Franco Lantieri Movies
- 1974
- R
This graphically violent crime drama follows the relatively brief career of the notorious racketeer Crazy Joe Gallo, who formed an alliance with all of New York City's African-American gangs while serving time in Attica. Once he got out, he used that alliance to try and take over the Mafia, an act that resulted in his brutal murder in a restaurant in Little Italy, 1972. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1967
- R
- Add A Minute to Pray, a Second To Die to QueueAdd A Minute to Pray, a Second To Die to top of Queue
Clay McCord (Alex Cord) is a former outlaw determined to live the life of a law-abiding citizen. Colby (Arthur Kennedy) is the town marshall who keeps law and order. Not far from the peaceful town is a haven for criminals led by Kraut (Mario Brega), a trigger happy outlaw who welcomes those who are wanted by the law. McCord worries that he may have the epilepsy that plagued his father and hastened his demise. He battles the sadistic gunman while hoping for a pardon from the sympathetic governor (Robert Ryan). He also falls for the lovely Laurinda (Nicoletta Machiavelli) as he walks between the two worlds of the law and the lawless in this action-packed and often bloody western adventure. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alex Cord, Arthur Kennedy, (more)
- 1966
This spaghetti western from director Giovanni Grimaldi stars cult favorite Robert Woods as Starblack, a swashbuckling hero who saves a Western town from the chicanery of a corrupt banker (Franco Lantieri). Beautiful Elga Andersen is Caroline, the requisite love interest, and Renato Rossini co-stars with Jane Tilden and Andrea Scotti. Grimaldi's direction is assured, but this variation on the Robin Hood legend does not compare to his wonderful All'Ombra di una Colt (1965), despite nice camera work by Guglielmo Mancori and a stirring score by Benedetto Ghiglia. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1963
My Son the Hero started out in 1961 as a straightforward Italian sword and sandal affair titled Arrivano i Titani, all about the quest for a magic helmet in ancient Thebes. Well cast (Pedro Armendariz is the star) and extremely well photographed, the original film was still not sufficient different from all the other Italian strongman films glutting the American market in 1963. Thus the American distributors hit upon the notion of transforming the film into a satire, by redubbing all the actors and hoking up the sound effects. What resulted was a heady mixture of Yiddish accents, Borscht-belt one-liners and rippling pecs. The single joke wears out pretty quickly in My Son, the Hero, but the concept is a workable one, as Woody Allen proved two years later with What's Up, Tiger Lily? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pedro Armendáriz, Jacqueline Sassard, (more)
- 1955
Gli Sbandati was released worldwide as The Disbanded. Set during WWII, the film is a drama of the Italian resistance, with all the usual clichéd characters in attendance. The central character, a bombed-out gamine who falls in love with an Italian partisan, is played by Lucia Bose, who earned a great deal of praise for her performance. Most of the film deals with the culture-clash between the citified resistance fighters and their rural hosts. Extremely well cast, and equipped with a powerhouse climax, Gil Sbandati proved to be a worthwhile feature-film directorial debut for onetime Antonioni associate Francesco Maselli. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lucia Bosé, Jean-Pierre Mocky, (more)
