What Eurocult films have you been watching?, Yeah, it's that thread again...

I don't think 44 SPECIALIST is an alternative title for this. I have BLAZING MAGNUMS and 44 SPECIALIST on UK Pre-Cert tapes and they are completely different as I recall. Interesting footnote - BLAZING MAGNUMS in common with quite a lot of UK pre-certs exists in both censored and uncensored form but it's impossible to tell from the packaging. Sadly, the one I own is the censored copy.

Victor

I don't think 44 SPECIALIST is an alternative title for this. I have BLAZING MAGNUMS and 44 SPECIALIST on UK Pre-Cert tapes and they are completely different as I recall. Interesting footnote - BLAZING MAGNUMS in common with quite a lot of UK pre-certs exists in both censored and uncensored form but it's impossible to tell from the packaging. Sadly, the one I own is the censored copy.

Victor

THE 44 SPECIALIST is the third in the Franco Gasparri "Mark" series. The first two were released in the U.S. (the first as BLOOD, SWEAT & FEAR and the second as ULTIMATUM) but I think this one never was shown under any title here.

I've always wondered how Granger was in those EuroSpy films, as back in the 50s, Fleming had wanted him to play Bond. This is the source of the urban legend that Fleming thought "Jimmy Stewart" would be good in the role. Yes he did, but he meant his family friend Granger, whose real name was indeed James Stewart (and changed for obvious reasons).

I don't think Granger would have been a good Bond, because he does lack an occasional lightness I think a good Bond should have (I didn't think much of Craig in CASINO ROYALE for this reason, though Dalton was better than he is often allowed). He also was too old for Bond by the time Eon got around to making the movies. So was Roger Moore, I suppose, but he looked younger in the early 1980s than Granger did in the 1960s.

Granger is handsome, sophisticated, and looks believable doing the action scenes. He's okay tossing off an occasional joke too.

COBRA MISSION (1986)—Directed by Fabrizio de Angelis. Stars Oliver Tobias, Christopher Connelly, Donald Pleasence, John Steiner, Manfred Lehmann, Gordon Mitchell, Ethan Wayne, Luciano Pigozzi. Vietnam vets Roger (Connelly), Richard (Tobias), James (Steiner), and Mark (Lehmann) reunite ten years later to head back into the Southeast Asian jungle to rescue American POWs there. Of course, not only do they have to mow down dozens of anonymous Asian soldiers in the quest, but also take on the United States government, which is embarrassed to have left good men behind and wants to keep it on the QT. Yes, this is the plot of UNCOMMON VALOR mixed with the cartoonish jingoism of RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II done Italian-style with plenty of explosions and gunfire and very little sense. It isn’t as crazy as a lot of Italian war films, which some may consider a negative, but COBRA MISSION is in fact a fairly successful action picture that takes time to develop its main characters and offer a powerful message that doesn’t overwhelm the gunplay. For a film by de Angelis, whose directorial credits include the lunkheaded THUNDER WARRIOR and KARATE WARRIOR series, it’s damn good indeed. The cast is impressive, though Pleasence as a French priest (his accent is poor), Pigozzi as a grieving father, and Mitchell as a military man appear only briefly. The Duke’s son Ethan is sympathetic as a young POW. Music by Francesco de Masi. Filmed in Arizona and the Philippines.

I really like COBRA MISSION. I agree that it's got much more going on than the typical "Larry Ludman" joint of that era. I reviewed it on the Cult board back in November 2008, under its US title OPERATION NAM.

OPERATION NAM review

I was able to see COBRA MISSION at 2.35, which helps a lot. Steiner's dubbed with a hilariously bad Southern accent, which is about as insane as this movie gets. Normally, I like these spaghetti actioners better the crazier they are (think STRIKE COMMANDO as the pinnacle), so I was surprised to enjoy COBRA MISSION so much, as it's reasonably competent and straight.

Revisited some '70s gialli while snowed in this evening.


