Francisco Rabal Movies
Often regarded as one of the great leading men of Spanish cinema, Francisco Rabal, in later life, matured into a respected character actor, whose outsized personality was a match for the men he portrayed onscreen. Francisco Rabal was born in Aguilas, a mining community in Murcia, Spain, on March 8, 1926. Rabal's father worked in the mines while his mother ran a mill. When Rabal was six, the Spanish Civil War swept through Murcia, and Rabal's family relocated to Madrid. As a young man, Rabal earned a living as a street peddler and as a chocolate-factory worker. Later, he found a job as an electrician at Chamartin Film Studios. While working at the studio, Rabal became interested in acting and began taking onscreen work as a bit player. Hoping to refine his skills as an actor, Rabal turned his attentions to the stage, and he won nationwide acclaim for his performance in a Spanish production of Death of a Salesman; it was also through his stage work that Rabal met actress Asuncion Balaguer, whom he married in 1950. Rabal's masculine good looks and easy charm quickly made him a popular leading man in Spain, and he established himself in the international film community with his performance in Luis Buñuel's Nazarin. Rabal and Buñuel became close friends, and Rabal worked with the great director on two more films, Viridiana and Belle de Jour.Rabal later worked with Michelangelo Antonioni and Jacques Rivette, and in the '70s he dabbled in directing short films and writing poetry. The actor also became known for his outspoken nature, speaking out with iconoclastic good cheer on politics, religion, fame, and his profession when given the opportunity. As Rabal grew older, his waist thickened and his hairline receded, but he seized the opportunity to play less glamorous and more challenging roles, and in 1984 his performance in Los Santos Inocentes earned him Best Actor honors at the Cannes Film Festival. Rabal kept up a busy schedule into his seventies, and in 1999 scored a late-career triumph with his acclaimed performance in Carlos Saura's Goya in Bordeaux. In August of 2001, Rabal received an award for lifetime achievement at the Montreal Film Festival. While flying home, Rabal died as a result of pulmonary complications. He left behind two children, both of whom grew to become active in the film industry -- actress and singer Teresa Rabal and filmmaker Benito Rabal. ~ All Movie Guide
Miller (Hugo Stiglitz) is a reporter on to something when he sees passengers disembark from a plane and start attacking and murdering whomever they come across -- no, they are not upset with their service, they are zombies -- or more accurately ghouls who need human blood to stay alive. While flight attendants may contend that more than one ghoul is on any flight, this group was contaminated by a man exposed to radiation that leaked from a nuclear plant, and they are hereafter identifiable by their black-face make-up, if not their eating habits. When Miller tries to notify the citizens that these monsters are on the loose, he is rudely stopped by a nasty general (Mel Ferrer) who does not want to make the public unnecessarily hysterical. The monsters have a molecular structure that is not affected by bullets, and so in imitation of the accepted code that zombies only die with a shot to the head, the general launches his attack "aiming for the control center" of each zombie head, before everyone is converted into the blood-thirsty monsters. With anemic acting, murky color, and other technical problems, this is simply another zombie film among the masses. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hugo Stiglitz, Laura Trotter, (more)
- 1978
- R
In this fast-paced action/drama, a downtrodden farmer turns to crime and quickly rises to prominence in the Sicilian mafia. Along the way, he learns the importance of political connections and of having legitimate businesses to funnel ill-gotten cash into. Determined to do away with the old and more violent ways of doing things, he lays the groundwork for his own doom. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Giuliano Gemma, Claudia Cardinale, (more)
- 1978
- R
An idyllic May-December romance becomes unraveled when the much-older man begins suspecting that his tender young lover may be his own daughter, the result of an illicit affair many years before. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Francisco Rabal, Anja Pieroni, (more)
- 1978
A phony evangelistic faith healer hires actors to pose with ailments and then appear cured. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Hopper, Michael Moriarty, (more)
The plot of William Friedkin's suspense thriller originated with the same Georges Arnaud novel that inspired Henri-Georges Clouzot's French suspense classic The Wages of Fear (1953). Roy Scheider, Bruno Cremer, Francisco Rabal, and Amidou play four men who, for various reasons, cannot return to their own countries. They end up in a dismal South American town where an American oil company is seeking out courageous drivers willing to haul nitroglycerin over 200 miles of treacherous terrain. The four stateless men have nothing to lose -- and, besides, they'll be paid 10,000 dollars apiece, and be granted legal citizenship, if they survive. The suspense is almost unbearable at times, even outdistancing the tension level of The Wages of Fear in certain scenes. Sorcerer had all the earmarks of a moneymaker, but this picture bombed for a rather odd and silly reason: its glaringly inappropriate title. Fans of Friedkin's The Exorcist may have gone home disappointed that not one sorcerer ever rears its ugly head. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Scheider, Bruno Cremer, (more)
- 1976
Set near Barcelona at the time of the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, this epic drama explores the adventures suffered by an uncommitted vacationing family caught unawares by the conflict. In focusing on the war's effects on the family, this film was able to offer much more devastating commentary than would normally have been permitted in the late Franco era. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Concha Velasco, Ismael Merlo, (more)
