Richard Harrison Movies
Though Richard Harrison is perhaps best remembered by American audiences as a footnote in most biographies of Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood (he recommended Eastwood for the lead in Leone's Fistful of Dollars), the ruggedly handsome actor enjoyed one of the longest film careers of any American expatriate performer. Born in Utah in 1935, Harrison relocated to Los Angeles and worked as a fitness trainer and physique model before moving onto bit parts in television and films like South Pacific and Kronos. He married Loretta Nicholson, daughter of American International Pictures chief James Nicholson, and was on the verge of becoming an AIP stock player when he received an offer from Italian producer Italo Zingarelli to come to Europe and star in The Invincible Gladiator, one of a host of sword-and-sandal films made in the wake of Steve Reeves' Hercules (1958). Harrison's toned (but not overdeveloped) build, male-model good looks, and physical prowess helped make the film into a success, and he would star in several more "peplum" before making the transition to Italian Westerns and spy pictures in the mid-'60s. Though virtually unknown in the United States, Harrison quickly became a top draw in the rest of the world, and remained a leading man well into the late '70s. Under the name James London, Harrison also wrote and directed Two Brothers in Trinity, (1972), a broad Western-comedy co-starring Donald O'Brien. As the '70s drew to a close, Harrison made films in Yugoslavia, Turkey (Una donna per sette bastardi), and later the Philippines and Hong Kong, where he appeared in two films for the Shaw Brothers, including Marco Polo (1975). While in Hong Kong, he made the acquaintance of Godfrey Ho, who directed him in Inferno Thunderbolt, a low-budget martial arts film which was incorporated into at least nine other films, each touting Harrison as the star without his knowledge. Harrison returned to the United States in the early '90s, a wealthy man from his adventures in Europe; aside from a few friendly appearances for Fred Olen Ray and a pair of bids for mayor of Palm Springs, he is content to enjoy his life in well-deserved anonymity. Harrison's son Sebastian also had a brief acting career in Europe; among his credits is the 1987 Western Scalps, directed by Bruno Mattei, and featuring a script co-written by his father. ~ Paul Gaita, All Movie Guide
- 1965
In this espionage drama, an American CIA agent must find the whereabouts of valuable microfilm that was smuggled over by two Russian scientists who had been hoping to defect. Unfortunately, they died for their efforts and the film fell into the greedy hands of a Lebanese business magnate who is also killed. In desperation the agent convinces the dead man's niece that he needs that film and she tells him where it is located. Just as he is about to get the film, a Russian spy grabs it, tells him that he is a double agent, grabs the niece, and rushes off in a stolen speed boat. Fortunately, a helicopter is nearby and the good agent jumps in and flies off after the fleeing spy. In the end the CIA agent gets it all and saves the Western world. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Harrison, Dominique Boschero, (more)
- 1975
This spaghetti western spoof originally travelled under the cumbersome title Jesse and Lester, Two Brothers in a Place Called Trinity (Due Fratelli in un Posto Chiamato Trinita). Jesse is played by former sword-and-sandal habitue Richard Harrison, who also served as coproducer. Lester is portrayed by Donald O'Brien, evidently a newcomer. Choosing different paths in life, Jesse prefers spending time in the local brothel, while Lester opts for the Mormon church. Putting their differences aside, Jesse and Lester fight shoulder to shoulder when the bad guys come calling. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Zinneman, Donal O'Brien, (more)
- 1983
Although this is a good dramatic film about a northern Zulu who goes to Johannesburg and experiences the raw edges of apartheid, for some viewers the drama will be undermined by too much talking. This film won the grand prize at the 1983 Moscow Film Festival. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Liensol, Miriam Makeba, (more)
- 1968
A bunch of anxious men attempt to track down the treasure stolen from a Texan church, and few are left standing. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1991
In this thriller, a seductive young woman returns to the home of her step-father, after having spent the last few years in an institution for the criminally insane for killing her mother, and causes all sorts of trouble. She comes in the midst of a terrible thunderstorm. Her step-daddy's girl friend Michelle is not pleased by Angel's sudden appearance, for she is truly a luscious lass. Meanwhile realtor, step-father Steven has his own problems as he and his partner have borrowed a fortune, from violent loan shark Johnny, to finance a failing Palm Springs condo scheme. In Johnny's business defaulting on loans is usually fatal and now he wants Steven to pay up, so he sends out his best killer. Back at home Angel uses her considerable physical charms on both Steven and Michelle to convince them to allow her to stay. When the killer suddenly shows up, Angel gets him into the sack and that's when all hell breaks loose. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1959
