Gianni Garko Movies

The French/Italian/Yugoslav concentration camp drama Kapo stars Susan Strasberg, who several years earlier had originated the title role in the Broadway production The Diary of Anne Frank. Here, Ms. Strasberg is once again a European Jewish teenager victimized by the Nazis. Interred in a concentration camp, Strasberg is befriended by the camp's kindly doctor, who helps her hide her true identity and work as a camp guard, or "kapo." Unfortunately, Strasberg's new found power goes to her head, and her abuse of that power is very nearly on the same level as the Nazis. Brought down to earth by the death of a close friend, Strasberg spearheads an escape attempt, sacrificing her own life in the process. Nominated for a best foreign picture Oscar in 1960, Kapo nonetheless did not find an American distributor until 1964. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Crazy Desire (La Voglia Matta) stars Ugo Tognazzi as a middle-aged Italian businessman on a cross country motor trip. He comes across a group of rambunctious teenagers, including sexy Catherine Spaak. Infatuated by the girl, Tognazzi allows Spaak to deplete his pocketbook to pay for a wild seaside spree for herself and her friends. When challenged to a fight by the leader of the kids, Tognazzi, much to his own surprise, wins, and is hailed as "one of the gang." But when he wakes up on the beach the next morning, he's all alone. Alternately wacky and wistful, Crazy Desire was the film that secured the international reputation of Italian director Luciano Salce. From the opening sequence during a amateurish outdoor production of Julius Caesar to the closing seascape shot of the solitary and bemused Ugo Tognazzi, there's hardly a false move in the picture. Crazy Desire was based on Enrico Siella's short story A Girl Named Francesca. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This Italian drama tells the story of Christ's crucifixion from the viewpoint of the Roman emperor's procurator in Israel who must try to quell a Jewish revolt. In a bizarre twist, John Drew Barrymore plays both Jesus and Judas in the film. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Nicole Molino (Catherine Spaak) and Nicola Molino (Gianni Garko) are not related to one another. In fact, they don't even know each other until both are inadvertently assigned the same hotel room on the island of Ischia. Nicole isn't interested in any hanky-panky, so Nicola promises to keep his hands to himself. Though this is an Italian picture, the storyline adheres strictly to tried-and-true Hollywood formula, and Nicole and Nicola fall in love. 18 in the Sun was released in the US under the infantile title Beach Party Italian Style; its original Italian title was Diciottenni al Sole. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Don Camillo (Fernandel) is a priest who travels to Moscow in this comedy culture clash. Don accompanies his archival communist mayor Peppone (Gino Cervi) and his wife (Leda Gloria) on a goodwill trip to the Soviet Union, and the priest is helped by the beautiful guide Nadia (Graziella Granata). Faithful fans of Fernandel and the Don Camillo series should not be disappointed. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

In this western, an engimatic stranger stops a stage from being robbed. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This lavishly costumed historical epic had an estimated $100 million price tag. Spectacularly photographed battle action contrasts with often plodding individual scenes that bog down the plot. Fearing his growing power, European monarchs force Napoleon Bonaparte (Rod Steiger) to abdicate as Emperor and retire to Elba, and the French are concerned they will be outnumbered by a force of combined armies from many countries in Europe. Napoleon no sooner says goodbye to his loyalist troops than he begins to rally his men and prepare for another takeover. King Louis XVIII (Orson Welles) sends Marshal Michel Ney (Dan O'Herlihy) and his men to counter Bonaparte, but upon seeing his old commander (and ally), Ney thrusts his sword to the ground and takes up arms with the deposed emperor. They all return to Paris by popular demand, defying the orders of Louis (who flees from the palace) and running the monarchy tout seul. Soon England, Austria, Prussia and Russia unite to try and stop the dictator. Wellington (Christopher Plummer) readies his troops near Waterloo, refuses to retreat anymore, and waits for Prussian Marshall Blucher (Sergei Zakhariadze) and his army to join up with the British as the only hope to stop the French juggernaut. Jack Hawkins and Michael Wilding portray key military commanders Picton and Ponosby, respectively. Napoleon and his troops cut into the Prussian and British forces dramatically, weakening their power, but three problems arise. First, Ney refuses to lead his segment of the troops onward; and second, Bonaparte's men are plagued by the wet weather, which causes
the cannon brigade to become immobilized in mud (when Wellington strategically gives Bonaparte's troops the lower ground) rendering it ineffective until late in the day. And even more calamitously, Bonaparte - growing increasingly ill -- insists on leading his men from the rear, which causes the information to become outdated as soon as it gets to him. The Russian version of this film was nearly four hours long, while western audiences saw an edited version slightly over two hours long. Unfortunately, Waterloo bombed at the box office. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Two teenagers looking for love find each other in this tragic and cruel story of romance, co-dependence and psychological torment. Pierre (Frank Grimes) is the French boy who saves the British girl Sarah (Carole Andre) from suicide. Despondent over a broken affair, Sarah soon becomes fond of Pierre and agrees to stay with him. The twisted girl puts him through a series of humiliations before she intentionally blinds him so he will never leave her. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

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