd Martienzen

Susy – Patrizia (I) Fiorella Betti, (G) Ursula Herwig

Daniele Tedeschi  (1931 -    )

Daniele Tedeschi was born in Milan, Lombardy, Italy on December 31, 1931. He is a film, television and voice actor. Born in Milan to a Florentine father and a Genoese mother but grew up in Livorno. He was very active in the radio and television prose on the RAI, from the mid-1950s. He was the protagonist of numerous episodes of ‘The Investigations of Commissioner Maigret’ in the role of Inspector Janvier. He has also worked as a voice actor, sometimes expressing himself with a Spanish accent, a language he has perfectly mastered. After interrupting this activity, he continued to act as an actor in Argentina, the country where he had started his film career.

Special Birthdays

Herbert Fleischmann (actor) would have been 100 today but died in 1984.

Corrado Gaipa (actor) would have been 100 today but died in 1989.

Saverio Laganà (actor) is 85 today.

 

Dionisio Macias (actor) is 85 today.

Joe Bugner (actor) is 75 today.

Ottaviano Dell'Acqua (actor, stunts) is 70 today.

Ignacio Guadalupe (actor) is 65 today.

 

Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Miao Ching

[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.]

Ching Miao, Jinan, Shandong origin, was born on March 15, 1913. He enrolled in the Xinhwa Professional School of Arts in Shanghai to study commercial designs in 1933. He returned to his hometown of Jinan from Shanghai and formed a theatrical troupe to perform patriotic titles during the Sino-Japanese War. Ching moved to Taiwan in 1949 and performed in a number of movies and stage productions before joining Shaw Brothers in Hong Kong in 1963. He took part in over 190 movies mostly in Hong Kong for the Shaw Brothers Studio over a span of 21 years and won two Golden Horse Best Supporting Actor Awards for his roles in "Between Tears and Smiles" and "Too Late For Love" respectively. Chen retired after filming "Return of the Bastard Swordsman" and died in Taiwan in 1989, at the age of 76. He is the father of actress Ching Li.

Ching’s only Spaghetti western appearance was in “La dove non batte il sole” (The Stranger and the Gunfighter) in 1974 as Wang’s father

CHING, Miao (aka Miao Jing, Tseng Miao, Cheng Miu, Ching Miao, Jing Miao, Jing Wei) [3/15/1913, Jinan, Shandong Province, China – 11/5/1989, Taipei. Taiwan, China] – film actor, married to ? father of Hung Ching [1941-    ], father of actress Li Ching [1945–2017], a son.

The Stranger and the Gunfighter – 1974 (Wang’s father)

Who Are Those Guys? ~ Jack Elam

 

William Scott "Jack" Elam was born in Miami, Arizona on November 13, 1920. He was an American film and television actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies (sometimes spoofing his villainous image). His most distinguishing physical quality was his misaligned eye. Before his career in acting, he took several jobs in finance and served two years in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Elam performed in 73 movies and in at least 41 television series.

In 1931 Elam suffered a severe injury to his left eye during an altercation with another boy, an injury that ultimately blinded him in that eye and permanently damaged the muscles surrounding it. As Jack grew older, the impaired muscles caused his eye increasingly to "drift" within its socket and not track in unison with his right eye, often giving him a cockeyed appearance.

In 1968, Elam appeared in the opening scenes of Sergio Leone's celebrated Spaghetti western “Once Upon a Time in the West”. In the film he portrays one of a trio of gunslingers sent to a train station to kill Charles Bronson's character, Harmonica. Elam in one sequence spends a good portion of his screen time simply trying to rid himself of an annoying fly, finally capturing the elusive insect inside the barrel of his pistol.

Elam was married twice, first to Jean Louise Hodgert from 1937 until her death from colon cancer on January 24, 1961. Seven months later, in August 1961, Elam married again, then to Margaret M. Jennison. The couple remained together for 42 years, until 2003, when Jack died of congestive heart failure at their home in Ashland, Oregon on October 20, 2003.

ELAM, Jack (William Scott Elam) [11/13/1920, Miami, Arizona, U.S.A. – 10/20/2003, Ashland, Oregon, U.S.A. (congestive heart failure)] – film, TV actor, married to Jean L. Hodgert [1919-1961] (1937-1961) father of Scott Elam [1937-2018], Jeri Elam [1941-    ], married to Margaret M. Jennison [1936-    ] (1961-2003) father of producer Jackie Elam (Jacqueline K. Elam) [1969-    ].

Once Upon a Time in the West – 1968 (Snaky)

Sonora – 1968 (Slim Kovacs)

Hannie Caulder – 1970 (Frank Clemens)

The Last Rebel – 1970 (Matt Graves)

Spaghetti Western – 1981 [Film was never made.]

Special Birthdays

Joso Martincevic (actor) would have been 125 today but died in 1991.

Georges Delerue (composer) would have been 100 today but died in 1992.

Serge Marquand (actor) would have been 95 today but died in 2004.

Horst Hardt (cinematographer) is 90 today.

Pia Giancaro (actress) is 75 today. 

Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Chin Chin

[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.]

Chin Chin is/was a Chinese character actor. As far as I can determine he only appeared in two films: “Shabul” in 1970 and in his only Spaghetti western “Diamante Lobo” (God’s Gun) in 1976 as Willy.

I can find no biographical information on him. Michael Ferguson suggested since both his films were filmed in Israel and years apart, he maybe a resident there.

CHIN, Chin – film actor.