THE BLACK BELLY OF THE TARANTULA (1971) - A sometimes sluggishly-paced but overall decent giallo that gets off to an amazing start with the opening credits played over a nude Barbara Bouchet getting a full body massage. Unfortunately, third-billed Bouchet is the film's first victim, dead by the ten-minute mark. Inspector Tellini (Giancarlo Giannini, just a couple years away from international acclaim and recognition) investigates what becomes a string of murders, all committed via an acupuncture needle dipped in paralysis-inducing wasp venom, all centered on a massage salon, involving prostitution, blackmail, and cocaine smuggling. Director Paolo Cavara is obviously hopping on the Dario Argento bandwagon, but amping up the decadence just a bit. The film has a few too many characters with too little to do (second-billed Claudine Auger spends the first hour walking around looking mysterious for no real reason), and Bouchet really should've been in it more. But that opening sequence...daaaaamn! Also with Stefania Sandrelli, Silvano Tranquilli, Barbara Bach, Rossella Falk, and Fulvio Mingozzi. Cavara went on to make the much sleazier 1976 giallo PLOT OF FEAR, with Michele Placido, Corinne Clery, Eli Wallach, John Steiner, and, somehow, Tom Skerritt.

STRIP NUDE FOR YOUR KILLER (1975) - Speaking of sleaze, gialli were getting pretty trashy by the mid '70s, as evidenced by this smutty doozy from BURIAL GROUND auteur Andrea Bianchi. Often tasteless and with some inexplicable characterizations, STRIP NUDE has a motorcycle-helmeted killer offing several unlikable people associated with a Milan modeling agency. Photographer Magda (a short-haired Edwige Fenech) and thoroughly repulsive modeling scout Carlo (Nino Castelnuovo) investigate, when they aren't screwing and when Magda isn't nonchalantly tolerating the douchey Carlo's erratic behavior (he actually starts strangling her at one point). As one would expect, red herrings abound, along with tons of "la la la la" and "do do do do" Euro lounge music and no shortage of vintage 1975 "Buckwheat in a scissorhold" pubic hair. Plus, 52 minutes in, when Franco Diogene is walking around in tighty-whiteys holding a deflated blow-up doll, you can clearly see three members of the crew and the camera reflected in a mirror. Also with Solvi Stubing, Erna Schurer, Amanda, and dubbing appearances by Carolyn De Fonseca, Nick Alexander, Michael Forest, and Ed Mannix.

THE NIGHT EVELYN CAME OUT OF THE GRAVE (1971) - One of the all-time great late-night TV titles throughout the '70s and '80s, and still quite entertaining. Insane British nobleman Lord Alan Cunningham (Anthony Steffen) has a bad habit of taking hot redheads back to his manor and brutally killing them, all because he can't get over his dead, red-haired wife Evelyn. Prodded by his cousin George (Enzo Terascio, billed as "Rod Murdock") and his doctor friend Richard (Giacomo Rossi-Stuart), he meets and marries Gladys (Marina Malfatti), after a whirlwind (read: one evening) courtship. But then evidence starts turning up indicating that Evelyn might be very much alive, and presumably not pleased with Alan's new wife. Or is someone trying to drive Alan even crazier? I say "even crazier" because the fact that he's a killer seems to be forgotten around the midway point by director/co-writer Emilio P. Miraglia. Then, Alan suddenly becomes the victim as it becomes apparent that people are conspiring against him. Nevermind all the missing and dead redheads. Still quite enjoyable, especially in this uncensored, 2.35:1 transfer from the sadly-defunct (in the US, at least) NoShame Films. It's really a shame they didn't last longer, because this has to be the best this film has ever looked. It's also on numerous public domain sets, presumably in its truncated 90-minute US cut (NoShame's DVD comes in at 100 minutes). It's a very well-made film, with plenty of ornate interiors that really look nice on a big screen. Also looking nice on a big screen is Erika Blanc's introductory striptease and Marina Malfatti's frequent nudity and/or skimpy lingerie. Also with the expected Euro lounge score, and Steffen sporting some of the ugliest fashions ever seen in the giallo subgenre, including a burgundy-colored velour suit that has to be seen to be believed.

This post has been edited by Mark Tinta on Feb 6 2011, 10:44 AM

THE STRANGE VICE OF MRS. WARDH aka BLADE OF THE RIPPER, THE NEXT VICTIM (1971) - A really top-notch giallo from Sergio Martino with a tremendous sense of style, some truly haunting images (two people making love on broken glass), and one unforgettable Nora Orlandi music cue that was used by Quentin Tarantino in KILL BILL VOL. 2. Young Julie Wardh (Edwige Fenech) is the wife of Vienna-based American diplomat Neil Wardh (Alberto de Mendoza) in what can charitably be called a marriage of convenience. Julie is being menaced by ex-lover Jean (Ivan Rassimov) just as she begins a fling with George (George Hilton). Julie and Neil believe Jean is behind a series of brutal straight razor killings in the city, and Julie is being blackmailed over her dalliances with George. MRS. WARDH (released in the US as BLADE OF THE RIPPER and in TV syndication as THE NEXT VICTIM...both of which are better titles that the literal translation of the Italian title) is one of the best gialli to come in the wake of the Argento explosion of 1970 or thereabouts, and really, after Argento, Sergio Martino really was the next best thing as far as giallo filmmaking went. Suspenseful and erotic, MRS. WARDH is a cut above most of the standard early '70s flood of giallo fare, and essential viewing for any fan of the genre, as well as for any fan of Edwige Fenech getting naked. Also with Carlo Alighiero, Cristina Airoldi, and Bruno Corazzari, plus voice appearances by Susan Spafford (dubbing Fenech), Carolyn De Fonseca (dubbing Airoldi), and Ted Rusoff (dubbing Hilton with a very strange accent). Co-written by Ernesto Gastaldi.


THE CASE OF THE BLOODY IRIS aka WHAT ARE THOSE STRANGE DROPS OF BLOOD DOING ON JENNIFER'S BODY? (1972) - Fenech and Hilton again, and another Gastaldi script, this time directed by Giuliano Carnimeo (using his "Anthony Ascott" pseudonym). Not quite on the level of MRS. WARDH, but still a damn entertaining giallo, and even as early as 1972, you can see the increased levels of sleaze and skin slowly creeping into the genre. Model Jennifer (Fenech) finds herself at the center of a string of brutal stabbings after moving into an apartment whose previous tenant (Carla Brait) was murdered. There's the usual conga line of weirdo red herrings: an aging music professor (George Rigaud); his not-explicitly-stated-but-clearly-lesbian daughter (Annabella Incontrera); the bitchy old prude next door (Maria Tedeschi); Jennifer's ex-husband (Ben Carra), the leader of a swinging sex cult; and Andrea (Hilton), the architect of the apartment building who gets ill at the sight of blood. Despite all the mayhem, Jennifer and Andrea find plenty of opportunities to jump in bed. The ultimate reveal is a bit of a letdown after the elaborate buildup, but it's a competently-executed B-level giallo with the requisite kitschy Euro lounge score (seriously, did all of these films just use the same Bruno Nicolai score?), plenty of nudity, a reasonable amount of splatter (nothing extreme), and some truly horrific fashions. Also with Paola Quattrini as Jennifer's roommate, Giampiero Albertini as the police commissioner doggedly working the case, Franco Agostini as his hapless comic relief assistant, and Luciano Pigozzi as a leering strip club owner, plus voice appearances by Carolyn De Fonseca, Michael Forest, Cecily Browne, Frank von Kuegelgen, and Ted Rusoff, dubbing Hilton without utilizing a bizarre accent.

The U.S. theatrical titles were NEXT! and then NEXT VICTIM. I think BLADE OF THE RIPPER was only a video title.

I'd forgotten about this one. It's a pretty typical giallo of the period, replete with a funky Bruno Nicolai score, flashy cinematography, a large body count, and plenty of red herrings, blood, and nudity. It isn't a hallmark of the genre, but it is entertaining.

