Ettore Manni Movies
In films from 1951, Ettore Manni distinguished himself in roles of all varieties and sizes. During his first decade on the screen, he was often cast in costume epics, playing Marc Anthony in several films based on the life of Cleopatra and showing up in a number of Hercules pictures. In contemporary productions, he was frequently seen as a priest or law officer. Ettore Manni's final film, City of Women, was released posthumously. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
Paolo Moffa directed this gritty spaghetti western under the name "John Byrd," and if the sets look familiar, they were previously seen in Sergio Leone's classic Per Qualche Dollaro in Piu. Craig Hill stars as Clive Norton, a bounty-hunter hired to track down the outlaw Johnny Gunn (Giovanni Cianfriglia, best known as "Ken Wood"), who has looted an army payroll. Norton saves Gunn's brother (Ettore Manni) from execution in exchange for his help, and later enlists a Mexican bandit (Francesco Santoveti) who double-crosses them and joins Gunn. The inevitable shootout follows, with predictable results. The film's most memorable performance comes from Cianfraglia, a former stunt double for Steve Reeves who later gained a cult following as star of the Super Argo series. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1954
Italian director Pietro Francisci directed this 1954 drama about the fifth-century invasion of Rome by Attila the Hun. Anthony Quinn stars as the legendary barbaric King of the Huns who wreaked havoc upon Rome, threatening to topple the entire empire. Sophia Loren costars as Honoria, the beautiful young woman whose help is enlisted by Pope Leo I and may be the only person who can end Attila's rampage. Also starring Henri Vidal and Irene Papas, Attila, il flagello di Dio was released in the United States as Attila. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Quinn, Sophia Loren, (more)
- 1958
This charming fantasy concerns a young orphan named Marietto who believes that he must select his own mother. Escaping from the orphanage, he latches on to Camilla (Vera Cecova), a famous ballerina who cannot seem to dissuade the mischievous youth, no matter how hard she tries. Finally, God (Vittorio De Sica) intervenes, and Camilla marries the man she loves, adopting Marietto as their son. Gabriele Ferzetti co-stars in this engaging comic parable, and De Sica is wonderful as a kind, if curmudgeonly, deity. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wera Cecova, Vittorio De Sica, (more)
- 1952
Cavalleria Rusticana is adapted from the popular one-act play of the same name. Set in rural Sicily, the anecdotal story concerns a deserting soldier named Turiddu (Leonardo Cortese) who returns home to discover that his flirtatious sweetheart Lola (Doris Duranti) has married another. As consolation, Turiddu inaugurates a romance with Santuzza (Isa Pola), but before long he is carrying on an illicit relationship with Lola. The spurned Santuzza informs Lola's husband (Carlo Ninchi) of what's going on behind his back, and the result is a bloody duel. Written by Giovanni Verga, Cavalleria Rusticana had previously been transformed into an opera by Mascagni, whose music is absent from this adaptation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
- PG
The US title of this Italian-Spanish-French coproduction is Chino, in deference to the character played by star Charles Bronson. Having long suffered the stigma of being part-Indian, New Mexico horse breeder Chino Valdez (Bronson) wants nothing more than to be left alone with his beloved horses. Even so, Chino opens his heart and his home to teenaged runaway Jamie Wagner (Vincent Van Patten), who becomes his protégé. But things take an unpleasant turn when the formerly taciturn Chino falls in love with Louise (Jill Ireland, the half-sister of antagonistic rancher Maral (Marcel Bozzuffi, replacing the original choice for the role, Lino Ventura). This film was based on The Valdez Horses, a novel by Lee Hoffman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Bronson, Marcel Bozzuffi, (more)
In this dream-sequence film, renowned Italian director Federico Fellini expounds at length on the nature, complexities, attitudes, and hang-ups of women and how this all relates to men "hunting" sexual conquests. Snaporaz (Marcello Mastroianni) is traveling in a compartment on a train when he lapses into sleep and dreams the ensuing story. He follows a woman off the train and through a field and then loses her. Soon, as a representative of the male sex in general he finds himself in a hotel, among myriad women attending a feminist conference. Surreal episodes take him through a villa with his alter-ego Dr. Katzone (Ettore Manni, who died during filming) and references to his sexual exploits. Reunited with his former wife for a moment, he starts another sequence which reviews his past. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcello Mastroianni, Anna Prucnal, (more)
- 1963
Soldiers locate a striking woman in a destroyed truck in the Libyan Desert. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1959
This routine period drama is set during the first half of the 19th century, when Queen Isabela II of Spain was opposed by her uncle, Don Carlos. In this story, Jose (Francisco Rabal) is an officer in Don Carlos' army who deserts but is captured and sentenced to be shot by a firing squad. In the gentleman's war of the day, Jose is given an overnight reprieve before showing up for his appointment with the "ten waiting rifles." While he is out free during this time, he mulls over the idea of running away with the woman he loves. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Francisco Rabal, Ettore Manni, (more)
- 1976
A beautiful woman (Laura Antonelli) is engaged to one man, but has an affair with both a young nobleman (Terence Stamp) and later his cousin (Marcello Mastroianni). This Italian production, also known as Divina Creatura, appears in both subtitled and dubbed versions. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laura Antonelli, Terence Stamp, (more)
- 1956
Donne Sole (Women Alone) attained good American bookings thanks to the star power of Eleanora Rossi Drago and Gianna Maria Canale. The film is, in part, an inward-looking glance at the Italian motion picture industry and its treatment (or mistreatment) of women. Otherwise, the story is a lighthearted romantic trifle, set in and around Monte Carlo. Paolo Stoppa scores as the erstwhile suitor of the two leading ladies and their attractive companion Luciana Angiolilio. Donne Sole served as the directorial debut of Vittorio Sala; the film was entered into competition at the 1956 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gianna Maria Canale, Luciana Angiolillo, (more)
