Page for November 7 - 13, 2009.

(Banner by Chris Casey)

The purpose of this page is to find others with a shared interest in these kinds of movies, and to keep me from getting that "No new messages" response when I check my email. So, please drop me a line with comments or questions about
Italian and Spanish action movies,
or Martial Arts fight flicks.
William Connolly

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Contents: Trivia Game (below),
Recent Viewings (below),
Unanswered Questions and Requests,
Stuff For Sale or Trade,
Stuff I'm Looking For,
Some of my favorite films,
and Links.

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Check out The Spaghetti Cinema blog.

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Click here for The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain doing a Kate Bush favorite.

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Brain Teasers:

Which classical Japanese director is generally considered the best maker of historical films?
In THE JAPANESE FILM ART & INDUSTRY, Joseph L. Anderson and Donald Richie wrote "The 'golden age' of the period-film was almost entirely the work of two men: Daisuke Ito...and Masahiro Makino... it was Daisuke Ito, who, almost single-handedly, pushed the period film to its greatest heights." Ito's most famous films were in the silent era and included ZANJIN ZAMBA KEN, aka MAN-SLASHING HORSE-PIERCING SWORD (1930). Most film historians though cite Kenji Mizoguchi from the sound era with films such as THE 47 RONIN (I & II, 1941-42) and UGESTU MONOGATARI (1953).

What Sammo Hung directed film intended to combine Chinese Kung Fu with Wild West stylisms?
No one has answered this question yet.

Which Italian spy movie was hyped as "The Super Charger of the Year" in the U.S.?
No one has answered this question yet.

Can you name three actors who played Jason (of the Golden Fleece) in Italian productions?
Charles Gilbert knew of Roland Carey in GIANTS OF THESSALY and Fabrizio Mioni of HERCULES, but Todd Armstrong wasn't in an Italian production.

In which Samurai movie did Toshiro Mifune get an arrow in his eye?
No one has answered this question yet.

Which actress born in Italy in 1935 began her film career in the British industry before she made any movies in Italy?
No one has answered this question yet.

Which Hong Kong film director reportedly is now teaching at the Hong Kong Film Academy?
No one has answered this question yet.

Which actress born in 1921 Italy worked with directors Alfred Hitchcock, John Irvin, Eugenio Martin, Bernardo Bertolucci and Georges Franju?
No one has answered this question yet.

Who sang the end credit theme song for Kage No Gundan III, aka Shadow Warriors 3?
No one has answered this question yet.

Which Italian screenwriter directed Alec Guiness in a movie?
No one has answered this question yet.

Who was originally set to star in director Akira Kurosawa's KAGEMUSHA?
No one has answered this question yet.

Franco Nero was quoted as saying that he may retire from acting for what reason?
No one has answered this queston yet.

Who did director Ferdinando Baldi originally want to star in VIVA DJANGO?
Llewellyn H. and Rick Garibaldi knew that it was Franco Nero, with whom Baldi had made TEXAS ADDIO.

Which Japanese movie star had a well-publicized arrest at an airport in Hawaii carrying cocaine?
No one has answered this question yet.

By what name did Brett Halsey make a number of Italian Westerns?
Llewellyn H. and Rick Garibaldi knew that it was Montgomery Ford.

What was the title of the novel Brett Halsey wrote about American actors working in the Italian film industry?
Llewellyn H. knew that it was called THE MAGNIFICENT STRANGERS.

What was the genesis of the title for Brett Halsey's novel about American actors working in the Italian film industry?
Llewellyn H. knew that it was a variation on the working title for A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS; THE MAGNIFICENT STRANGER.

What was the movie that director Akira Kurosawa made after he was fired from TORA-TORA-TORA?
Llewellyn H. knew that it was DO-DES-KA-DEN, or DODESUKADEN.

And now for some new brain teasers:

Which American actor who made gladiator movies in Italy was up for the role of Zorro on the Disney TV series?
Which American actor who made Westerns in Italy was up for the role of Tony in the movie version of WEST SIDE STORY?
Which American actor who made sci-fi movies in Italy appeared in the movie which Lee Harvey Oswald was watching when arrested by the Dallas police for the JFK assassination?
On what movie did Jackie Chan and Peter Fonda both labor?

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Name the movies from which these images come.

Rick Garibaldi identified the above frame grab from IL GRANDE SILENZIO, aka GREAT SILENCE.
Above is a new photo. Can you name from what movie it came?

Tim Sullivan, John Black and Joseph Viglietta identified last week's frame grab of Mylene Demongeot in THE GIANT OF MARATHON.
Above is a new photo. Can you name from what movie it came?

No one has identified the above photo yet.
Can you name from what movie it came?

Issue #77 of SPAGHETTI CINEMA is now available.
In it, Mike Eustace continues his essay on Sword and Sandal flicks, "Nights of Pleasure... Days of Strife", with a look at "The Monsters of Hercules".
James Chaney concludes his translation of the interviews conducted by Franca Faldini and Goffredo Fofi with Italian Western directors Sergio Leone, Sergio Corbucci, Duccio Tessari and many others.
Finally, Mickey Hargitay is memorialized in two articles. First is an interview by Gerard Dessere conducted in 2002. And then there is a brief biography with filmography.