Jose Greco Movies
Born to Spanish and Italian parents, Jose Greco was first exposed to the art of flamenco dancing while growing up in Seville. Moving to America at the age of ten, Greco dropped out of high school to become a painter, but decided to devote himself to professional dancing after watching the legendary flamenco artist Vincente Escudero in action. He made his New York debut in the late 1930s in a production of the ballet Carmen. During the 1940s, Greco danced with the La Argentinita flamenco ensemble, striking out on his own to choreograph the dance numbers in the 1948 film Manolete. He formed his own company in 1951, playing to SRO crowds wherever he went. In 1956, Greco and his troupe made their collective American movie debut in Mike Todd's Around the World in 80 Days. Jose Greco's film appearances since that time have been very few and far between; in 1973, he was co-starred with Chuck Connors and Cesar Romero in a formula spaghetti western, The Proud and the Damned. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Will (Chuck Connors) leads a group of American Civil War veterans into San Carlos, Columbia. The local mayor (Cesar Romero) welcomes the quintet, unaware they are scouting out the town for Columbian General Martinez (Andre Maruis). Soon the visitors are reveling with gypsies Mila (Anita Quinn) and Ramon (Jose Greco). Will and Mila end up making love, much to the dismay of the jealous Ramon. Will shoots and kills the hotheaded Ramon, and the mayor is called on to restore order. The five Americans are held for questioning following the murder. When the scouts fail to return to the General, the storm clouds of war gather over the once-peaceful town. Mila becomes ostracized by the townsfolk for her brazen behavior that resulted in Ramon's death. The mayor considers letting Will and Mila leave town in an effort to avoid further bloodshed. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chuck Connors, Aron Kincaid, (more)
The first person the audience sees in Ship of Fools is dwarf Michael Dunn, who speaks to viewers directly and acts as a Greek chorus throughout the film. It begins on the deck of an ocean liner travelling from Vera Cruz to Bremerhaven. The time is the 1930s, so close and yet so far from war. The cross-section of humanity on board includes ship's doctor Oscar Werner, Spanish political activist Simone Signoret, aging coquette Vivien Leigh, hedonistic baseball player Lee Marvin, philosophical Jew Heinz Ruhmann, a smattering of pro- and anti-Hitlerites (Jose Ferrer plays the nastiest and most vocal "pro") and young lovers George Segal and Elizabeth Ashley. Yes, it's Grand Hotel at sea, a feast for stargazers and an endurance test for those who aren't comfortable with non-stop speechmaking. Despite such lines as "What can the Nazis do? Kill all six million of us?," Ship of Fools manages to stay afloat throughout its 148 minutes. Michael Dunn was nominated for an Academy Award for his interlocutory characterization; the rest of the performances range from brilliant to merely filling up the room. Other Oscars were presented to cinematographer Ernest Lazslo and to the art-direction staff. Ship of Fools was adapted by Abby Mann from the novel by Katharine Ann Porter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vivien Leigh, Simone Signoret, (more)
- 1959
Originally aired as a radio show in 1928, The Voice of Firestone moved to television in 1949 as a showcase of the world's best musical performers. Promising newcomers and established stars alike sang or danced to various tunes while Howard Barlow and his 46-piece orchestra accompanied them. This volume features Jose Greco dancing while his own singers and musicians perform such tunes as "Cordoba," "Granada," "Castellana," "Pastoral Romance,"and "Wedding Dance." ~ Elizabeth Smith, All Movie Guide
- 1959
Director Henry Levin followed up this light romantic comedy with Where the Boys Are and started a beach trend going. This conventional story stars one of his favorite actors Clifton Webb as Robert Dean, the father of two lively teen-age daughters. He and his wife Mary (Jane Wyman) accompany their daughters on a South American junket. Meg (Jill St. John) and Betsy (Carol Lynley the 17-year-old model turned actress) are the teens. Since Robert is a psychiatrist, one would assume he has the inside scoop on the teen years, but as the family make stops in Lima, Sao Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro it is clear that the daughters are winning the day. Handsome young men enter the picture, and it is not long before romance follows right behind. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clifton Webb, Jane Wyman, (more)
