Raf Vallone Movies
Educated at the University of Turin, Raf Vallone was a professional soccer player and jack-of-all-trades journalist before making a spectacular film acting debut in the neorealist classic Bitter Rice. While Vallone has never wanted for roles of depth and meaning (Giovanni in De Sica's Two Women [1961], Eddie Carbone in Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge [1962]), some producers insist upon casting him only as a jet-setting playboy, nattily attired in the latest fashions, a beautiful girl on each arm. In addition, Vallone has played so many unsavory characters like Mario Bello in 1964's Harlow that one wonders if his first name shouldn't be "Raffish." The actor began curtailing his film work in 1990, not long after his well-rounded portrayal of Cardinal Lamberti in The Godfather III (1990). Raf Vallone is the husband of his one-time co-star, actress Ellen Varzi. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Based on a Solzhenitsyn book, this is the story of a Moscow official in Stalinist Russia whose future freedom depends on a technological break-through. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi
- 1991
Season of Giants succeeds more in ambition than in execution. This 195-minute TV movie proposes that a great professional rivalry existed between Renaissance geniuses Michelangelo (Mark Frankel) and Leonardo da Vinci (John Glover). While the Florentine and Roman scenery is authentic, certain elements of the story cause the viewer to doubt its credibility. For starters, both Michelangelo and Da Vinci weather several years' time without either aging or changing their clothes; also, the "creative process" is minimized, with both artists going from inspiration to final product in what seems to be a matter of hours (maybe Michelangelo used a roller on the Sistine Chapel). Season of Giants was originally shown in two parts over the TNT Cable service, with a surprising paucity of advertising fanfare. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
After a break of more than 15 years, director Francis Ford Coppola and writer Mario Puzo returned to the well for this third and final story of the fictional Corleone crime family. Two decades have passed, and crime kingpin Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), now divorced from his wife Kay (Diane Keaton), has nearly succeeded in keeping his promise that his family would one day be "completely legitimate." A philanthropist devoted to public service, Michael is in the news as the recipient of a special award from the Pope for his good works, a controversial move given his checkered past. Determined to buy redemption, Michael and his lawyer B.J. (George Hamilton) are working on a complicated but legal deal to bail the Vatican out of looming financial troubles that will ultimately reap billions and put Michael on the world stage as a major financial player. However, trouble looms in several forms: The press is hostile to his intentions. Michael is in failing health and suffers a mild diabetic stroke. Stylish mob underling Joey Zaza (Joe Mantegna) is muscling into the Corleone turf. "The Commission" of Mafia families, represented by patriarch Altobello (Eli Wallach) doesn't want to let their cash cow Corleone out of the Mafia, though he has made a generous financial offer in exchange for his release from la cosa nostra. And then there's Vincent Mancini (Andy Garcia), the illegitimate and equally temperamental son of Michael's long-dead brother Sonny. Vincent desperately wants in to the family (both literally and figuratively), and at the urging of his sister Connie (Talia Shire), Michael welcomes the young man and allows him to adopt the Corleone name. However, a flirtatious attraction between Vincent and his cousin, Michael's naïve daughter Mary (Sofia Coppola) develops, and threatens to develop into a full-fledged romance and undo the godfather's future plans. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, (more)
- 1990
In this religious horror-story, Father Juan (Fernando Guillen Cuervo) is being interviewed by the Holy Office (Inquisition) in 16th century Spain. He tells a chilling tale of having been born to a woman who has conceived him through the intervention of the devil. However, until the woman was on his deathbed, he was a pretty good priest. It is only when she commends him to her husband, his father, the devil, that he (eventually) gives in to temptation and becomes the focal point for a series of unnatural manifestations (such as snow in the summer) which call attention to his peculiar birth. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Fernando Guillen Cuervo, Lola Forner, (more)
- 1985
Leading man Gabriel Byrne adds a "Harlequin Romance" dash to the two-part, six-hour TV movie Christopher Columbus. Seeking out a swifter route to the lucrative Indies, Genoa-born Columbus begs King John of Portugal (Max Von Sydow) to finance a westbound expedition. Failing this, he turns to Spain's Queen Isabella (Faye Dunaway), who is entranced by Columbus' near-religious fervor. After the famous 1492 expedition, Columbus is bankrolled for future forays into the New World, which win him both adulation and vilification. Originally telecast May 19 and 20, 1985, Christopher Columbus was filmed on location in Spain, Malta and the Dominican Republic, making full use of a $15 million budget. It isn't an earth-shattering cinematic experience, but is lots more worthwhile (and less ponderous) than the brace of Columbus biopics inflicted upon movie audiences in 1992. Those concerned with political correctness should be satisfied with the film's second half, which explores the more sinister elements of chauvinistic colonization. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1985