YOUR VICE IS A LOCKED ROOM AND ONLY I HAVE THE KEY (1972) - Giallo meets Edgar Allan Poe in this Sergio Martino thriller. Once-successful writer Oliviero (Luigi Pistilli, dubbed by Ed Mannix) is now a washed-up drunk who hasn't written a line in the three years since his mother died. He also spends his time hosting decadent parties for some local hippies at his dilapidated villa, and has been selling off the furniture for some extra cash. On top of that, he's verbally and physically abusive to his long-suffering wife Irina (Anita Strindberg), and has been carrying on with Fausta (Daniela Giordano) who works at the bookstore in town, and with housekeeper Brenda (Angela Lavorgna). In short, Oliviero is, in the parlance of our times, a douche.

Naturally, he's the prime suspect when Brenda goes missing and Fausta turns up with her throat slit. This tense situation is made worse with the arrival of Oliviero's niece Floriana (top-billed Edwige Fenech), a free-spirited vagabond who has no problems using her beauty and her body to get what she wants. And it's with the arrival of Floriana that Martino and writer Ernesto Gastaldi really crank up the immoral decadence. Floriana screws pretty much all of the main cast, from a lesbian encounter with Irina, to hooking up with the local delivery guy (Riccardo Salvino) while Oliviero watches. And, since it's silly to stop there, she also sleeps with Uncle Oliviero. The murders continue, and even though a killer is caught, the increasingly-unhinged Oliviero isn't entirely sure he's innocent.

Another great-looking early '70s thriller from Martino, YOUR VICE (also released under several different titles, including GENTLY BEFORE SHE DIES, EYE OF THE BLACK CAT, and the sleazetastically misleading EXCITE ME) fairly successfully turns Poe into giallo material, and subtly but enthusiastically piles on the decadence (it's also revealed at one point that Oliviero slept with his mother). It's interesting to watch how the twists play out and how the characters' true motives are revealed. Despite her star billing, Fenech's role is a supporting one, as the film really belongs to Pistilli and Strindberg. Also with Ivan Rassimov as a mystery man with a laughable blonde wig, and an uncredited bit by Dalila Di Lazzaro as a hippie chick dancing nude on a table at one of Oliviero's parties. Good stuff.

THE FORBIDDEN PHOTOS OF A LADY ABOVE SUSPICION (1970) - Moderately engrossing Italian-Spanish giallo from Luciano Ercoli. Bored, pill-popping Minou (Dagmar Lassander) finds herself victimized by a sadistic blackmailer (Simon Andreu, dubbed by Ted Rusoff) who claims to have incriminating information on her industrialist husband Peter's (Pier Paolo Capponi) supposed involvement in the drowning of a colleague. Then he tries to blackmail her after forcing her to become his S&M sex slave. Fairly raunchy for an early-period giallo (this stuff would be typical in another couple of years), FORBIDDEN PHOTOS benefits from a pair of lovely ladies in Lassander and Ercoli's wife Nieves Navarro (going by her usual "Susan Scott" billing). Of course, there's a twist at the end and a couple of nicely-staged suspense sequences (especially the bit where Lassander sees a grinning Andreu staring at her through the window). Featuring music by Ennio Morricone, and Ed Mannix dubbing Osvaldo Genazzani as the police inspector.


THE CASE OF THE SCORPION'S TAIL (1971) - Italian-Spanish giallo is OK but not one of Sergio Martino's better contributions to the genre, despite a great cast and a couple of memorably gory killings. When her husband (Fulvio Mingozzi, shown only in photographs) is killed in an airplane explosion, adulterous wife Lisa (Evelyn Stewart, aka Ida Galli) finds herself the recipient of a large insurance policy, which she must go to Greece to collect. The skeptical head of the insurance company (Tom Felleghy) sends investigator Peter Lynch (George Hilton) to follow her. Not long after collecting the money, Lisa is threatened by her husband's mistress (Janine Reynaud) and her "lawyer" (Luis Barboo, looking like an angry Jerry Stiller) and later murdered in her hotel room and Lynch is the prime suspect of Interpol agent Stanley (Alberto De Mendoza) and local detective Stavros (Luigi Pistilli). Peter and sultry newspaper shutterbug Cleo (Anita Strindberg) try to get to the bottom of the mystery. And, it should go without saying, rolling around nude to the music of Bruno Nicolai, who throws in some blaring trumpet a la early '70s Morricone in addition to his usual Eurolounge jazz kitsch. Despite the presence of so many reliable actors and a script co-written by Ernesto Gastaldi, SCORPION'S TAIL is definitely a lesser giallo in the Martino canon. The scene where the killer breaks into Reynaud's apartment is undeniably intense and probably the best scene in the whole film, but it just kinda ambles along to a fairly predictable conclusion. There's also an arresting shot where someone stumbles onto a roomful of dolls all missing one eye (which foreshadows an extremely gory killing later on). Plus, any film that centers on women fighting over Fulvio Mingozzi deserves some kind of credit. Worth seeing for the Martino/giallo completist, but this one doesn't need to be near the top on your list.