Razzle-dazzle showman Michael Todd hocked everything he had to make this spectacular presentation of Jules Verne's 1872 novel Around the World in 80 Days, the second film to be lensed in the wide-screen Todd-AO production. Nearly as fascinating as the finished product are the many in-production anecdotes concerning Todd's efforts to pull the wool over the eyes of local authorities in order to cadge the film's round-the-world location shots--not to mention the wheeling and dealing to convince over forty top celebrities to appear in cameo roles. David Niven heads the huge cast as ultra-precise, supremely punctual Phileas Fogg, who places a 20,000-pound wager with several fellow members of London Reform Club, insisting that he can go around the world in eighty days (this, remember, is 1872). Together with his resourceful valet Passepartout (Cantinflas), Fogg sets out on his world-girdling journey from Paris via balloon. Meanwhile, suspicion grows that Fogg has stolen his 20,000 pounds from Bank of England. Diligent Inspector Fix (Robert Newton) is sent out by the bank's president (Robert Morley) to bring Fogg to justice. Hopscotching around the globe, Fogg pauses in Spain, where Passepartout engages in a comic bullfight (a specialty of Cantinflas). In India, Fogg and Passepartout rescue young widow Princess Aouda (Shirley MacLaine, in her third film) from being forced into committing suicide so that she may join her late husband. The threesome visit Hong Kong, Japan, San Francisco, and the Wild West. Only hours short of winning his wager, Fogg is arrested by the diligent Inspector Fixx. Though exonerated of the bank robbery charges, he has lost everything--except the love of the winsome Aouda. But salvation is at hand when Passepartout discovers that, by crossing the International Date Line, there's still time to reach the Reform Club. Will they make it? See for yourself. Among the film's 46 guest stars, the most memorable include Marlene Dietrich, Charles Boyer, Jose Greco, Frank Sinatra, Peter Lorre, Red Skelton, Buster Keaton, John Mills, and Beatrice Lillie. All were paid in barter--Ronald Colman did his brief bit for a new car. Newscaster Edward R. Murrow provides opening narration, and there's a tantalizing clip from Georges Méliès' A Trip to the Moon (1902). Offering a little something for everyone, Around the World in 80 Days is nothing less than an extravaganza, and it won 5 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Cinematography. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Niven, Cantinflas, (more)
- 1953
This tuneful romantic melodrama is set in a tiny Mexican village and is comprised of three storylines. One tale concerns a pair of young lovers from rival villages who will not be able to marry until a long time feud is ended. In another tale, an heir to a large fortune falls in love with an impoverished girl. His family is dead set against the match. When he is diagnosed with a fatal tumor, the man begs the girl to marry him, but she refuses and instead arranges for him to marry another. In the third story, a matador's comely sister falls in love with a street vendor. Unfortunately, the matador hates her beloved and to break them up permanently, slyly convinces the peddler to enter the dangerous bullring. Fortunately for the sister, her brother's scheme fails spectacularly. She then marries the peddler and makes an ironic discovery. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Maria Pier Angeli, Ricardo Montalban, (more)
- 1950
The Spanish Manolette is a highly romanticized biopic, based on the life and death of one of the world's greatest matadors. Pedro Ortego stars as Manolette, while the genuine article appears in filmclips culled from newsreel footage. The film's pacing is wildly uneven, often slowing to a halt during the romantic passages. A word of warning to the squeamish: the bullfighting sequences are explicitly brutal, especially the actual shots of Manolette's final, fatal appearance in Mexico. For non-aficionados, Manolette showcases the terpsichorean talents of famed flamenco dancer Jose Greco. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jose Greco, Paquita Rico, (more)
