Tagarchief: John Phillip Law

Death Rides a Horse

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Giulio Petroni
Written by: Luciano Vincenzoni
Cast: John Phillip Law, Lee Van Cleef, Mario Brega, Luigi Pistilli

Year / Country: 1967, Italy
Running Time: 110 mins.

In this gritty spaghetti western, a violent band of outlaws robs and murders a family, leaving their young son Bill (John Phillip Law) scarred and thirsting for vengeance. Fifteen years later, Bill has honed his skills as a sharpshooter, ready to hunt down the men responsible. But he’s not the only one seeking retribution. Ryan (Lee Van Cleef), a former outlaw betrayed by the same gang and imprisoned for fifteen years, is after payback – not in blood, but in compensation for his lost time.

When Bill eliminates gang leader Burt Cavanaugh (Anthony Dawson), Ryan shifts his focus to the remaining members for his payout. However, they’re unwilling to part with the cash, forcing an uneasy alliance between the two avengers. Together, Bill and Ryan set out to settle the score, but Bill is still in the dark about a critical piece of the puzzle.

The film follows the classic spaghetti western recipe: sweeping desert vistas with looming cliffs, a great score by Ennio Morricone, and a steady stream of duels and shootouts. While it’s less violent than many of its contemporaries and lacks the visual flair of Sergio Leone’s masterpieces, the story holds its own with a solid plot, strong performances – Lee Van Cleef is always excellent – and well-executed action sequences.

The windswept town of El Viento serves as the backdrop for an intense, extended finale reminiscent of The Seven Samurai – though not as grandiose. It’s a satisfying conclusion that caps the film’s blend of gritty revenge and campy Italian charm.

Rating:

Biography: Giulio Petroni (1920, Rome) is an Italian director who made name with a number of spaghetti westerns of which Tepepa (starring Tomas Milian and Orson Welles!) and Death Rides a Horse are the most liked and well-known. He also made drama, comedy and horror films, sometimes working under the pseudonym Jeremy Scott.

Filmography: La centro chilometri (1959), I piaceri dello scapoli (1960), I soliti rapinatori a Milano (1961), Always On Sunday (1962), Death Rides a Horse (1967), Tepepa (1968), And for a Roof a Sky Full of Stars (1968), Night of the Serpent (1970), Non commettere atti impuri (1971), Crescete e moltiplicatevi (1972), Life is Tough, Eh Providence? (1972), Labbra di lurido blu (1975), La profezia (1978)

Barbarella

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Roger Vadim
Written by: Terry Southern, Roger Vadim, Claude Brulé
Cast: Jane Fonda, John Phillip Law, Anita Pallenberg

Year / Country: 1968, France / Italy
Running Time: 94 mins.

The sexy space adventurer Barbarella comes to life in this adaptation from the notorious comic series by Jean-Claude Forest. Jane Fonda is perfectly cast as the well-shaped and pretty naïve protagonist. Fonda was married to director Roger Vadim at the time, who had the habit of casting his beautiful wives (Brigitte Bardot / Catherine Deneuve) in sensual roles.

Barbarella is out to prevent a war that is threatening intergalactic peace. She uses every talent she possesses to get the job done. Yes, that does include sleeping with the men that help her in her quest. She is assigned to go to planet SoGo and retrieve doctor Durand Durand (pronounced as Duran Duran, the British pop band was named after this character). She meets many people on her way, including the Catchman, the blind angel Pygar and the Great Tyrant. She makes love to quite a few of them. Although the sex is never explicitly shown, the sensual atmosphere is certainly felt.

The title sequence of Barbarella, in which she undresses in zero gravity, became quite famous. The film was met with critique upon release though. It also didn’t perform well at the box-office. Later, the movie did establish a huge cult following and it influenced many products of popular culture. When viewed today it is outdated, but there is nevertheless plenty to enjoy: Fonda, the supporting cast including the excellent Law, the psychedelic images by talented director Vadim and the great comic book atmosphere.

Rating:

Biography: Roger Vadim (1928, Paris – 2000, Paris) was a French actor, director, writer and producer who also wrote several books. He started his career as a stage actor at the age of 16. His movie career began when he became an apprentice of director Marc Allégret. Then, he started a relationship with Brigitte Bardot and made his acting debut with her in 1952, although he remained uncredited. The same year they got married. Their groundbreaking film …And God Created Woman was Vadim’s directorial debut. It was a massive box-office hit and catapulted them both to stardom. In his later career Vadim also had relationships with Jane Fonda and Catherine Deneuve, but the films he made with them aroused less interest. He died of cancer in 2000.

Filmography (a selection): …And God Created Woman (1956), No Sun in Venice (1957), Dangerous Liaisons 1960 (1959), Blood and Roses (1960), Love on a Pillow (1962), Circle of Love (1964), The Game is Over (1966), Barbarella (1968), Pretty Maids All in a Row (1971), Don Juan 73 (1973), Charlotte (1974), The Faithful Woman (1976), Night Games (1980), The Hot Touch (1981), Surprise Party (1983), And God Created Woman (1988), Amour fou (1993, TV)

Cult Radar: Part 5

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

FilmDungeon.com is glad to explore the video trenches to find that oddball treasure between the piles of crap out there. Off course a treasure in this context can also be a film that’s so shockingly bad it’s worth a look, or something so bizarre that cult fans just have to see it. Join us on our quest and learn what we learn. Hopefully we’ll uncover some well-hidden cult gems.

Researched by: Jeppe Kleijngeld

The Inglorious Bastards (Italy, 1978)
OT: Quel maledetto treno blindato

Directed by: Enzo G. Castellari
Written by: Sandro Continenza, Sergio Grieco, Franco Marotta,
Romano Migliorini, Laura Toscano
Cast: Bo Svenson, Peter Hooten, Fred Williamson, Michael Pergolani

Before Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, there was this WWII exploitation flick. A group of Dirty Dozen-like US soldiers get transported through France in order to be court-martialed. After they get ambushed by Germans, they manage to escape. They take one German hostage, who is to lead them to safe Switzerland. Underway they have to battle their way through hoards of Nazi’s and the US military. This film is characterized by loads of shoot-outs, explosions and humor. And of course some naked girls; every exploitation film needs a couple of those! The ‘Bastards’ (five in total) are well cast. Williamson is excellent as a badass motherfucker. While the movie never becomes truly great, it does manage to involve the viewer in the characters’ mission, and every time the glorious WWII music plays, you can’t help but cheer for these bastards.

EXTRA’S: As entertaining as the movie, is the excellent 38 minute discussion between Tarantino and director Enzo Castellari about their influences (Peckinpah) and the art of filmmaking.

The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle (Germany, 1963)
OT: Der würger von schloß Blackmoor

Directed by: Harald Fodor
Written by: Ladislas Fodor, Gustav Kampendonk, Bryan Edgar Wallace
Cast: Karin Dor, Harry Riebauer, Rudolt Fernau, Hans Nielsen

A hooded figure invades Blackmoor Castle, during a party held by the castle’s tenant Lucius Clark. The ‘Strangler’ threatens him and demands the diamonds back that Clark supposedly stole. He also leaves one man dead with a ‘M’ marked on his forehead. A Scotland Yard inspector comes over to the estate to investigate the murder. He discovers a plot around the diamonds and a confrontation with the killer ensues. This detective movie uses the build-up of a horror. This makes the beginning quite suspenseful, but it becomes a bit dull halfway through, when it turns out to be just another mediocre whodunit. Still, it is not totally without a sense of style and humor. The electronic soundtrack is made by Oskar ‘The Birds’ Sala.

Planet of Dinosaurs (USA, 1978)

Directed by: James K. Shea
Written by: Jim Aupperle, Ralph Lucas
Cast: James Whitworth, Pamela Bottaro, Louie Lawless, Harvey Shain

The DVD cover of Planet of Dinosaurs is a true masterpiece, but does the movie live up to it? That depends on your taste for campy stop-motion creature features. The story: a spaceship crash lands on a seemingly deserted planet. There are initially nine survivors that start to scout the area. Within two minutes, there are eight survivors left. They have landed on the planet of the apes with dinosaurs!! Some observations:
– Space effects in the beginning, ships and stuff, are very funny.
– The crew has ‘four lasers’. Hmmm…[cynical]cool.[/cynical]
– One of the last stop motion creature flicks. It’s not Harryhausen, but there is quite a lot of variety in prehistoric monsters. Only too bad they are somewhat static.
– The actors are as convincing as the dinosaurs.
– Lame dialogues and synthesizer score.

Worth watching? Yes, if you find this type of thing hilarious. Otherwise avoid.

Diabolik (Italy / France, 1968)

Directed by: Mario Bava
Written by: Mario Bava, Brian Degas, Tudor Gates, Arduino Maiuri
Cast: John Phillip Law, Marisa Mell, Michel Piccoli, Adolfo Celi

Adaptation from the Italian comic book series, produced by Dino De Laurentiis and directed by horror author Mario Bava, doing a wonderful job outside of his usual territory. John Phillip Law plays anti hero Diabolik, a masked super thief who steals riches from both the government and the Mafia. His partner is the beautiful and voluptuous Eva (Marisa Mell). Together they fulfill the male fantasy: driving black and white jaguars, making love between 10 million dollars in a rotating bed and getting away with the most daring robberies. Their opponents are inspector Ginco and mob boss Valmont, who team up in an attempt to lure Diabolik and Eva into a trap. Bava directs this superhero movie with great style, while showing respect for the source material. He delivers one amazing set-piece after another, accompanied by a brilliant musical score from master Ennio Morricone. Camp was never before or after this spectacular. Diabolik = must see movie.

Mister Scarface (Italy / Germany, 1976)
OT: I padroni della città

Directed by: Fernando Di Leo
Written by: Peter Berling, Fernando Di Leo
Cast: Harry Baer, Al Cliver, Jack Palance, Gisela Hahn

Tony (Harry Baer) collects accounts receivable for gangster Luigi. His crime family gets involved in a power struggle with local bigshot ‘Scarface’ Manzari (Palance). Tony teams up with fellow collector Rick (Al Cliver). Together they plan to scheme Scarface out of a fortune and retire afterwards. This leads to an inevitable bloody confrontation with Scarface and his crew. The fuzzy plot and often inaudible dialogues (due to deteriorated picture quality) make this movie hard to follow at times. The good things are Palance’s demonic performance and the well crafted Napels underworld atmosphere. Lot’s of action and violence during the second half especially, make this worth a look for gangster film enthusiasts.


John Phillip Law and Marisa Mell in Diabolik.