Francesco de Leone Movies
With Peter Sellers as star, Neil Simon as screenwriter, and Vittorio DeSica as director, how could After the Fox miss? Miss it did, however--though the film, patchy and inconsistent though it might be, definitely has its moments. Sellers plays an Italian master thief who can't seem to stay out of jail. His latest scheme involves moving $3 million worth of stolen gold bullion from Cairo to Rome. To cover his tracks, Sellers pretends to be a "nouvelle vague" movie director, filming a crime picture. Britt Ekland, Mrs. Sellers at the time, plays his movie-struck sister. The film is effortlessly stolen by Victor Mature, who is unbearably funny as a vainglorious hasbeen Hollywood star. Director DeSica shows up in the film as "himself"-at least until all his camera equipment is stolen by Sellers and his partner-in-crime Akim Tamiroff. Never as hilarious as it should have been, After the Fox nonetheless manages a few isolated belly laughs. Outside of Mature's performance, our favorite bit in the film is the final gag: "Ze wrong man has escaped!" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Sellers, Britt Ekland, (more)
- 1962
Credited in some source books to Lee Kresel, the French-made Prisoner of the Iron Mask was actually directed by Francesco DeFeo. This colorful if occasionally empty-headed swashbuckler concerns an evil count, who imprisons the patriot (Michael Lemoine) who bears proof of the count's perfidy. Few of the elements of the Alexandre Dumas novel The Iron Mask surface in this film, chiefly because it is based not on The Iron Mask but on another Dumas work, Ten Years After. Nor do D'Artagnan or the Three Musketeers make their anticipated appearances in this film. Rarely seen today, The Prisoner of the Iron Mask enjoyed its widest American exposure during the Color TV "boom" of the mid-1960s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1961
In this romantic Italian swashbuckler, a tyrannical 17th-century Spanish governor of a small Carribbean island mercilessly slaughters all who refuse to grovel at his feet. Two brave young men manage to escape the island and take over a ship to become pirates. They name their new vessel the Black Witch and use her to get their revenge upon the cruel island ruler. During the battle, one of the pirates is injured while the other is captured. The injured pirate meets and falls in love with the governor's lovely daughter who helps him recover. Meanwhile, his imprisoned partner joins the governor's army and teams up with the vengeful woman his former buddy spurned to get rid of the pirates. A great final battle ensues until at long last, the village is vanquished. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Don McGowan, Emma Danieli, (more)
