Jose Jaspe Movies
- 1974
- PG
An Irish journalist (Lynn Redgrave) will do anything she can to support a peasant revolution in Mexico. The rogues played by Franco Nero and Eli Wallach will do almost anything for money, but they will also do a lot for a charming lady: particularly when she has saved one of them from certain death in front of a prison firing squad. After arranging Wallach's prison escape, the trio heads for Mexico, where incredible things happen. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lynn Redgrave, Eli Wallach, (more)
- 1972
- R
The Man Called Noon is a western about a man who is called "Noon" (Richard Crenna) because he has amnesia and has no other name. As he searches for his identity, it becomes clear that he is on a mission to avenge the deaths of his wife and child. His quest is furthered by the outlaw Rimes (Stephen Boyd) and he receives comfort from a lady named Fan (Rosanna Schiaffino). The villain proves to be Judge Niland (Farley Granger), and the trio go to extraordinary lengths to put him out of action. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard Crenna, Stephen Boyd, (more)
This horror science-fiction thriller, a cult favorite, takes place in 1907. Professor Caxton (Christopher Lee), a fossil-hunter has discovered some sort of pre-human creature frozen in ancient Manchurian ice. He is traveling to London with his find on the Trans-Siberian Railway and is horrified to discover that his frozen man is missing, and corpses and zombies are appearing all over the train. It turns out that the frozen specimen is an alien with some unusual powers. The combined forces of Professor Caxton, his rival Dr. Wells (Peter Cushing), and a Cossack captain (Telly Savalas) are needed to save the world from this monstrous being. Skillfully told, with a good dose of humor, this film also features the train which appeared a year before in Nicholas and Alexandra . ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- 1970
Prolific filmmaker Giuliano Carmineo directed this fourth sequel to Se Incontri Sartana Prega per la Tua Morte (1968) under the pseudonym "Anthony Ascott." Gianni Garko is Sartana, the mythical, almost supernatural avenger whose gun is his justice. This time, Sartana helps a gambler named Grand Full (Piero Lulli), who claims to have been wrongly accused of murder. The avenger breaks Grand Full out of jail and the pair escapes to the site of the crime -- the town of Mansfield -- where they battle bounty hunters and a wicked boss (Massimo Serato) before the gunslinger figures out that he's been had. Needless to say, Sartana does not take kindly to having been fooled. Nieves Navarro (a.k.a. Susan Scott) co-stars in this grim Italian-French spaghetti western with Frank Brana and Bruno Corazzari. One of the genre's best-known composers, Bruno Nicolai, did the soundtrack. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- 1969
- PG
This epic Spanish biopic chronicles the life of Cervantes, Spain's great novelist, playwright and poet, during the 16th-century, when as a young man he goes to Italy to become a soldier for the Pope. Later he helps the Pope's emissary wage war against the Spanish Moors. His exploits win him great favor. He falls in love with a famous Italian courtesan and she with him. Unfortunately, the Pope splits them apart with his newest decree which demands that all prostitutes leave the city. Upset, Cervantes goes to fight in the famed sea battle of Lepanto and comes back a hero. Later he is captured by Barbary pirates and ransomed by Trinitarian friars. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1968
Thora (Essy Persson) and Kress (John Karelsen) are superior beings from another planet who find themselves marooned on the moon. A U.S. space mission lead by Major Perry Rodan (Lang Jeffries) rescues the couple. Kress is suffering from an unknown ailment, and a medical examination reveals he has leukemia. The rescue team secretly brings the ailing alien to an African physician who specializes in blood disorders. Soon word gets around about the aliens, causing a full-scale search for the rescue team and the two space cadets. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lang Jeffries, Essy Persson, (more)
- 1967
Felix Manderville (Vincent Price) is a traveling magician who manages to make young women disappear in this exploitation thriller. The trouble is, Felix drugs the femmes and sells them to white slave traders with the help of his mind-reading assistant Rebecca (Martha Hyer). Marie Armstrong (Anne Smyrner) and her husband Stephen (George Nader) are American tourists who fall into the trap of the felonious flesh pedlars. Price plays the part with his usual suave and sinister manner in this routine production. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Vincent Price, Martha Hyer, (more)
