Wednesday, November 28, 2012

RIP John Kemeny



John Kemeny, who received a Best Picture Oscar nomination for his work as a producer on the 1980 film "Atlantic City", died Friday November 23, 2012 after a long illness in Sedona, Arizona. He was 87. Kemeny worked as a producer, editor, director and writer over the course of his decades-long career. In addition to "Atlantic City", his film credits include "Quest For Fire" (1981), "The Boy In Blue" (1986), "Ice Castles" (1978), and "The Apprenticeship Of Duddy Kravitz" (1974). Kemeny also shared Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special and Miniseries for "The Josephine Baker Story" (1991) and Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special for "Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story" (1989). Kemeny also served as a producer for HBO and was one of the co-founders of Alliance Communications, a former Canadian-based movie distribution company. He was a producer on the TV Euro-western "Louisiana" (1984).

A PISTOL FOR 100 COFFINS



Una pistol per cento bare – Italian title
El sabor del odio – Spanish title
Una pistol para cien tumba – Spanish tile
Uma pistol para cem Caixoes – Brazilian title
La malle de San Antonio – French title
Pistolets pour un massacre – French title
Ein Colt fur hndert Sarge – German title
Hamnaren fran Tucson – Swedish title
A Gun for One Hundred Graves – U.K. title
A Pistol for One Hundred Graves – U.S.A. title
A Pistol for 100 Coffins – U.S.A. title

A 1968 Italian, Spanish co-production [Tritone Filmindustria (Rome), Cine Espana  Copercines (Madrid)]
Producer: Ennio Girolami
Director: Umberto Lenzi
Story: Eduardo Manzanos
Screenplay: Umberto Lenzi, Marco Leto
Cinematography: Alejandro Ulloa [Technicolor, Techniscope]
Music: Angelo F. Lavagnino (Angelo Francesco Lavagnino)
Running title 86 minutes

Cast:
Jim ‘The Kid’ Slade – Peter Lee Lawrence (Karl Hirenbach)
Douglas – John Ireland
Marjorie – Gloria Oçaña (Gloria Osuna)
J. ‘Texas’ Corbett – Piero Lulli (Giusva Lulli)
Cassidy – Calisto Calisti
Mayor – Andrea Scotti
Old Ben – Franco Pesce (Francesco Pesce)
Verdugo – Raf Baldassarre (Raffaele Baldassarre)
Elizabeth – Paola Natale
Tony Butcher – Herman Reynoso (Hermano Reynoso)
Freddy Butcher – Gino Turini
Joe – Frank Brana (Francisco Pérez)
Chavel – Eduardo Fajardo
Glaverstone banker – Migeul del Castillo
Dodge City banker – Julio Pena
Barrett – Victor Israel (José Vilanova)
Jeff Mortimer Logan – Giovanni Petti (Giovanni Petrucci)
David – Jose Jaspe (José Rivas)
Percy – Alfonso Rojas (Alfonso Melquiades)
Bartender – Franco Narducci (Francesco Narducci)
With: Miguel Guzman, Giovanni Ivan Scratuglia, Luis de Tejada, Leonides Guerra, Armando Calvo (Armando Lespier),Joaquín  Parra


A soldier, Jim Slade, refuses, as a Jehovah's Witness, to use weapons and is therefore sentenced to two years of forced labor. Pardoned, removed from the Regiment, he goes to Tucson, his hometown, to be reunited with his family. Upon his arrival he discovers that his parents have been murdered. The culprits, he tells his friend Cassidy, are four outlaws: Jeff Logan, brothers Tony and Freddy, Butcher Corbett and the Texan. He quickly and successfully learns how to use a gun and begins a relentless hunt for the murderers. In a short time, he learns from Corbett that Slade has moved to Gulberstone, where he receives valuable assistance from Douglas, a lay preacher. Knowing that the bank is going to receive, from its headquarters, two hundred thousand dollars, Corbett lies in wait with his men at the edge of town to steal the money, but Jim, with a trick, manages to evade the blockade. Jim believes an attack is imminent and with a plan of defense, leads to the elimination of the gang. In the meantime a group of insane inmates housed in the town jail make their escape and terrorize the town. The only survivor of the outlaw gang is the Texan who tells Slade, before falling mortally wounded, that the real gang leader is the unexpected Douglas. Jim chases the fake preacher who is confronted by one of the insane inmates in the cemetery and in a gun duel Slade gets the better of him.



Remembering Cola Rautu



Colea Rautu was born Nikolai Rutkovski, November 28, 1912, in Limbenii, Balti, Russian Empire, today called Moldova. He was a Romanian theater and film actor. The eldest son of four children of the Rutkovski family, along with Larisa, Natalia and Valentin. A former student at the College "King Ferdinand" in Chisinau, who never liked to study, but was fond of playing for the soccer team some time and playing roles in such plays "Mociorniţa" in Bucharest. Colea then attended the Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in Bucharest and became a member of the first choir ot Opera in Cluj.

He debuted at Theatre Magazine in "Carabus" led by Constantin Tanase, where he played mostly social-satirical couplets. There, he sang for the first time the famous popular song "Ți-a ieșit coșaru-n drum” by Gherase Dendrino, lyrics by Maximilian Puiu.

At the initiative of Sica Alexandrescu he played at the National Theatre in Bucharest. Between 1952-1968 he performed at the Giuleşti Theatre and briefly at the Theatre in Pitesti. Rautu played roles in over 70 feature films, both Romanian, foreign and in television series. His debut role (Ilie Barbu) remained his greatest role in his entire filmography. He debuted in the film playing the protagonist in "Desfășurarea", directed by Paul Calinescu. He played memorable roles in “Moara cu noroc”, “Mihai Viteazul”, “Frații Jderi”, “Nemuritorii”, “Pintea” etc. Colea appeared in two Euro-westerns “Apaches” (1973) and “Atkins” (1985).

The actor received an award from ACIN in 1988 for lifetime achievement, and was among the winners of the "Golden Age" of 2001, the National Prize in the Field of Theatre and Film Awards Gala.

Rautu died on May 3, 2008 at the age of 95 in Bucharest, Romania. Today we remember him on what would have been his 100th birthday.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

New DVD Release



Westerns Unchained [Blu-ray]
Titles include: Kill Django, Lola Colt and Face to Face

Label: First Look Studios
Region: Region A/1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Language: English
Subtitles: None
Number of discs: 1
ASIN: B0098TNDOE
Available: December 4, 2012
Run Time: 2250 minutes