THE PSYCHIC aka SEVEN NOTES IN BLACK (1977) - A nicely-done late-period giallo from Lucio Fulci, just before he found his true calling with ZOMBIE in 1979. Virginia (Jennifer O'Neill) has known about her psychic abilities since "seeing" the suicide of her mother 20 years earlier while she was away at boarding school. Now, married to Francesco (Gianni Garko), she has another vision of murder, this time of a woman being walled up at a villa owned, but never visited, by her husband. Sure enough, there's a body in the wall, estimated to be killed five years earlier. When it's revealed that Francesco was romantically involved with the woman at the time of her deat, he's arrested as the prime suspect. However, in Virginia's vision, she saw that the murderer was a limping man (Gabriele Ferzetti), who turns out to be a respected local professor. Along with her bitchy sister-in-law (Evelyn Stewart/Ida Galli) and her skeptical shrink (Marc Porel), Virginia investigates the premonition and tries to prove Francesco's innocence.

If you saw the trailer for this film's 1979 US release, you would've had the film's twist completely spoiled. It's quite well done despite the viewer figuring out the mystery long before Virginia does. I'd seen this before, and it's really impressive how Fulci and co-writer Dardano Sacchetti slowly reveal what's really happening, and unlike a lot of crazy twists, it actually hangs together. Always one of the forgotten gems of Fulci's career, THE PSYCHIC is well worth checking out.


EATEN ALIVE! aka DOOMED TO DIE, THE EMERALD JUNGLE (1980) - After a journeyman career dabbling in nearly every genre and making somewhat of a name for himself with various poliziotteschi, Umberto Lenzi went all in and reinvented himself as the guy who took the Italian cannibal genre to its disgusting extremes with a pair of notorious films, starting with 1980's EATEN ALIVE! (belatedly released on US video in 1985 as THE EMERALD JUNGLE, probably to cash in on John Boorman's unrelated THE EMERALD FOREST). Sheila Morris (Janet Agren, dubbed by Susan Spafford) arrives in NYC (complete with the requisite shots of Times Square in late 1979, with marquees pimping STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE, 10, BABY SNAKES, and THE FISH THAT SAVED PITTSBURGH) to investigate the disappearance of her missing sister Diana (Paola Senatore). Diana went off to New Guinea with a cult led by Jonas (Ivan Rassimov). After consulting with anthropology prof Dr. Carter (a *really* slumming Mel Ferrer), Sheila takes off for New Guinea and hires American hardass/Vietnam deserter Mark (Robert Kerman) to guide her to Jonas' stronghold. Of course, there's cannibals all along the way. Lenzi also works in then-topical references to the Jonestown tragedy, and even that doesn't leave as nasty an aftertaste as the on-camera animal killings, unquestionably the most repulsive aspect of this genre. Most of these shots are taken from other films, like Deodato's JUNGLE HOLOCAUST and CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, and Martino's MOUNTAIN OF THE CANNIBAL GOD. EATEN ALIVE! is a pretty lowbrow affair, despite the presence of many Eurocult fixtures. It's a bit more sexually explicit than most, complete with a bizarre scene where Rassimov violates Agren with a dildo dipped in snake blood. What is Mel Ferrer doing in this? It's probable that he had no idea how graphic the film would really be, though he should've been tipped off when he found himself sharing scenes with NYC-based porn actors Jake Teague (dubbed by Ed Mannix) and Gerald Grant (dubbed by Frank von Kuegelgen) as a pair of cops investigating Jonas (not to mention Kerman, better known as porn star "R. Bolla"). Also with Franco Fantasia (dubbed by the mellifluous Leslie La Penna), Mag Fleming, the inevitable (and inevitably naked) Me Me Lai, and Ted Rusoff dubbing the guy playing Jonas' top flunky.

CANNIBAL FEROX aka MAKE THEM DIE SLOWLY (1981) - Lenzi followed EATEN ALIVE! with arguably the most over-the-top entry in the Italian cannibal genre. The set-up may be different, but this is really just an even more extreme version of EATEN ALIVE! As usual, it opens in NYC, but soon heads to the Amazon, where anthropology student Gloria (Lorraine De Selle, dubbed by Pat Starke), her brother Rudy (Danilo Mattei, billed as "Bryan Redford), and her friend Pat (Zora Kerowa) are out to prove Gloria's thesis that cannibalism does not, and has never existed. Obviously, they've never seen EATEN ALIVE! They run across psycho heroin dealer Mike Logan (Giovanni Lombardo Radice, billed as "John Morghen" and dubbed by Frank von Kuegelgen) and his friend Joe (Walter Lloyd), who've fled NYC after stealing from a Brooklyn mobster (spaghetti western vet John Bartha). Meanwhile, back in NYC, gruff Lt. Rizzo (Robert Kerman, dubbed by Ed Mannix) investigates the disappearance of Mike. CANNIBAL FEROX (released in the US in 1983 as the infamously titled MAKE THEM DIE SLOWLY) is still pretty strong stuff, with even more sickening animal killings than before. That's a shame, because that aside, it's an all-around better film than EATEN ALIVE! and Lenzi generates some moments of real dread and suspense, and the scene with Gloria and Pat caged and singing "Red River Valley" is actually pretty powerful. But, being that this is what it is, the suspense gives way to an all-out orgy of violence and torture, most of which is inflicted on the deserving Mike, who starts all of the trouble in the first place. Also with Mag Fleming (real name Fiamma Maglione, who also co-wrote the funky score for this and EATEN ALIVE!), Venantino Venantini, Perry Pirkanen, Jake Teague (this time as an NYU dean) and dubbing appearances by Leslie La Penna and Ted Rusoff (as a rescue pilot late in the film).

This post has been edited by Mark Tinta on Feb 13 2011, 09:28 AM

Ferrer was apparently a sour apple in real life, a snob and a pedant, and those were probably the only people willing to put up with him. Karma! But he did enjoy a mild career upswing in the 80s on FALCONCREST.

I've heard that about him, and on the EATEN ALIVE! (Lenzi) bonus features, Robert Kerman is asked about him and replies "Is he still alive?" (he was at the time), then "Well, then I won't say anything." Kerman was upset that his voice was dubbed in the end, but Ferrer got the privelege of live sound because they didn't want to pay him to dub his performance later.

But then on the commentary for Tobe Hooper's EATEN ALIVE, producer Mardi Rustam described Ferrer as a total pro who showed up with his lines memorized, ready to work, and never once acted like the material was beneath him. I've also corresponded with Silvia Collatina (HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY's little Mae Freudstein), who was in Sergio Martino's THE BIG ALLIGATOR RIVER (1979) and described Ferrer as a warm, grandfatherly type who spent a lot of time between takes goofing off with her and was a lot of fun. I guess it could also depend on the project.

This post has been edited by Mark Tinta on Feb 13 2011, 10:03 PM

I could see where the second time Ferrer was starring in a movie titled EATEN ALIVE, he could start to become a bit unhappy with himself.