Samuel Bronston Productions was pretty much obliterated in 1964 by the failure of The Fall of the Roman Empire. Three years later, Bronston tried to rebuild his old empire by teaming up with a pair of South American entrepreneurs; the result was Savage Pampas. Set in the Argentina of the 1890s, the film tells the story of a clever bandit leader (Ron Randell) who buys off the soldiers sent to capture him--then enlists the deserters in his own gang. But Army fort commander Robert Taylor can't be bribed, and takes it upon himself to defeat the bandit. Savage Pampas was a remake of a popular Argentinian historical epic of 1946, Pampa Barbara. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Taylor, Ron Randell, (more)
This historical epic from Italy tells the stories of two of the most memorable figures in the Old Testament. Gideon (Ivo Garrani) saves the children of Israel when, under God's command, he defeats the Midianites by destroying the altar of Baal. In the second half of the film, Sampson (Anton Geesink) is the most physically powerful man in the world -- until he falls prey to the allure of the wily Delilah (Rosalba Neri). Fernando Rey highlights the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
This biblical epic chronicles the rocky relationship between David the giant-killer and Saul, King of the Israelites who listens to the subversive whispers of his jealous wife and ultimately loses his life. This is one of a series of Bible tales. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Norman Wooland, Gianni Garko, (more)
- 1962
Centurions was initially released in the US The Centurion (some difference). Jacques Sernas heads the cast as a Roman gladiator sent on a diplomatic mission to Greece. Sernas's task is to convince the Greeks to acquiesce to Roman rule, but he is opposed by a group of freedom advocates (among them John Drew Barrymore). The plot congeals when Sernas falls in love with Gianni Santuccio, daughter of the head of the anti-Rome faction. Originally lensed in Italy as Il Conquistatore di Corinto, Centurions has also been exhibited under the literally translated title Conqueror of Corinth. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1962
Filmed in Egypt, The Golden Arrow stars yesteryear's beefcake Tab Hunter as a bold Arabian Nights bandit. He discovers that he's actually the son of a Sultan, and that his kingdom is in danger. In order to save his people and restore his throne, the Tabmeister must locate a magic golden arrow. Or, if you prefer, he must locate "la fraccia d'oro", which was the original Italian title of this film. The Golden Arrow lets us know halfway through that it's not to be taken seriously (as if we had up till then) by offering us two comic genies: One skinny, one lazy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tab Hunter, Rossana Podestà , (more)
- 1961
Italian swashbucklers have high seas adventures in this pirate outing that tells the tale of a handsome former slave who returns to San Salvador to eradicate anyone who makes money at the expense of another's freedom. Unfortunately, the pirate's schemes go awry and he ends up in prisoner by a treacherous secretary of the nation's governor. Fortunately, a love affair with the governor's daughter sets things to rights, but not without a lot of exciting hijinks in the interim. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1961
In this 16th-century swashbuckler, the trouble begins when a sea captain is unjustly sentenced to hang by the evil ruler of the Duchy of Doruzzo and his daughter. Meanwhile, the comely lass who believes herself the doomed captain's daughter is about to be sold to a harem when they are freed by a handsome hero whom the captain hopes will marry his daughter. Father and daughter then become pirates, and the hero is obligated to catch them, but when he falls in love with the girl, he switches allegiance and helps her attack the ruler's palace. The two then lead the other pirates, and the angry peasants in a revolt, resulting in the eventual death of the ruler, who confesses on his deathbed that the female pirate (the captain's supposed daughter) is his real daughter and heir to the Duchy; he then goes on to tell her that years before he had ordered the captain to kill her, but he refused and raised her instead. This confession so angers the other daughter that she goes into a convent; meanwhile the pirate lovers prepare for their wedding. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1960
In this Italian costume adventure, a brave hero falls in love with an aristocrat's daughter and then incites the peasants to revolt against the aristocracy. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1954
Lois Maxwell, the Canadian actress who achieved worldwide fame as Miss Moneypenny in the "James Bond" films, heads the cast of the made-in-Italy La Grande Speranza (The Great Hope). Ms. Maxwell plays a British nurse named Lily, one of several survivors of a submarine attack during WW2. Lily and the others are rescued by Renato Baldini, commander of the Italian submarine which sank their ship. At first, there's no love lost between the Italian crew and their Allied captives. Gradually, Baldini's essential humanity is revealed, as is his love for the now-friendly Lily. What starts as a traditional wartime melodrama concludes in the spirit of peace on earth, goodwill towards men. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Renato Baldini, Lois Maxwell, (more)
