Carla Calo Movies

Sophia Loren and Sydney Penny appear here as a mother and daughter fleeing the dangers of urban Rome during WW II. They head to the mountains but find things are far from safe. ~ Rovi

When Andrea (Luigi Diberti) receives a telegram saying that his father is dying, he and his wife hop into their car and drive back to their hometown. On arriving, he discovers that someone has played a mean-spirited prank on him, and his efforts to discover the source of the telegram lead him on a journey through memories of his youth and adolescence in the town. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this comedy, a hapless fellow's life changes dramatically after he is accidentally (a computer malfunctioned) "playboy of the year," by an international men's journal. The publisher's know it's all a mistake, but decide to turn this regular joe into every woman's fantasy. In true "pygmalion" fashion, the suddenly suave finds himself paraded across Europe and getting his picture taken with the most beautiful women around. Trouble brews when a female reporter learns the truth and tries to decide whether or not to publish the story. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Two Sicilian bachelors deflower a virgin and find themselves in hot-water with her shot-gun slinging father in this Italian comedy. They are also in trouble with the local carabinieri. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this sentimental romance scripted by director Luigi Comencini and Marcello Fondato, leading-lady Claudia Cardinale rises above the tepid screenplay to turn in one of her better efforts. Set in a small Italian village in the 1940s, La Ragazza di Bube tells the story of a woman who falls in love with a complete stranger (George Chakiris). The stranger turns out to have killed a fascist policeman during World War II and is sent to jail for 14 years. The woman pines for the convict and waits out his sentence, spurning the love of a writer (Marc Michel) who wants to marry her. Chakiris is typically stiff, and Carlo Rustichelli's passionate score makes more of the situation than is warranted, but Cardinale's controlled, low-key performance keeps the film from becoming too overwrought. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

By the time Sergio Leone made this film, Italians had already produced about 20 films ironically labelled "spaghetti westerns." Leone approached the genre with great love and humor. Although the plot was admittedly borrowed from Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo (1961), Leone managed to create a work of his own that would serve as a model for many films to come. Clint Eastwood plays a cynical gunfighter who comes to a small border town and offers his services to two rivaling gangs. Neither gang is aware of his double play, and each thinks it is using him, but the stranger will outwit them both. The picture was the first installment in a cycle commonly known as the "Dollars" trilogy. Later, United Artists, who distributed it in the U.S., coined another term for it: the "Man With No Name" trilogy. While not as impressive as its follow-ups For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966), A Fistful of Dollars contains all of Leone's eventual trademarks: taciturn characters, precise framing, extreme close-ups, and the haunting music of Ennio Morricone. Not released in the U.S. until 1967 due to copyright problems, the film was decisive in both Clint Eastwood's career and the recognition of the Italian western. ~ Yuri German, Rovi

When an insurance salesman comes to a small Italian town, he is mistaken for a Fascist official sent from Rome. He is greeted by town officials and has an audience with a man plotting a resistance movement. The innocent salesman is caught up in the political upheaval that swept Italy in the days leading up to World War II. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Sixth-century Italy is the setting for Fury of the Pagans. Edmund Purdom plays Toryok, the peace-loving ruler of a tranquil Northern province. Pagan leader Kovo (Livio Lorenzon) wreaks havoc upon Toryok's domain, raping and pillaging to a fare-thee-well. Years later, Toryok gets his chance to avenge his people. He intends to slay Kovo and claim the Pagan's bride Lianora (Rosanna Podesta). This being an Italian sword-and-sandal epic, there's nothing one-on-one about the final showdown; in fact, there must be ten thousand extras on that wide screen. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

American film actor Lex Barker spent the bulk of his professional career hunting up jobs in Europe. In Captain Falcon, Barker plays the title character, a do-gooding high seas swashbuckler. Rossana Rory is the heroine, whose tiny country is threatened by a gang of marauders headed by Massimo Serato. Captain Falcon saves the day, and a few nights as well. Captain Falcon was directed by Italian sword 'n' sandal director Carlo Campogalliani, who several decades earlier had helped put the Argentine film industry on its feet (though not with films like this one). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi