Giacomo Rossi-Stuart Movies

In this sci-fi adventure, two of Earth's brightest scientists find themselves abducted by aliens, desperate to save their world from certain death. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Set in 1902 in an Irish island castle, actually the same Italian castle masquerading as an English one in 1967's Assassino Senza Volto, Giacomo Rossi Stuart stars as Count Marnak, who invites a traveling theater troupe to stay at the castle as his guests. Marnak soon becomes obsessed with the troupe's beautiful star, Evelyn (Patrizia De Rossi), who looks enough like his deceased wife to be her identical twin, and the two begin a passionate affair. There are several of those affairs going around for the viewer's voyeuristic benefit, including the standard faux-lesbian scene, but they are soon brought to a halt as many of the participants' heads get cut off by an unseen killer. Rumors of vampirism and unintentionally humorous attempts at Gothic atmosphere are quickly forgotten in favor of the usual red herrings and butchery, leading to the unmasking of a deranged psychopath. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Rod Steiger portrays Italian dictator Benito Mussolini in this internationally produced "how the mighty have fallen" biopic. In the waning days of the war, the once-strutting Il Duce hides from his pursuers like a common thief. He's hoping to fall into the hands of his former Axis comrades or the benign Allied troops, rather than suffer the vengeance of the out-for-blood Italian freedom fighters. But it is the latter group who reaches Mussolini first, ignominiously executing both the dictator and his mistress Clara Petracchi (Lisa Gastoni). This strangely cast period piece features Henry Fonda as a German cardinal and Franco Nero as an Italian officer. Originally titled Mussolini: Ultimo Atto, The Last Days of Mussolini was also issued as The Last Four Days. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Giulliano Gemma is Ben and George Eastman is Charlie in this obscure western. B&C are a pair of small-time hustlers, forever just one step ahead of the law. They finally settle in a town where the people are as green as their money. This time, however, Ben and Charlie outsmart themselves, but good. Listed in most sources as an American film, Ben and Charlie looks decidedly European to us (unless of course, it's common practice for bit players to be speaking English while their lips are moving to a different rhythm). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Director Mario Caiano, best known for the gorgeous horror film Amanti d'Oltretomba, made eleven Westerns in his career, but none as strange as this one. Perhaps it might help some to recall that the TV-series Kung Fu was enjoying great popularity at around the same time employing a similar East-meets-West theme. This film is much more grim and bloody, however, as it tells the tale of a Chinese man (Chen Lee) who travels to San Francisco in 1882. Looking for a better life, all he finds is scum -- racists, perverts, slavers, greedy conmen and mercenaries. Naturally, the gentle mystic must fight to find inner peace. Lee's major weapon -- aside from knives and lethal yo-yos -- is a devastating punch that rams all the way through his opponents' bodies. But that isn't the half of it. A cardshark gets his eyes gouged out in revolting detail, people are beaten to bloody pulp, and the villain of the piece (Klaus Kinski in a fascinating performance) is Scalper Jack, a mincing, sadistic bounty-hunter who tortures and skins his victims alive. A depressing and violent film, this exercise in bloodletting is powerful stuff and well-acted by a veteran cast including Giacomo Rossi Stuart, Claudio Undari and Gordon Mitchell, who also appeared in Caiano's Erik IL Vichingo. Adalberto Albertini made an unfortunate comic sequel the following year with Kinski (in a different role) and Lee. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Spaghetti Western veteran Antonio De Teffe (aka Anthony Steffen) stars in this delightfully tacky supernatural giallo from Italian filmmaker Emilio P. Miraglia. De Teffe plays Alan Cunningham, a titled nobleman who has just been released from a mental institution after a breakdown brought about by the death of his beautiful red-haired wife, Evelyn. Alan isn't quite right, and despite loads of helpful advice from his doctor and money-hungry cousin, can't stop picking up red-haired women and dragging them back to his castle dungeon, where his desire to punish his late wife's infidelity leads to some hallucinatory S & M murders. Eventually he meets the beautiful Gladys (Marina Malfatti) and quickly marries her, generating a good deal of anger among his greedy relatives. That's when members of his family start disappearing and the obligatory inheritance plot tightens around the deranged lord, raising the question of whether Evelyn is really dead after all. Miraglia directs with a somewhat plodding style atypical for the normally lively genre, but the film's cheese value is enhanced by a wonderfully schizophrenic score by Bruno Nicolai; an amusingly dotty production design; and enough sex, kinkiness, and violence to satisfy any giallo fan. Erika Blanc (aka Enrica Bianchi Colombatto) makes an impression as one of the strippers Alan brings to his dungeon, Alan's dead aunt (Joan C. Davies) is devoured by a cageful of hungry foxes, and the cast also includes familiar genre faces Umberto Raho and Giacomo Rossi-Stuart. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Nazis are threatening, and only a squad of British commandos can stop them. ~ Rovi

The search of the mythical Glass Sphinx, said to contain an elixir of immortality, provides the action in this adventure. The hunt is lead by a renowned archaeologist who travels to Egypt. He is accompanied by his secretary, who, unbeknownst to him is involved with a gang that also wants the potion. They also want to kill the archaeologist. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

One of the more prominent works of Italy's premier horror stylist Mario Bava, this occult murder mystery interweaves elements of the traditional giallo thriller formula with an unusual Gothic ghost story. The tale is set in a modern-day Carpathian village rocked by a series of bizarre murders, in which the female victims are found with gold coins imbedded in their hearts. The coins are revealed to be talismans placed on the victims by the local sorceress (Fabienne Dali), meant to ward off the supernatural powers of the aged Baroness Graps (Giana Vivaldi). The baroness has been acting as an earthly liaison for the vengeful ghost of her murdered daughter, who wants to claim the villagers' souls -- with Erica Blanc next on the list. In order to free the village from the evil curse, Dali must find the sequestered baroness and destroy her. The film was released in the U.S. in two dubbed and re-edited versions, Kill, Baby, Kill! and Curse of the Living Dead (packaged as part of an "Orgy of the Living Dead" triple feature). ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

In this sword and sandal spectacle, a Roman journeys to Asia to oversee the building of an aqueduct. His main job is to replace the former slavemaster. Unlike him, the new overseer tries a gentler approach with the slaves. When he proves that his methods are more effective, the former supervisor gets angry and decides to get his revenge by inciting a revolt amongst the captives. He almost succeeds in that all the Romans but the new overseer are slaughtered. One slave helps the gentle Roman to hide. Meanwhile the chief rebels are captured and killed. This leads the kindly supervisor to be blamed, so he and his newfound friend steal out of the city and team up with another rebel. They all dress up as masked gladiators and then take on the Romans. Eventually, the three avengers successfully foil the plans of the Roman troublemaker just before he makes an attempt to take over the local government. As a reward for their courage, the slaves are freed, and the reputation of the soft-hearted supervisor remains unblemished. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi