Ettore Manni Movies

An unreleased suspense thriller from Italy's master of horror and fantasy, Mario Bava, Rabid Dogs makes its belated debut in this special DVD release. When a bank robbery goes awry for a pair of violent criminals, they take an innocent woman hostage, who must fight for her survival. Shot mostly inside a speeding car, this tense and claustrophobic drama was filmed in 1974 (five years before Bava's death), but shortly before completion the death of one of the principal financiers threw the project into limbo. In 1998, the film's elements were rediscovered and editing was completed using Bava's notes as a guide; the result is a film that takes a decidedly modern detour from Bava's traditional Gothic subject matter and gives a much broader perspective on the range of his talents. A few years later, the film was reworked and retitled Kidnapped for a brief theatrical run in the U.S. That version of the film would later be released on DVD by Anchor Bay, with the original, Rabid Dogs cut included as supplimental material. Curiously enough, the version of Rabid Dogs featured on the Kidnapped disc still differs from the version of the film previously released by Lucertola. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

No relation to the 1953 El Alamein (beyond a common "real life" source), The Battle of El Alamein was a French-Italian coproduction, largely lensed in Spain. Set during the titular desert battle of 1942, the film departs from expectation by concentrating on the Axis point of view. Though they mistrust one another, the German and Italian troops are forced to work shoulder to shoulder to ward off the British. And talk about revisionist history: Rommel (Robert Hossein) is the hero of the piece, and Montgomery (Michael Rennie) is the villain! Battle of El Alamein would make a fascinating triple feature with Five Graves to Cairo (1943) and The Desert Fox (1953). Incidentally, the "Calvin Jackson Padgett" credited with the direction is really Giorgio Ferroni. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A French Army Captain (Jean Marais) and his adjunct (Sydney Chaplin) are separated from their unit during the Napoleonic Wars in this comedy adventure. Both men are caught behind enemy lines and have amorous romps with the comely Carlotta (Marilu Tolo), who charms them in various stages of undress. Guy Bedos provides comedy relief as the frightened infantry regular. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In this gory sequel to the spaghetti western Stranger in Town, a mysterious stranger masquerades as a postal inspector and rides out to round up a ring of thieves who are racing across the West in a stage coach made of gold. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In 1951, French writer Jean Genet presented a screenplay called "Les Rêves Interdits/L'Autre Versant du Rêve" to actress Anouk Aimée as a wedding gift. He then proceeded to sell the rights three times without telling her. Eventually the script was reworked by Marguerite Duras and filmed by British director Tony Richardson as Mademoiselle, with Jeanne Moreau in the title role. In its final form, Mademoiselle tells the story of a repressed schoolteacher who visits a veritable plague of deliberate "accidents" on the people of her rural French village. She sets fires, poisons animals, and causes floods -- all in a fit of thwarted passion for an immigrant woodcutter. Though Marlon Brando was originally set to play the role of the Italian craftsman, the part went to Ettore Manni when the production schedule shifted. Umberto Orsini plays Antonio, the woodcutter's forlorn son, whom Mademoiselle maliciously humiliates out of perverse desire for his father. A notoriously difficult shoot, Mademoiselle was filmed consecutively with The Sailor From Gibraltar, another collaboration between Richardson, Moreau, and Duras. As for Genet, he despised the casting of Moreau; nevertheless, she would go on to star in Querelle, another adaptation of the author's work. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Originally released in Great Britain as The Battle of the Villa Fiorita, this film is not a wartime epic but a cozy domestic drama. Maureen O'Hara plays an American woman who leaves British husband Richard Todd, taking their two children along. While vacationing on the Riviera, Maureen falls in love with Rosanno Brazzi, a widowed Italian concert pianist who also has children. None of the kids are keen on this continental romance, and do their best to break up the affair. One of the children is played by pre-teen Olivia Hussey, several years before her star turn in Zefferelli's Romeo and Juliet. Consistently lovely to look at, Affair at Villa Fiorita is not for those who prefer surprises in their film fare. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Comedy occasionally works in this confusing Italian exploitation film in which a former madam refuses to sell her whorehouse to any of several interested people. Eventually she dies, and, after a series of intrigues, the house becomes the property of former employee Pupa (Michele Mercier). All actors give colorful performances, but the plot devices are elaborate and obvious and the humor vulgar. ~ Lucinda Ramsey, All Movie Guide