Adolfo Celi Movies

Death Sentence is the literal English translation of Setenza di Morte, the original Italian title of this spaghetti western. Robin Clarke stars as a vengeful frontiersman whose brother has been killed. In the tradition of the Budd Boetticher classic Seven Men From Now, Clarke methodically hunts down the four men responsible. Hollywood's Richard Conte is second-billed as one of the culprits. Tomas Milian steals the show as an albino gunman prone to epileptic fits. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

For some reason, the elongated figures limned by the highly astigmatic painter El Greco (1541-1614) perfectly suited the grandees of Spain even though they were clearly anything but realistic, and they fascinate even today. The Greek (Cretan, actually) painter's life in Spain could have served as the basis for a fascinating biography, but the makers of this film chose to concentrate on the bad ol' Inquisition and portray the painter as being warned by his girlfriend that he is being watched; as a foreigner, he is suspected of heresy. Mel Ferrer plays the painter in this historical melodrama which is not nearly as bad as it could have been. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

The French/Italian/British King of Hearts (Le Roi de Coeur) takes place during World War I, but it might as well have been the Vietnamese conflict so far as its youthful "core" audience was concerned. Overacting outrageously, Adolfo Celi plays British colonel Alexander MacBibenbrook, who orders mild-mannered Scotsman Pvt. Charles Plumpick (Alan Bates) to undertake a life-or-death mission in a tiny French village. While evacuating the town, the Germans have left behind a time bomb that will explode at midnight; Plumpick must defuse that bomb. Upon his arrival in town, Plumpick discovers that it is far from deserted. A group of inmates from the local insane asylum, left behind during the evacuation, have claimed the village for their own. Knocked unconscious, Plumpick awakens to learn that he has been crowned "King of Hearts" by the gentle lunatics. None of the inmates pay any heed to Plumpick's warnings about impending doom, and when he attempts to lead them out of town, they are terrified at the prospect and scurry back to the "safety" of the village. Plumpick is finally able to render the bomb useless, whereupon the grateful inmates decide to stage a three-year celebration. When Plumpick tries to leave, he is kidnapped by the loonies at the behest of beautiful inmate Coquelicot (Geneviève Bujold), who has fallen in love with him. Bound and gagged, Plumpick watches helplessly as the Germans and the British troops kill each other off in comic-opera fashion. Finally set free, Plumpick weighs the horrible insanity of war against the more benign brand of lunacy represented by the inmates. The final image -- of a nude Plumpick carrying a birdcage, knocking on the doors of the asylum, and demanding that he be "accepted" -- was reproduced for the print ads of King of Hearts, effectively giving away the ending. An essential "date" film of the 1970s, King of Hearts was often released to campus movie houses in tandem with a pair of cult-favorite short subjects, the animated Bambi Meets Godzilla and Lenny Bruce's Thank You Masked Man. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted by Philip Dunne from the novel by Irving Stone, The Agony and the Ecstacy is the story of the 16th century war of wills between Renaissance artist Michelangelo (Charlton Heston) and "warrior pope" Julius II (Rex Harrison). Commissioned to paint a religious fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the independent-minded Michelangelo balks at the assignment. He is virtually strongarmed into accepting the job by Pope Julius, who wants to leave something for future generations to remember him by. Director Carol Reed deftly juggles screen time between the Pope's activities on the battlefield and Michelangelo's slow, arduous completion of his monumental task. The film also gingerly approaches the subject of Michelangelo's sexual orientation vis-a-vis his relationship with the Contessina de Medici (Diane Cilento). Too long and limited in subject matter to score at the box office, The Agony and the Ecstacy holds up pretty well when seen today, especially when viewed in a wide-screen print. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Von Ryan's Express is a fast-paced, well-acted World War II drama, featuring a squadron of Allied soldiers trying to escape a prison camp in Italy. While most of the prisoners at the camp are British, a determined, resourceful American Air Force colonel (Frank Sinatra) takes charge and leads the escape, which requires that the prisoners wrest control of a German train and propel it through Italy to Switzerland. The subsequent ride, featuring good special effects and outstanding stunt work, is great fun and very suspenseful. Frank Sinatra makes an effective action hero aided by veteran actor Trevor Howard as a British officer. The CinemaScope photography is outstanding and director Mark Robson directs the exciting action sequences with skill. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

Following up 1964's Academy Award nominated L'Homme de Rio, French filmmaker Philippe de Broca wrote and directed this big-screen adaptation of André Couteaux's novel Un monsieur de compagnie. Jean-Pierre Cassel stars as Antoine, a young man who holds the philosophy "Laziness is the mother of all virtue" close to his heart and spends many dreamy days fishing with his wealthy grandfather. But when he has a prophetic dream that the old man will die impoverished, Antoine is motivated to change his life and try to earn his own money. Also starring Catherine Deneuve and Jean-Pierre Marielle, Un monsieur de compagnie was released in the United States in 1966 under the title Male Companion. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

An eight-day pass, a kidnapping, and a greedy group of South American Indians provide the basic ingredients of this madcap adventure. A French air force pilot has the pass and plans to use it to see his girl friend in Paris. He gets there just in time to see a gang of South American Indians, who believe the girl knows the location of a set of statues that can pinpoint the location of a fabulous jungle treasure, kidnapping her. He follows them to the Brazilian jungle and many riotous adventures ensue. Eventually the lovers manage to escape and return to France just before the pilot's pass expires. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

After serving his creative apprenticeship in short subjects, Italian filmmaker Luigi Comencini made his feature-film debut with Guaglio. The film was also released as Proibito Rubare, and later was distributed to the U.S. as Hey, Boy! The dramatic crux of the film is the relationship between a missionary priest and a gang of postwar Neapolitan street kids. Reportedly, Comencini and co-writer Suso Cecchi D'Amico deliberately patterned the film after the 1938 Hollywood release Boys Town. If so, they eschewed the MGM gloss of the earlier film in favor of gritty neorealism and pointed criticism of Naples' class-consciousness. The two main characters, the priest and the boy who helps him "reach" the other kids, are played by Adolfo Celi and Mario Russo. Most of the urchins are effectively played by nonprofessionals recruited from the streets of Naples. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide