Andrea Checchi Movies

It is early in the 20th century, and an American traveler has come to Mexico at just the wrong time to continue living a peaceful life, for the Revolution has begun and he quickly finds himself in the thick of it. At first, he is right in the middle between government troops and the revolutionaries and bandidos as they attack a train. Later, he finds himself among the decidedly scruffy-looking revolutionaries and even finds some romantic interest in a hot-tempered girl who is among them. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

An all-star cast graces this Italian "omnibus" feature. The film consists of eight short stories, each based on nostalgic literary efforts. Linking the various stories is bookseller Aldo Fabrizi, who passes the time by reading the works dramatized herein. In "The Excelsior Ball," dancer Alba Arnova arouses the libido of several observers. In "Less Than a Day," a three-hour train delay wreaks havoc on the romance between Arnova and Andrea Checchi. In "Sardinian Drummer Boy," the title character (Enzo Cerusico) becomes an unexpected hero on the battlefield. In "Matter of Interest," two farmers (Arnoldo Foa and Folco Lulli) quarrel over a compost pile. In "The Idyll," two very young people (Maurizio Di Nardo and Geraldina Pariniello) fall in love. "Potpourri of Songs" delivers on its title through the musical versatility of Barbara Florian and Elio Pandolfi. "The Trial of Frine" finds accused murderess Gina Lollobrigida being defended by colorful lawyer Vittorio De Sica. And in "The Trap," an accusatory husband (Amedeo Nazzari) drives his far-from-innocent wife (Elis Cegani) into an act of extreme desperation. Also known as In Olden Days, Altri Tempi was distributed worldwide by RKO Radio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Carl Ludwig Diehl stars as famed attorney Ruska in Atto di Accusa. After murdering his wife (Lea Padovani) Ruska arranges the evidence in a manner that will implicate the wife's lover (Marcello Mastrioanni). This "perfect crime" requires the killing of another, wholly innocent victim. Eventually, the lover teams up with a police inspector (Andrea Checchi) to stop Ruska before he kills again. It's a grim story, though well told and immensely entertaining. Director Giacomo Gentilomo also wrote the intricate screenplay for Atto di Accusa. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Generally considered to be the foremost example of Italian Gothic horror, this darkly atmospheric black-and-white chiller put director Mario Bava on the international map and made the bewitching Barbara Steele a star. Steele plays Princess Asa, a high priestess of Satan who is gruesomely executed in 1600s Moldavia by having a spiked mask hammered into her face. Before she dies, Asa vows revenge on the family who killed her and returns from the grave two centuries later to keep her promise. In a striking resurrection scene replete with bats, scorpions and fog, Asa rises from the tomb to claim her bloody vengeance. With vampires, bubbling flesh, dank crypts, undead servants and torch-bearing mobs, the plot is a little ripe, but the visuals are Bava's primary consideration. The atmosphere is so heavy and the imagery so dense that the film becomes nearly too rich in texture, but the sheer, ghastly beauty of it all is entrancing. Although this was only the second of Bava's twenty-six films as director, it is undoubtedly his best and the one upon which most of his considerable reputation rests. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Set amongst the Italian peasantry of WW2, Caccia Tragica (Tragic Chase) is set in motino when a truck loaded with money targetted for farming projects is stolen by bandits. The local villagers set aside their petty political and personal differences, banding together to capture the outlaws and recover the loot. The story takes a romantic detour by concentrating on the romance between two young people caught in the middle between the pursuers and the pursued. At the time of its release, Caccia Tragica was perceived as a Communist tract (it was produced by the left-leaning National Association of Italian Partisans). This didn't prevent the film from winning an award at the 1947 Venice Film Festival, quite a coup for first-time director Giueseppe De Santis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this WW II drama, a captain attempts to navigate his Italian submarine through enemy waters. He is stalked by a British commander assigned to destroy the sub. The Italian captain somehow succeeds in getting into neutral waters and is granted permission to stay there a fortnight. The British commander also stays in Tangiers so he can monitor the Italian. During their stay, the two agree not to fight and gradually come to respect each other. Meanwhile an intelligence officer, tries to upset the careful balance between the men. He uses the Italian's lover to get him to make a move. It works, and the Italian accuses his girl of spying and leaves the safety of port. The British commander follows and ends up losing his ship to the Italian's torpedoes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This Italian version of Dostoyevsky's Brothers Karamazov understandably suffers in comparison with the lavish internationally produced 1958 remake. Still, the earlier film has much to offer, especially in terms of acting and directing. Reasonably faithful to the original, the film recounts the doleful story of a domineering Russian landowner and the effect his death has on his four sons. Singled out for critical praise was Giulio Donnini as the epileptic Smerdiakov. I Fratelli Karamazov successfully manages to pack most of the novel into 116 minutes, while the more celebrated remake was half an hour longer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

For anyone not up on Italian history during World War II, this interesting docudrama about the eventual execution by the Nazis of Mussolini's son-in-law Count Ciano (Frank Wolf) will have a few gaps. The war is ending and the fascists have clearly lost, so in their last-ditch effort to lay the blame elsewhere they choose Galeazzo Ciano, their former Foreign Minister, as one of several "traitors" to the fascist cause. Neither Mussolini himself nor an offer of the Count's diaries have any effect on the Verona-based trial which condemned and executed several others as traitors. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this amusing look at the petty deceits of everyday life, Marcello Mastroianni shines as wealthy antique dealer Nello Poletti, a man with every comfort money can buy. One day, however, Poletti is falsely accused of murdering his former mistress (Micheline Presle), who set him up in a life of luxury only to be cast aside in favor of a younger woman (Cristina Gajoni). The evidence seems overwhelming, and Poletti is sent to jail, where he reflects on his shameful life of deceit in pursuit of wealth. Overcome by guilt, Poletti decides to confess, only to discover that the real killer -- a spurned lover -- has already been apprehended. Once he is off the hook, Poletti returns to his original pattern of fast cars and fast women, even jokingly referring to himself as "The Assassin," and proving that he has learned absolutely nothing from his ordeal. The story is fairly predictable, but is never less than entertaining, thanks to a clever screenplay by director Elio Petri, Tonino Guerra, Pasquale Festa Campanile, and Massimo Franciosa. Petri (making his directorial debut) gets the most out of his talented cast, particularly Mastroianni, and there are some nice supporting turns by veteran character actors Salvo Randone, Andrea Checchi, and Enrico Maria Salerno. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Made in Italy is a multistoried film, set...in Italy, of course. An all-star cast appears in brief seriocomic vignettes about rich and poor, tourist and native. Director Nanni Loy exhibits the realistic and somewhat earthy technique he'd used on his earlier documentaries, with heavy emphasis on ironic punch lines. Filmed in 1965 by a Franco/Italian production team, Made in Italy received the best possible exposure upon its 1967 American release when clips were showcased on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. Best bit: The "give to the poor" poster in an impoverished Italian mountain village. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide