Barta Barry Movies
This horror science-fiction thriller, a cult favorite, takes place in 1907. Professor Caxton (Christopher Lee), a fossil-hunter has discovered some sort of pre-human creature frozen in ancient Manchurian ice. He is traveling to London with his find on the Trans-Siberian Railway and is horrified to discover that his frozen man is missing, and corpses and zombies are appearing all over the train. It turns out that the frozen specimen is an alien with some unusual powers. The combined forces of Professor Caxton, his rival Dr. Wells (Peter Cushing), and a Cossack captain (Telly Savalas) are needed to save the world from this monstrous being. Skillfully told, with a good dose of humor, this film also features the train which appeared a year before in Nicholas and Alexandra . ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1971
In what was billed as "The First East-Meets-West Western," Toshiro Mifune plays Kuroda, a samurai warrior who accompanies a Japanese diplomat to the United States. The diplomat has brought with him a golden, jewel-encrusted sword to present as a token of good will to the president, but as they travel by train through the west, they're ambushed by a pair of outlaws, Gauche (Alain Delon) and Link (Charles Bronson). Gauche and Link steal the sword, but Link leans the hard way about his partner's trustworthiness when Gauche double-crosses him and makes off with the booty. Since both Kuroda and Link have a grudge against Gauche, they warily join forces to track him down and return the sword to its rightful owner. Along the way, they have to deal with cultural conflict, Indian attacks, and encounters with beautiful women (played by Capucine and Ursula Andress). Given its cast and theme, Red Sun was predictably enough a major box-office success in Europe and Japan, but it passed through with little notice in the United States. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Bronson, Ursula Andress, (more)
- 1971
- R
The title says it all: This time young Dr. Jekyll (Jack Taylor), the grandson of the more famous one, must contend with a werewolf (Paul Naschy) rather than grandpa's bestial alter ego Mr. Hyde. Well, that's not quite accurate. What happens here is that the werewolf seeks out a cure for his lycanthropy from Jekyll. The good doctor pumps him full of a serum that turns the wolfman into Mr. Hyde. Even worse, this Hyde is an S&M freak, seeking out beautiful women for the purposes of bondage and torture. Jeckyll wants to put an end to all this, but he is prevented from doing so by his insane lab assistant. By 1971, baying at the moon and growing an inordinate amount of facial hair was old hat to the ubiquitous Paul Naschy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Naschy, Jack Taylor, (more)
- 1967
The title character of this spaghetti western can only be Sheriff Pat Garrett, herein portrayed by Fausto Tozzi. Billy himself is portrayed by top-billed Peter Lee Lawrence, who also acted under the name of Karl Hirenbach. Since there is very little suspense during the film's 86 minutes, the script concentrates on the "friendly enemy" relationship between Garrett and Billy in the months just prior to the fatal gundown. Oddly, violence is at a minimum, setting this one apart from the usual European frontier splatterfests. The film's original Spanish title was (what else?) El Hombre Que Matao Billy El Nino. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Samuel Bronston Productions was pretty much obliterated in 1964 by the failure of The Fall of the Roman Empire. Three years later, Bronston tried to rebuild his old empire by teaming up with a pair of South American entrepreneurs; the result was Savage Pampas. Set in the Argentina of the 1890s, the film tells the story of a clever bandit leader (Ron Randell) who buys off the soldiers sent to capture him--then enlists the deserters in his own gang. But Army fort commander Robert Taylor can't be bribed, and takes it upon himself to defeat the bandit. Savage Pampas was a remake of a popular Argentinian historical epic of 1946, Pampa Barbara. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Taylor, Marc Lawrence, (more)
- 1966
Rik vanNutter, fondly remembered by James Bond fans as "Felix Leiter" in Thunderball (and also well known internationally as the former husband of Anita Ekberg) stars in the Spanish-Italian Dynamite Joe. The film is set in the years following the Civil war. vanNutter plays a government agent, assigned to protect a gold shipment. The bandits whom he confronts along the way are not prepared for vanNutter's "secret weapon": that newfangled invention called dynamite. Halina Zalewska and Merce Castro costar in this lively spaghetti western. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Four writers are to credit for this unsuccessful sword-and-sandal feature starring Richard Harrison. Set in the 1st century A.D., Sparta is under the tyranny of the Roman Empire. With the help of six other gladiators, Spartan Darius (Harrison) is determined to make a small contribution to the welfare of mankind by engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the local brutes. The dubbing is uneven in this historical actioner that follows the same pattern as many of the low-budget features of this genre. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Harrison, Loredana Nusciak, (more)
- 1963
Actor Lawrence Harvey made his debut as a writer and director with this downbeat drama. Sean McKenna (Harvey) is awaiting execution in a prison in Tangiers after being convicted of murder. McKenna was trying to prevent the crime in question but was instead made the scapegoat. With his life hanging in the balance, McKenna's girlfriend Catherine (Sarah Miles) and his brother Dominic (Robert Walker Jr.) engineer an escape plan, and McKenna is able to beat his date with the hangman. However, McKenna's reunion with Dominic and Catherine proves not to be as joyous as he had expected when he discovers that they have been having an affair. Harvey was to direct only two more films, the second of which, Welcome to Arrow Beach, would prove to be his final work. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurence Harvey, Sarah Miles, (more)
- 1957
In this adventure, an American is forced by smugglers to sail his boat from Barcelona to Tangiers. The ruthless fugitives then kill his son, and harm his shipmate, sending the pilot, himself an ex-smuggler into such a rage that he kills two gang members and helps police capture the survivors and bring them to justice. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