God’s Gun – 1976 (Willy)

New British book release A Coffin for the Killer: 100 Spaghetti Western Film Posters From Italy

 

A Coffin for the Killer: 100 Spaghetti Western Film Posters From Italy

Author: G.H. Janus

 

Country: England

Publisher: Bonefyre Gas Books

Pages: 108

Language: English

ISBN-10: ‎1917285345

ISBN-13: ‎978-1917285346

Available: Now

Classic Italian film poster art is renowned as being among the most accomplished, creative and dynamic of its kind. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Italian artists consistently produced posters with stunning designs and imagery. At the same time, Italian cinema developed a distinct style which produced several unique genres, perhaps most famously the so-called "spaghetti western", a mutant strain renowned both for its violence and its visual invention.

A COFFIN FOR THE KILLER is a collection that showcases 100 film poster designs by a wide range of acclaimed Italian artists, all created for indigenous western film productions and co-productions. From Sergio Leone's seminal 60s trilogy with Clint Eastwood to the genre's wild final spasms in the early 70s, these classic posters are presented in full-color, full-page images highlighting some of the world's most innovative and evocative promotional art.

Author: G.H. Janus was formerly lead singer and lyricist of the underground rock group Captain Coffin. Janus lives in Wales, UK, and is a lifelong collector of classic film posters and pulp art. He is editor of several popular book series, including VOLUPTUOUS TERRORS, GRINDHOUSE VISIONS and ORGY PLUS MASSACRE.

“Last of the Mohicans” (TV) - 1956

 In 1956, the people in charge of the children's television of the DFF intended to delight their young viewers with an Indian play. This was realized when Horst Born dramatized a story from James F. Cooper's "Leatherstocking Tales" and was staged by Hans-Joachim Hildebrandt. The story led back to the year 1756 and described an event that took place in the north of America, today's Canada. The war between the English and the French had already lasted five years, which was bitterly fought over large areas of this region against the actual inhabitants, the Indians. In the process, the Indians got caught between the fronts of the hostile European nations. The foreign troops tried to play off the individual Indian tribes against each other, and unfortunately this was successful: the once peaceful people of all Indians began to fall apart. There was only one glimmer of hope for the so-called "redskins": the great chief Pontiac. He resisted the disintegration of the Indians as a unit, tried to bundle the forces of the Native Americans in order to drive the aliens out of their land. But in the end, this plan was doomed to failure. To commemorate this just fight of the Indians, the DFF showed the play of the last of the Mohicans, not with the figure of Pontiac, but with reds and whites who selflessly stood up for the rights of the Indians, such as the legendary Pontiac.

Der letzte der Mohikaner – German title

The Last of the Mohicans – English title

 

A 1956 East German television production [Deutscher Fernsehfunk (DFF)]

Producer: Heinz Fülfe

Director: Hans-Joachim Hildebrandt

Story: James Fenimore Cooper

Teleplay: Horst Born

Photography: [black & white]

Music: ?

Running time: ?

 

Cast:

Colonel Munro – Hans Fiebrandt

Cora Evelyn Lazar

Alice – Key West

Major Herward – Joachim Hoyer

Psalm singer – Willy Krause

Falcon Eye – Willi Narloch

Chingachgook - Walter Richter-Reinick

Inkas - Gerhard Rachold

Magua - Herbert Malsbender

Tamenund - Frank Michelis

Special Birthdays

 Gerard Tichy (actor) would have been 105 today burr died in 1992.

Shen Chan (actor) would have been 85 today but died in 1984.

Micaela Pignatelli Cendall (actor) is 80 today.

Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Barbara Chilcott

[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.]

Barbara Chilcott Davis was a Canadian actress born in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada on September 10, 1922. She was the brother of actor Murray Davis.

As a child and young woman in Toronto, Chilcott studied acting with Josephine Barrington and dancing with Bettina Byers at Academy Ballet and attended Tamara Dakarhanova's School of the Theatre in Mount Kisco, NY.

After World War II she studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London and made her West End debut in 1949. On her return to Canada in 1950, she soon became one of the country's leading actresses. She also performed on CBC Radio and became involved with the burgeoning summer theatre movement, joining her brothers Murray Davis and Donald Davis in their Straw Hat Players and acting with the International Players in Kingston and the Canadian Repertory Theatre in Ottawa. In 1953, with her brothers Murray and Donald Davis, she founded the Crest Theatre in Toronto, which operated until 1966, which during its 13 seasons made a vital contribution to theatre in Toronto and employed the cream of Canadian talent, she played such parts as Viola in “Twelfth Night”, Antigone in “Antigone”, and her favorite role, Cleopatra in “Antony and Cleopatra”.

Barbara appeared in only one Euro-western “The Trap” as the trader’s wife in 1966. The film starred Oliver Reed and Rita Tushingham.

Barbara Chilcott died in Toronto on January 1, 2022, at the age of 99 

CHILCOTT, Barbara (Barbara Chilcott Davis) [9/10/1922, Newmarket, Ontario, Canada – 1/1/2022, Toronto, Ontario, Canada] – film, TV actress, brother of actor Murray Davis, (Murray Edward Davis) [1924-1997], actor Donald Davis (Donald George Davis) [1928-1998], married to actor Max Helpmann (Maxwell Gardiner Helpman) [1914–1987] (1952-1966), married to composer Harry Somers (Harry Stewart Somers) [1925–1999] (1967-1999), co-founded the Crest Theater [1953-1966].

The Trap – 1966 (trader’s wife)