In a befuddling look at the nature of evil (apparently linked with how much money one has), a young idealist finds himself in hot water by sticking with his beliefs. Hubert (Benjamin Voelz) is studying theology supported by a grant from a weapons manufacturer (Vittorio Gassman) -- the first crack in the student's ideals. Next, after he saves his sponsor's wife Sylvie (Marie-Christine Barrault) from suicide, the two start an illicit affair -- the second crack. Finally, Sylvie gets pregnant and convinces Hubert to face her husband with the truth. Her secret motivation is to cause her husband's weak heart to give out so she can inherit his fortune. It does, and lo and behold, it is Hubert who inherits the fortune. Sylvie manages to connive a solution to her dilemma that eventually helps Hubert heal those cracks in his virtue but leaves him as penniless as the day is long. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marie-Christine Barrault, Vittorio Gassman, (more)
In this mystery, a vengeful husband goes looking for the six people who tortured him and then killed his wife. The husband is a WW II vet and one of the killers is now a high-ranking German official. The plot is based on a Mario Puzo story. The film is also titled Seven Graves for Rogan. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Edward Albert, Rod Taylor, (more)
Gregory Peck had made scattered television appearances before, but the 3-hour Scarlet and the Black was his first starring assignment in a made-for-TV movie. Peck plays Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, a real-life cleric who, during World War II, rescued thousands of escaped POWs from the Gestapo. Christopher Plummer co-stars as the Rome-based SS official who tries to catch O'Flaherty in the act. The film won several industry and religious awards, and earned three Emmy nominations. Based on J. P. Gallagher's book The Scarlet Pimpernel in the Vatican, The Scarlet and the Black premiered on February 2, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Libyan leader Moummar Quaddafi financed this desert epic about a Libyan hero who helped his nation fend off an Italian invasion in 1929. Anthony Quinn stars as Omar Mukhtar, who organizes Libyan forces to hold off the encroaching Italian troops under General Rodolfo Graziana (Oliver Reed), who are trying to gain a foothold on Libyan soil under direct orders from the Italian dictator Mussolini (Rod Steiger). With the persistence of Mukhtar, the Libyans, battling the tanks and guns of the Italian army with their Bedouin troops on horseback, managed to hold off y the Italians for twenty years, until Mukhtar was finally captured and executed. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Anthony Quinn, Oliver Reed, (more)
- 1981
A Yugoslavian man meets a woman in Paris, where he has come to do some research, and their mutual attraction leads to a liaison and shared adventures, not many good. They are both survivors from Nazi concentration camps which automatically gives them a kindred understanding. Their past comes back to haunt them though as they run into an ex-German soldier who shows them a skull from a person that had been tortured - an act that infuriates them so much that they knock down the German and steal the skull to finally put it in the French memorial for deportees. As they travel around the streets of Paris, they are constantly reminded of the previous Nazi presence, or run into Nazi-like behavior. There is a reprieve from Paris, however, as they separately go to Normandy where her family lives. Once together there, they go for a walk and come across some inane adults playing war games in German bunkers on the beach, reminders of the D-day landing on Normandy. By now it seems that their unwanted run-ins with a painful past have got to end, one way or another. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Maria Schneider, Dragan Nikolic, (more)
Inside jokes about the film industry dominate this slight tale of ambition and romance at the Cannes Film Festival. Keith Carradine plays a first-time director who has sunk two years and all his money into a movie about the execution of murderer Gary Gilmore. With his last bit of cash, he flies himself and his picture to Cannes, but the film is seized by French customs. The wife of an Italian producer (Monica Vitti) helps him retrieve his work, and the two become embroiled in a passionate, yet ultimately ill-fated, affair. Carradine gets the first-time, self-important director mostly right, but the movie is so specific to the film industry that viewers may lose interest. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi
- Starring:
- Keith Carradine, Monica Vitti, (more)
The producers of The Greek Tycoon insisted that their film was not based on any "actual persons, living or dead." Yeh, right. Anthony Quinn stars as Greek shipping-magnate Theo Tomassis, who becomes the second husband of socialite Liz Cassidy (Jacqueline Bisset). It seems that Liz is the widow of young, charismatic American president James Cassidy (James Franciscus), who was felled by an assassin's bullet. When Tomassis marries the former Mrs. Cassidy, it is over the strident protests of his former love, Paola Scotti (Luciana Paluzzi), not to mention the millions of American who consider Liz to be an icon. Too long at 106 minutes, The Greek Tycoon was nonetheless expanded to 112 minutes for home video. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Anthony Quinn, Jacqueline Bisset, (more)
One woman's life of love and larceny is recounted in this soapy drama based on the best-selling novel by Sidney Sheldon. In the midst of WWII, innocent French girl Noelle Page (Marie-France Pisier) falls in love with dashing American pilot Larry Douglas (John Beck). When Larry is given new orders taking him back to America, he tells Noelle that he'll come back for her -- when he doesn't, she becomes bitter and pledges to use men for their money and power, not for love. Noelle goes on to become a famous actress and weds Constantin Demeris (Raf Vallone), a Greek multi-millionaire. But she can't shake her passion for Larry, and eventually she hires him to work as her personal pilot. While at first he does not recognize her, soon Larry and Noelle are once again involved in a torrid affair, and when Larry's wife Catherine (Susan Sarandon) refuses to give him a divorce, he and Noelle begin planning a scheme to arrange an "accidental" death for Catherine. The Other Side of Midnight marked the American debut of actress Marie-France Pisier, following her role in the international success Cousin, Cousine. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marie-France Pisier, John Beck, (more)
- 1975
Lee J. Cobb's last film is in this light romantic comedy starring Roger Moore as Michael Scott, an arms dealer who comes complete with a sophisticated playboy patter for the ladies. During war games, Michael attempts to sell weapons to NATO forces by trying to interest NATO general Steedman (Lee J. Cobb) in his wares. Opposing his sale is feminist reporter Julia Richardson (Susannah York), who is not impressed with either his job or his come-hither endearments. But, as happens to most movie feminists, she ends up putting her values on the back burner and she falls in love with Michael. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Roger Moore, Susannah York, (more)
- 1975
- PG
Based on a novel by Joan Hemingway and Paul Bonnecarrere, Rosebud opens with five young women vacationing aboard a luxurious yacht called the Rosebud. All five of the women are the daughters of wealthy and powerful men; one of them is the daughter of an influential American senator. Their vacation is shortlived, however, as the Rosebud has been targeted by a group of Middle Eastern terrorists who kidnap the girls and hold them as hostages until their demands are met. Quickly alerted to the situation is reporter Larry Martin (Peter O'Toole), who it turns out is really an agent for the CIA. Martin enlists the aid of agents from Israel and West Germany, as well as a strange Islamic Englishman who, as he is working to destroy Israel, would seem to be on the side of the terrorists. Martin has his work cut out for him, as he must rescue the hostages quickly and with no injury coming to any of them. Adapted by Eric Lee Preminger for his father, director Otto Preminger, Rosebud was initially set to star Robert Mitchum, who left or was fired after experiencing one of the director's customary heated confrontations. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi
- Starring:
- Peter O'Toole, Richard Attenborough, (more)
A simple man becomes bent on violent revenge in this thriller. John Kinsdale (George Kennedy) is an American who lives with his wife and three children in Naples, Italy, where he's employed by NATO as an electronics expert. Kinsdale and his good friend Mike McAllister (John Mills) are working to bring NATO's computer systems up to date, but Kinsdale loses all interest in his work when he comes home one evening to discover his wife and kids have been brutally murdered in their home. Emotionally devastated, Kinsdale has no idea why his family has been killed until Italian investigator Dr. Lupo (Raf Vallone) learns the Kinsdales were murdered by a band of radical terrorists who are targeting the families of Americans living in Europe until their jailed comrades are released from prison. Using his computer skills, Kinsdale sets out to find the terrorists who claimed the lives of his family, and will stop at nothing to get the justice he demands. Featuring a score by Ennio Morricone, The Human Factor was the final directorial credit for veteran filmmaker Edward Dmytryk. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- George Kennedy, John Mills, (more)
- 1973
- R
Robert Mitchum's son Christopher heads the cast of this Italian melodrama. Despite the horrific title, the film is actually a Mafia yarn. Arthur Kennedy shows up as a WASP-ish Godfather type, while Barbara Bouchet is the love interest. The presence of Hollywood names in the cast was supposed to create a market for Cauldron of Death in the U.S. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Christopher Mitchum, Barbara Bouchet, (more)
- 1973
Made for television, The Small Miracle is based on a story by Paul Gallico. Little Pepino (Marco Della Cava) hopes to cure his dying donkey. The boy is convinced that he can save his pet if only he can bring it to the crypt of St. Francis of Assisi. However, the Father Superior (Raf Vallone) will not allow the tomb to be so desecrated. Pepino's only hope lies in the intervention of kindly Father Damico (Vittorio de Sica). Filmed on location in Assisi and Rome, the 90-minute Small Miracle debuted April 11, 1973, as a Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1973
- R
In this drama, a conservative Catholic priest representing the Pope is sent to Ireland to settle down a few influential radical priests whose doctrine is contrary to standard church guidelines. AKA The Conflict. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Martin Sheen, Trevor Howard, (more)
Gay Talese's bestseller Honor Thy Father is given a superb, albeit slightly expurgated, treatment in this made-for-TV movie. Joseph Bologna plays Bill Bonanno, the son of New York City Mafia-don Joe "Bananas" Bonanno (Raf Vallone). When his father disappears in 1964, Bill is compelled to take over the "family business." This proves well-nigh impossible as several Mafiosi fall over themselves trying to stake their own claims within the Bonanno empire. Lewis John Carlino, the script writer for the 1968 Mafia flick The Brotherhood, adapted the Talese novel for television. Joseph Campanella "appears" as the slyly noncommittal off-screen narrator. Honor Thy Father was first telecast March 1, 1973. The producers sagaciously withheld the film from the critics until that night to make certain no reviewer would spoil the audience's enjoyment by prematurely cataloging the differences between the film and the book. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brenda Vaccaro, Joseph Bologna, (more)
- 1972
This multinational crime action film also boasts an international cast. During his childhood, a boy (Chris Mitchum) sees four men drown his father; now, the grown young man makes it his business to kill each member of the foursome. His last killing presents him with some challenges, as his victim is only wounded. He kidnaps the man's daughter (Claudine Auger) and goes to a hideout. In the meantime, an ex-cop (Karl Malden) has been tracking them down. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- 1971
- PG
A Gunfight was the first mainstream American film to be produced by an Indian tribe -- specifically, the Jicarilla Apaches of New Mexico. Kirk Douglas and Johnny Cash star as Will and Abe, two long-in-tooth gunfighters with nary a dime between them. Although Will and Abe are fast friends, they agree to a winner-take-all showdown, selling tickets to the momentous event. The townspeople are certain that Will is going to win the shootout, but he knows that it would be a fatal mistake to underestimate Abe. Standing on the sidelines is Will's wife Nora (Jane Alexander), who seems curiously disinterested in the outcome, even though she may become a widow before the day is over. Despite the financial input of the Jicarilla tribe, A Gunfight has nothing to do with Indians; perhaps the tribe just wanted to put together a good, old-fashioned western, sans any social commentary. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kirk Douglas, Johnny Cash, (more)
- 1970
- PG13
In this limp western melodrama, when Mexican bandit Hector Cordoba (Raf Vallone) attacks a U.S. Army fort a few miles from the Mexican border, General John Pershing (John Russell) orders Captain Rod Douglas (George Peppard) to organize a group of soldiers to cross the border into Mexico to capture Cordoba and to bring him back to the U.S. for trial. When Douglas's band cross into Mexico, Douglas meets Leonora (Giovanna Ralli), a beautiful Mexican woman raped by Cordoba, who agrees to lead the Americans to Cordoba's stronghold. But Leonora is not entirely trustworthy, and when the Americans reach the fort, Cordoba takes them prisoners. Now, the Americans must escape from Cordoba's clutches and make it back to the other side of the border. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- George Peppard, Giovanna Ralli, (more)
- 1970
Though not a giallo film in the strictest sense, this crime/revenge film merits attention by fans for its genre cast and an unusual approach to familiar themes. Raf Vallone plays anguished father Avanzio Berzaghi, whose 25-year old daughter Donatella has been kidnapped. Donatella has the mind of a toddler, and her beauty and agreeable naivete make her a perfect choice for Milan's seedy prostitution racket. Frank Wolff is a dedicated Inspector with bad sinuses who shakes down a sleazy pimp and a desperate black prostitute (Beryl Cunningham of The Snake God), as well as visiting scores of local brothels for clues. Tragically, he is too late, and Donatella's corpse is found in a field, still smoking from having been burned alive. Wolff redoubles his efforts, but it is Vallone, using nothing more than his daughter's teddy-bear and a father's lust for justice, who finally tracks down the killers. His laundromat vengeance is brutal, but unsatisfying, leaving him a broken man. Director Duccio Tessari, best known for westerns and a memorable giallo called The Blood-Stained Butterfly, imbues this story with a great deal more humanity than is typical for the genre. The plot, adapted from G. Scerbanenco's novel The Milanese Kill on Saturday, has its problems, but Tessari's focus on character minimizes the inconsistencies, presenting a gritty, powerful portrait of a dehumanizing urban Hell. This neglected gem suffers only from Gianni Ferrio's inexplicably bouncy music, but is otherwise a winner all the way. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- Starring:
- Raf Vallone, Frank Wolff, (more)
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