This routine and somewhat trite war movie develops slowly until a group of five nurses are captured by North Korean troops and quite clearly need to be rescued. At the head of the rescue task force is Lt. Frank Davis (Scott Brady). Frank has a special interest in freeing the women because one of them, Mary (Elaine Edwards) is more than just a pretty face in a uniform. Even though she is engaged to a Navy surgeon she is falling in love with the young lieutenant, and vice-versa. In the meantime, there is the little matter of the rescue itself. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Brady, Elaine Edwards, (more)
There's nothing more terrifying than a Beast With a Gun, and when psychotic criminal Nanni Vitali (Helmut Berger) and three violent thugs stage a jailbreak, the streets will run red with blood in the final film from notorious director Sergio Grieco. Taking to the pavement in a horrific frenzy of rape, robbery, and revenge, Vitali seals his own grim fate when, in brutalizing a beautiful young woman, he catches the attention of a determined cop (Richard Harrison) bent on bringing the murderous madman to justice. As his relentless slide into darkness speeds to a furious race against death, Vitali seems determined to avoid going back into his cage even if it means going down in a hail of bullets and gunsmoke. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helmut Berger, Marisa Mell, (more)
- 1983
In this grim drama, a young woman is brutally gang-raped and her boy friend murdered by a hunting party. The girl's father goes out and gets bloody revenge against every single one of them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1980
Challenge of the Tiger is one of the more notorious members of the "Bruce-sploitation" subgenre of martial arts movies, a loose label referring to exploitative quickies that cashed in on the untimely death of Bruce Lee. Such films often featured a lookalike martial artist billed with a name and likeness close to that of Bruce Lee and Challenge of the Tiger doesn't disappoint in this respect -- it stars one Bruce Le, who also directs this bizarre outing. Le plays C.I.A. agent Wong Leung, who teams up with fellow agent Richard Cannon (played by European exploitation star Richard Harrison) to keep the forces of evil from getting their hands on a serum that makes its users sterile. The film uses this premise as springboard for plenty of sex and violence, including such memorable highlights as Harrison playing tennis with a bevy of topless women (in slow motion, no less) and Le using his martial arts skills to fight a bull. Between the premise and such scenes, Challenge of the Tiger has earned a legendary reputation amongst fans of exploitation fare. Genre devotees should note that the film was also released on video as Gymkata Killer and received a formal DVD reissue in 2005 by Mondo Macabro. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Le, Richard Harrison, (more)
Richard Burton co-directed (along with Nevill Coghill) this labor of love that records a performance given by Burton at Oxford University in 1966 of Christopher Marlowe's 400-year-old verse play. Burton plays Faust, a medieval doctor who sells his soul to Mephistopheles (Andreas Teuber) in exchange for mastering all human knowledge. The Devil tempts Faust at every turn by confronting him with the seven deadly sins and Helen of Troy (Elizabeth Taylor), who appears throughout the film in various stages of undress as Doctor Faustus stands firm. The production was filmed in Rome, with the majority of the cast Oxford University amateur actors. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, (more)
- 1963
The Spanish/Italian Gringo stars Richard Harrison as a combatant in the Mexican civil war. In between bloody skirmishes with the enemy, Harrison takes time out to settle a personal score with his hated foster father. With its Lone Avenger protagonist and its excessive violence, the film has all the earmarks of a "spaghetti western"--even though it was filmed in 1963, a year before Sergio Leone popularized that gore-encrusted genre. Gringo was not released in the US until 1968, after the success of Leone's Clint Eastwood vehicles. Originally released as Duello Nel Texas, Gringo is currently available on videotape under the title Gunfight at Red Sands. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Harrison, Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, (more)
- 1991
In this supernatural thriller an LA cop must save his infant from an evil Satanic cult. Twenty years pass and the infant becomes a young man whose life is again endangered when the cultists begin pursuing him again. Violent mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1965
Richard Harrison is Maciste, Hercules' offspring (or so the theme music would have you believe), in this sword-and-sandal opus. Marilou Toro is the wicked, seductive Messalina, who uses her wiles to gain power in Rome. But Harrison is impervious to Messalina's charms; his only interest is in the just and true. The fight scenes are adequately staged, even if the blood looks more like cranberry sauce. Empress Messalina was given its widest American exposure as part of the ubiquitous "Sons of Hercules" TV package. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
A company specializing in international espionage turns a young man into a super hero and offers his services to the United Nations. For a hefty fee, the creation will supposedly become an international policeman who will fight crime and make the world safe from the machination of evil. When the super hero sees an old girlfriend, the lengthy brain operation that gave him is powers is rendered ineffective in this science fiction feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Harrison, Judi West, (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