With fear and trepidation, the military division encamped in a desert fort await the return of a Tartar army--which attacked the fort years ago. One young soldier (Jacques Perrin), however, can't wait for the boredom to end and the fighting to begin. Ennio Morricone provided the musical score. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vittorio Gassman, Giuliano Gemma, (more)
- 1975
This South American western, set in 19th-century Buenos Aires, follows the trails of a young man who must leave his home after he fatally stabs an enemy. He ends up in Montevideo where he is assisted by a prominent arms and cattle smuggler. After proving his loyalty to the smuggler, the young man is soon promoted. Before long, the young man is working independently. He becomes so cocky that he even seduces his boss's moll. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Juan Jose Camero, Thelma Biral, (more)
- 1974
In this psychological melodrama, a nun becomes obsessed with purifying the souls of those dwelling in her hostel-convent. The guests, who inevitably become entangled with one another, include, a reproachable Polish priest and Nazi collaborator, a murderous widow, and a reporter who has come to do a story on the priest. Tragedy ensues and moral corruption abounds until the end, when they realize that the nun was right all along. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1974
When an elderly relative (Francisco Rabal) who has made a fortune in the Americas returns to Spain for a visit with his relatives, the mother (Conchita Velasco) of a bevy of daughters feels certain that at least one of them can snare him for a secure future. Imagine her frustration, then, when the old fellow falls in love with the family's servant girl (Ana Belen). Not only is she haplessly preventing the family's daughters from snaring a mate, the servant has been having an affair with a priest which was not good for anyone. In the end, the old man's love prevails, the conscience-ridden priest is freed of his entanglement, and the newly married couple move out of the country. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1974
The real star of this police action/adventure is the "Guardia Civil" or Spanish national police force. In the story, a robber who consistently eludes capture by the police by crossing over the border into France, taunting the lawmen mercilessly, is cornered in a border farmhouse and receives his just desserts. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Saxon, Francisco Rabal, (more)
- 1973
When the godson of San Francisco's crime lord asks permission to leave "the business," Don Antonio (Martin Balsam) agrees, but reluctantly. Such behavior by either one is a violation of the code, and a bloody mob war breaks out. It is only through the strong support of his family connections in Sicily that Don Antonio is able to survive the melee and come out on top. Aghast at the situation he has caused, the godson (Tomas Milian) becomes his leader's "consigliere," or Counselor at Crime. This Italian movie was filmed in English in San Francisco, California and Palermo, Sicily. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
This crime thriller with occult overtones puts a spine-tingling twist on the Jungian psychological notion of "the shadow." In the '30s, Holland and Niles Perry are 10-year-old twins growing up on an idyllic farm in the Connecticut countryside. Niles is a wholesome, outgoing lad, loved by the whole family. Holland's brooding mischief causes untold trouble. Eventually, the Perry family experiences a series of tragic accidents which may not be accidents. Unraveling the circumstances of these tragedies is a fascinating and subtle business. This film was adapted by Tom Tryon from his novel The Other and includes a film debut by the famous acting teacher Uta Hagen, as the twins' grandmother. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Uta Hagen, Diana Muldaur, (more)
- 1972
This autobiographical Italian film recounts director Elda Tattoli's progress from communism in the World War II era, to independent advocacy of Women's Liberation in the 1970s. In the process, one sees how the actual behavior of her Marxist allies betrayed the principles of women's equality she feels are inherent in Marxist philosophy. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Science fiction often enables artists to explore social trends without being hindered by the limitations of current reality, and this Italian film does just that. It explores the meaning and consequences of the total automation of manufacturing. In this film, N.P. (Francesco Rabal) is an industrialist who has developed a technique for total automation. The powers-that-be have no intention of seeing this technique implemented by him, so he is kidnapped and deprived of his memory. He is then given into the care of a working-class family and develops a new identity in this new setting. He becomes a political activist, seeking a fair settlement for workers displaced by automation. This otherwise straightforward film has a surrealistic ending which may displease some viewers. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1971
This thoughtful drama recounts the life of Laia (Nuria Espert) as she awaits the return of her husband from a sea voyage, unsure whether her lover has killed him as she requested. This Spanish movie is based on a book by Salvador Espiru. The film depicts Laia's tomboy girlhood and struggle with epilepsy. It also tells the story of her affair and of the birth of her child, who was crippled and later died. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1971
When he gets separated from his unit, Laforet (Roger Van Hool) becomes a de facto deserter during 1939 fighting in the French provinces. Most of the story concerns his love affair with a local farmgirl, as he competes for her affection with a refugee from Spain. When he presses her to make a decision between them, the choice doesn't go in his favor. Soon after this he joins up with the Resistance movement. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