Based on a true story, this political thriller/drama explores the ordeal of Linda Murri (Catherine Deneuve), a 19th-century upper-class Italian woman who was caught in an unhappy marriage and who broke the code of behavior for aristocrats by taking a lower-class lover. After her husband was murdered, Murri stood trial for the murder. Her professor father's socialist opinions were clearly the reason for the harshness of the prosecution. The case was widely known throughout Italy at the time, and caused a national furor. Murri did not actually arrange to murder her boorish nobleman husband Count Bonmartini (Paolo Bonacelli); rather, she told her brother how unhappy she was and that she was afraid for her life. He acted on her complaint by taking the drastic step of murder. The trial resulted in her being given a long prison term, along with her brother (Giancarlo Giannini), her lover Carlo Secci (Ettore Manni) and her brother's assistants Pio and Rosa (Corrado Pani and Tina Aumont). The relentlessness of the prosecutor Giudice Stanzani (Marcel Bozzuffi) and the spinelessness of the family patriarch Augusto Murri (Fernando Rey), the professor with the unpopular opinions, are key dramatic features of this complex story. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Giancarlo Giannini, Catherine Deneuve, (more)
- 1964
Steve Reeves clone Richard Harrison stars in the sword 'n' sandal Giants of Rome. The Eternal City is threatened by a modernistic doomsday weapon. Harrison decides to investigate, cutting a swath through various well-armed antagonists. It turns out that the horrible weapon turns out to be little more than an outsized catapult. There was a huge built-in audience for this sort of fare back in 1964, so it hardly matters whether or not Giants of Rome is any good...though it is better than most of its kind. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Harrison
- 1976
- R
Two mobsters are given a dangerous assignment in this crime drama. The two must learn which new gang smuggled a large stash of pure heroin into San Francisco and hid it in the cross the Don had imported from Italy and gave to his church. One of the gangsters is the Don's nephew. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roger Moore, Stacy Keach, (more)
- 1961
Hercules (Reg Park) and King Androcles (Ettore Manni) are on an ocean expedition when Androcles is washed overboard during a storm near a mysterious island. Making landfall, Hercules finds that the island is the kingdom of Atlantis, ruled by a beautiful, cruel, and ambitious queen, Antinea (Fay Spain), who controls a mysterious source of power. She has transformed her personal guard into super-strong warriors -- each nearly a match for Hercules, put Androcles under her spell, and inflicted terrible wounds on her people, all in preparation for her plan to conquer the world. Hercules finds that her power stems from a source older than the gods on Olympus, one over which he has virtually no power. He must save his friend, release Antinea's people, and prevent her from carrying out her plans. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Reg Park
Hercules and the Masked Rider stars beefcaker Alan Steel. Since the story takes place in 17th century Spain, we suspect that the character's name wasn't "Hercules" when the film was originally released in Italy. No matter: the steely-eyed Steel is most impressive as he tilts with gypsies and evil dons. Just as impressive is the cleavage displayed by the ladies in the cast. Filmed in 1960, Hercules and the Masked Rider came to America in 1963 as part of TV's Son of Hercules package. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
After being accused of kidnapping the English king, a man is forced to investigate the identity of the ones who actually did it. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1967
Aldo (Giulio Platone) is a henpecked husband who takes time off from his business ventures to enjoy a night in Rome in this comedy drama. He meets Debra (Sandra Milo) and brings her back to his apartment. After she has a conversation with a mystery man named Rossano, she kills herself. Aldo tries but fails to have his so-called friends help him get rid of the body before his wife finds out. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sandra Milo, Enrico Maria Salerno, (more)
- 1963
This costume drama is set within the ancient courts of Egypt. It tells the story of Cleopatra's beautiful daughter who is slated to be buried alive in her husband's tomb. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1970
This peculiar spaghetti western from prolific director Demofilo Fidani (using the pseudonym "Miles Deem") deals with a man named Blonde (Chet Davis) tracking bounty hunter Lazar (Hunt Powers) to the mining town of Lamazos. The evil town boss, Barret (Gordon Mitchell), wants Lazar dead, so he sends a group of assassins to murder him. Lazar survives, and Barret ends up offering him $100,000 to leave town. Lazar accepts the money and travels on to a remote shack, where he tortures an old man (Ettore Manni), making him a slave. What Lazar doesn't know is that the old man is Blonde's father, and he pays for his mistake with his life, leaving the man and his gunslinging son rich after the obligatory showdown. Fidani's film is unusual in its almost hallucinatory lack of logic, creating a surreal effect aided by the cinematography of Aristide Massaccesi, who would go on to some notoriety as cult director "Joe D'Amato." ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1966
Not originally a "Ringo" entry, this exciting spaghetti western was redubbed to exploit the series' popular success. Mark Damon plays Ringo (Johnny in the original), a bounty-hunter who is hired to nab outlaw leader Franco Derosa, but ends up taking on Derosa's entire gang and demolishing half of Coldstone City with dynamite before the situation is resolved. Skillfully directed by Sergio Corbucci, this action-packed film features a stirring Carlo Savina soundtrack and numerous explosions, as well as an engaging performance by Damon, star of Roger Corman's The Fall of the House of Usher. Corbucci went on to direct the immensely popular Django. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