THE BLACK CAT (1991) - Incomprehensible nonsense from Luigi Cozzi, shot as DE PROFUNDIS and intended to be an unofficial third part of Dario Argento's "Three Mothers" trilogy. Intended US distributor 21st Century--Menahem Golan's short-lived post-Cannon outfit--retitled it THE BLACK CAT to make it part of a would-be Poe revival that only 21st Century and Roger Corman's Concorde seemed to be conducting (in addition to the Argento/Romero collaboration TWO EVIL EYES). 21st Century got a few Poe projects off the ground, but they went straight to video. THE BLACK CAT didn't even get that much--it debuted on US cable a couple of years after it was made and has never been released on VHS or DVD. Thankfully, there's Netflix Instant, and their 1.33:1 print opens with the MGM logo.

At any rate, as an Argento follow-up or a Poe story, the film is a near-complete failure. The story has something to do with a director (Urbano Barberini, dubbed by Ted Rusoff) planning a sequel to SUSPIRIA about a witch called Levana, with his actress wife (Florence Guerin, dubbed by Carolynn De Fonseca) in the lead role. There's also a jealous actress rival (Caroline Munro, dubbed by Pat Starke), and an obviously evil, wheelchair-bound producer named Levin (Brett Halsey, dubbed by someone else), plus a mysterious little girl, and an apparition of Levana which keeps appearing and vomiting green goo on everyone. To give credit where its due, Cozzi does get the SUSPIRIA/INFERNO lighting down, gets Munro to take a nice hot bath, and stages a winking recreation of a CONTAMINATION chestburster effect, but this is just a mind-boggling mess from start to finish. Also not helping matters is Cozzi's continued utilization of Armando Valcauda's outdated laser effects, which were laughable in HERCULES nearly a decade earlier. Also featuring music by hair metal bands Bang Tango (whose one minor hit "Someone Like You," gets played way too much here) and White Lion. Possibly Cozzi's worst film (I haven't seen PAGANINI HORROR, but it can't be worse). I often wondered why this didn't even get a VHS release. Now I know.

This post has been edited by Mark Tinta on Feb 26 2011, 11:14 PM

I remember Fangoria running a big article about how Caroline Munro never got paid for THE BLACK CAT, a film she didn't even want to do, but Cozzi talked her into it. She was trying to figure out whether to sue Cozzi or Golan. I don't know if she ever got her money.

RINGO THE LONE RIDER (1968)—Directed by Rafael Romero Marchent. Stars Peter Martell, Armando Calvo, Piero Lulli. Martell, a Bolzano-born actor who died in his hometown in 2010 at the age of 72, starred in several Italian westerns. Francesco de Masi’s grand score is the best part of this one. Alan Brighton (Martell) teams up with bounty hunter Samuelson (Lulli) to capture bandits led by ex-Confederate officer Bill Anderson (Calvo). I don’t believe Martell’s character is ever called Ringo, but it was a popular name in spaghetti westerns then. A pretty average western gets a little weird near the end when Anderson’s gang slaughters a group of Mormons and then steals their clothes for disguises.


THE COBRA (1967)—Directed by Mario Sequi. Stars Peter Martell, Dana Andrews, Anita Ekberg, Elisa Montes. Red China’s sinister plot to bring down the United States government involves smuggling hundreds of millions of dollars worth of narcotics into America and hooking us all. The drugs are funneled through a criminal organization based in Istanbul run by the mysterious Cobra—a masked man right out of a Republic serial. Treasury agent Kelly (top-billed Andrews) puts discredited operative Mike Rand (Martell) on the case. Savaged by the New York Times when AIP released it on a double bill with PSYCH-OUT in 1968 (but when did the Times ever have anything nice to say about a European exploitation film?), THE COBRA is a middling entry at best in the Eurospy genre. Much of the blame falls on Martell, a stolid performer in spaghetti westerns, who is unlikable and less than responsive as the hero. Dubbed with a growly voice more conducive to heavies, Martell handles the rough stuff okay, but flops in the other departments. The Turkish locations are pleasant to the eye, and Andrews shows he’s more than just the “M” in this Bondian caper by joining Martell for the final assault on the Cobra’s lair. Ekberg plays cinema’s most voluptuous junkie.

This post has been edited by Marty McKee on Mar 5 2011, 10:07 PM