Antonio Casas Movies
In this western, Civil War veteran Ringo Brown finally returns home and is devastated to discover that Mexican banditos have kidnapped his wife and razed his once peaceful hometown. He immediately rides out after them to get revenge and save his wife. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1978
- R
In this Spanish language film, an ex-con tries to make up for lost time. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 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, All Movie Guide
- 1970
This colorful horror tale begins with Benito Freire (Jose Luis Lopez Vazquez), a pedlar and trader of charms and fabrics in a small village in northern Spain. He spends his spare time as a wolf man, murdering women and burying their corpses in the Ancines Woods. Only a forest dwelling witch knows his transformation is caused by epileptic seizures. The Abbot (Antonio Casas) is called on to form a team to investigate, and local farmers set out wolf traps in an effort to halt the harrowing murders. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Amparo Soler Leal, Antonio Casas, (more)
- 1976
Based on a novel by Jose Cruset, and packed with violence and riotousness, this film tells the story of a humanitarian bookseller in 16th-century Granada who manages to open Spain's first mental institution. The story takes place several generations after the expulsion of the Jews and Moors from Spain. Juan de Dios (Timothy Dalton), after experiencing and witnessing brutalities visited upon the people of Spain, vows to spend his life helping others. In fulfillment of his vow, he faces down the Inquisition and suffers greatly. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Timothy Dalton, Antonio Ferrandis, (more)
- 1968
During the twilight of World War II, American forces battle their German counterparts to find a noted Austrian atomic scientist who is marked for death. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1965
A model becomes the target of a kidnapping attempt masterminded by a mad professor in this avant garde film from Spain. Young thugs steal a giant picture of the popular model. The model confides in a wealthy patron who is killed by his jealous girlfriend, and the girlfriend goes on a murder spree in this offbeat entry that appeared at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Teresa Gimpera
Per its title, Faustina is a distaff variation on the Faust legend. In this case, Mexican film favorite Maria Felix plays a woman who sells her soul to the Devil in exchange for beauty and wisdom. Actually, she bargains with the Devil's assistant (Fernando Gomez), who happens to be one of the woman's former lovers. The would-be demon spends the rest of the film trying to thwart the poor woman's happiness, but eventually declares that he's still in love with her. Not to be taken seriously, Faustina was an enjoyable digression from the usual portentous fare at the 1957 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Felix, Fernando Fernán Gómez, (more)
- 1972
This Spanish film explores one of the Carlist rebellions of the mid-19th century -- a period in that country's history which is little-known elsewhere. King Ferdinand VII changed Spain's laws to permit his daughter Isabella II to come to the throne. Many Spaniards objected to the idea of a woman on the throne, and since they considered her rule illegal, they also considered the rule of her heirs illegal. From 1839 until 1873 a series of bloody rebellions broke out in Spain. The ultraconservative Carlist movement continues to be influential in Spain even today, and its adherents strongly supported the rule (from 1939 to 1975) of Francisco Franco. This film chronicles the religious, military and political intrigues which flourished during the Carlist rebellions in rainy Galicia, in 1852. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
When a large shipment of gold disappears, the military officer in charge of its safety is accused of the robbery. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- 1969
The night before WW II erupted, the Spanish Civil War was still on. This actioner chronicles an event during the latter in which an elite group of bombers converge upon a strategically important bridge to surprise their enemies. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Fortunately, the engineer in this movie never gets around to marrying his pregnant American girlfriend in the church or her their subsequent divorce would have left him in no position to remarry. Ironically, when he proposes to his new girlfriend, a nurse, she confesses to being separated from her spouse, and he must -- as both a loving man and a good Catholic -- live in sin with her. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- José M. Sacristán, Maria Luisa San Jose, (more)
- 1966
Hypnosis is a psychological thriller reminiscent of themes found in Magic and Dead of Night. Erik (Jean Sorel) is the assistant in a ventriloquist/hypnotist act starring Magda (Elenora Rossi-Drago) and her fiancé Georg (Massimo Serato) Because of his secret love for Magna, Erik kills off anyone who gets in the way of his obsession. He becomes increasing unbalanced and frightened as he is tormented by the sound of the ventriloquist's dummy laughing at him. This Italian-German production, directed by Eugenio Martin, has an interesting premise, but the acting and production values of the are poor and the plot remains cliche-ridden and implausible. Hypnosis will disappoint even the most hardcore fans of the genre. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- 1970
Nazis are threatening, and only a squad of British commandos can stop them. ~ All Movie Guide
Sergio Leone's first solo directorial effort was this colorful sword-and-sandal epic set in ancient Greece. Rory Calhoun stars as Dario, a captain in the Greek army who must travel to the island of Rhodes to destroy the huge bronze statue of Colossus, which hurls molten lead at its attackers. Dario also battles for his life in the arena and saves victims from a torture chamber before the climactic earthquake which brings the Colossus down. Many of the supporting players in this Italian-French-Spanish co-production went on to become regulars in the exploitation films of Jesus Franco. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, Lea Massari, (more)
- 1966
In this spaghettiesque western, a supposedly dead man returns to his village and finds his family being held captive by an evil desperado and his gang. The frightened man does all he can to save them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Giuliano Gemma, Fernando Sancho, (more)
- 1966
Kiss Kiss...Bang Bang is not a dramatization of Pauline Kael's similarly titled collection of movie reviews. It is instead one of the glut of European-produced spy films which flooded the 1960s marketplace in the wake of the James Bond craze. This Spanish-made effort stars Giuliano Gemma and George Martin as secret agents involved with the blocking of selling secrets to the Enemy. The good guys are in the British Secret Service, the bad guys are those unidentified Slavic-accented types indigenous to films of this nature. Nothing new here, but Kiss Kiss...Bang Bang, directed by action-flick perennial Duccio Tessari, did manage to get good bookings thanks to the Bond-generated fascination with gimmick-and-gadget-laden espionage agents. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1958
This slow-paced drama by Alfonso Balcazar is set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War in the latter half of the 1930s. What began as a simple revolt broadened into massive fighting that involved other nations, either as volunteers or as allies of Franco or the Republicans. Using that setting, this story looks at the challenges faced by a priest who is caught between the factions. Since the Republicans were heavily backed by leftists and since the Catholic Church was generally on the side of the Nationalists or Franco, the priest is expected to side with his church. His main problem at the moment is helping a group of people who are trying to escape the conflict. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Analia Gade
