Jess Hahn Movies

Filmed on location in France, Italy, Greece, and Egypt, Innocents Abroad was adapted by Dan Wakefield from the 1869 book by Mark Twain. The Twain original was an amusing, semi-satiric account of the author's Grand Tour of Europe and the Holy Land in 1867. Most of the humor derived from the contrast between the iconoclastic Twain and the tacked-on "reverence" of his fellow tourists. The cast includes Craig Wasson as Twain, David Ogden Stiers as a ship's doctor, Barry Morse as Captain Duncan, and-best of all--Luigi Proiette as the glib, effusive tour guide. Innocents Abroad premiered May 9, 1983 on PBS' Great Performances series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although the title is the same, this film is not related to the 1953 White Fire by John Gilling, except for their mutual interest in diamonds. Beau (Robert Ginty) and Ingrid (Belinda Mayne) are siblings who were raised by Sam (Jess Hahn) after they were orphaned while very young. Now all three are involved in smuggling diamonds, a successful enterprise thanks to a security officer at the mines who is willing to look the other way for a price. Even though all three are ostensibly after a famous 2,000 carat diamond known as White Fire, the plot suddenly flip flops, and Ingrid is killed. Her brother meets a woman who agrees to undergo plastic surgery and replace Ingrid -- and lo and behold, she is converted into Ingrid's twin, and their covert diamond business can continue. In the third or fourth plot detour, Beau then falls in love with his sister's look-alike, and shades of incest are not so subtly cast over their liaison. Eventually, the different threads weave their way to an inevitable ending. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this parody on vampire movies, a countess must bathe in virgin blood to keep her youthful appearance. Unfortunately, a good virgin is hard to find these days as her sons, who kidnap prospects from a local fashion boutique, soon discover. She also has a doctor working on developing synthetic blood. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This 1973 Italian production (remade by Simon Nuchtern for an American release two years later) is a buddy film with a small-time thug (Tony Lo Bianco) meeting a high-profile gangster (Lee Van Cleef) while in prison. The pair team up to attempt a prison breakout. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

Il Grande Duello is the original title of this Italian/French/West German production. The titular duel pits hard-bitten gunslinger Clayton (Lee Van Cleef) against the equally gritty Saxon (Horst Frank). Before this takes place, however, Clayton champions the cause of Newland (Peter O'Brien) a young punk who'd been framed on a murder charge. One of the beauties of the spaghetti western genre is that there were seldom any clearly defined Good or Bad Guys. This helped to keep the audience guessing as to the ultimate outcome of the film, thereby increasing the entertainment value tenfold. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This French film updates a classic tale by Voltaire and uses it as an allegory in which divisions of race and class are explored. In the film, Ingenu (Renaud Verly) is a native of India, working in another country. His charms beguile the youngest daughter of an upper-class family, and she falls in love with him and wants to marry him. This upsets the family for several reasons: he is not wealthy, he is dark-skinned, and he is not of their class. Indeed, before he came along, the daughter was slated to marry a wealthy business tycoon who, even though he was not of the "right" class, at least had money and the right skin color. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This broad French comedy includes some affectionate parodies of silent film features. Corny (Lino Ventura) is the captain of a rum-running boat during the U.S. Prohibition era, which ended before talking pictures were introduced. In his spare time, he haunts his local cinema, and his favorite actress is the divine Linda (Brigitte Bardot). Through a series of accidents, he finally gets to meet her in the flesh, and woo her. Their romance is obstructed by his bosses and her other suitors, but they keep trying to spend time together. Finally, the demands of stardom intervene. Corny goes back to his boat and sighs over the movie screen as before. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Agnes (Brigitte Bardot) is the nun who follows the order to the beach for a swim in the ocean. They shed their habits to reveal bathing suits worn underneath the robes. After swimming away from the group, Agnes is fortunate enough to find some perfectly fitting mod garb complete with accessories. A motor bike is also conveniently left for her to use, and she takes off on an adventurous romp. After wrecking the bike, she is taken into custody by the police and meets Lisa (Annie Girardot), a fun-loving hooker. Agnes tries to live the life of a prostitute but fails to make the erotic connection. After Lisa saves the nun from a group of drunken American sailors, Agnes takes a job riding in an ambulance, and Lisa uses the vehicle for a bordello on wheels. Eventually, a doctor (Jacques Duby) recognizes Agnes as a nun when she comes to him as a potential sex customer. After delivering a pregnant women to the hospital, Agnes and Lisa swim back to the group of nuns, don habits and blend back into the religious order. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Philippe (Salvatore Adamo) lands in prison for an attempted robbery. With the help of two convict he meets, he tries again to steal the papers that lead to his father's blackmail and ultimate suicide. Jess Hahn and Michel Constantine star as the veteran criminals who try to help Philippe but are motivated by the other contents of the locked safe. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

A pair of desperate men plan to kidnap a wealthy heiress upon her arrival in France. Bud (Marlon Brando) and Leer (Richard Boone) grab the gorgeous girl (Pamela Franklin) at the airport in Paris. The limousine is driven down a deserted country road where the airplane's stewardess Vi (Rita Moreno) is in on the plan and helps the criminals switch cars. The quartet heads to a remote beach house where the girl's father is contacted with instructions for the payoff. When the girl tries to escape, Bud helps her from being roughed up by Leer, which makes the heroine junkie Vi jealous. Vi's brother Wally (Jess Hahn) goes with to the saloon where the drop-off is scheduled, but Wally is wounded in a gun battle with the bartender. He escapes and gives the money to Leer, who is finished having his sadistic carnal way with the kidnap victim. Bud once again tries to help the girl, and Leer tries to shoot everyone who stands in his way. The feature ends with a hard-to-fathom surprise in this violent story of murder, greed and love of money. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide