Capucine Movies
Born to a middle-class French family, Capucine (pronounced Ka-poo-cheen) was a top Parisian fashion model by her mid-teens. She made her first film, Jacques Becker's Rendezvous De Julliet (1949), when she was sixteen, but international stardom would not come for another ten years, until producer Charles K. Feldman "discovered" her for the role of Princess Carolyne in the 1960 Franz Liszt biopic Song Without End. During her Hollywood stay, Capucine studied acting with Gregory Ratoff, and achieved a measure of notoriety for her portrayal of a lesbian hooker in 1962's A Walk on the Wild Side Capucine co-starred with William Holden in The Lion (1962) and The Seventh Dawn (1964). She was given a chance to display her comic know-how in the original 1964 The Pink Panther, and 20 years later was engaged to recreate her role for one of the post-Peter Sellers Panther sequels. She also worked with Joseph L. Mankiewicz (The Honey Pot [1969]) and Federico Fellini (Fellini Satyricon [1970]). Except for a final appearance in a 1989 TV movie, Capucine spent her last decade in seclusion in Switzerland, and in 1990 she committed suicide by leaping from her 8th-floor Swiss apartment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A valiant prince battles an evil sorcerer to rescue his true love in this colorful fantasy, which features high adventure and plenty of special effects. The hero must overcome a number of dangers, along the way receiving help from a beautiful street urchin and a magical rose. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Lee, Milo O'Shea, (more)
- 1982
When an amateur detective is caught up in a murder case, he cannot foresee that he is about to be chased by hit-men, glamorous women, and some inscrutable Chinese in this average private-eye spoof by director Jean-Louis Comolli. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andréa Ferréol, Maria Schneider, (more)
- 1969
In Federico Fellini's last theatrical film Intervista, he appears on camera as the subject of a fabricated filmed documentary. This took place for real back in 1969, and the result was the entertaining (if not too enlightening) 55-minute Ciao Federico! Fellini Directs Satyricon. We watch as Fellini assembles his actors, bit players, clowns, jugglers, and technicians to put together his own special squint at the 1st century works of Roman satirist Petronius. Documentary director Gideon Bachmann keeps a respectful distance, but does his best to pick Fellini's brain concerning the director's unique creative process; and, as usual, Fellini offers conflicting, contrary information whenever it amuses him to do so. A piquant moment in Ciao Federico! is the presence of the late Sharon Tate, who visits the Satyricon set in the company of her husband Roman Polanski; this may well be the last-ever film footage of the tragic Tate. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Curse of the Pink Panther was released just after Trail of the Pink Panther with a script that has someone looking for the inept Inspector Clousseau and the fabulous stolen Pink Panther diamond at the same time. In Curse, Clifton Sleigh (Ted Wass) is a New York retread of the bumbling Inspector, chosen to look for him by Clousseau's former boss because Sleigh most certainly will never find him. Although peppered with a few inventive stunts, Curse still falls short of the Sellers classics. In a bizarre side note, David Niven was himself terminally ill at the time of his appearance in Trail of the Pink Panther and unable to speak adequately. His voice was dubbed in by impressionist Rich Little. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Wass, David Niven, (more)
The internationally produced From Hell to Victory is evocative of the works of Erich Maria Remarque. Several close friends of varying nationalities are separated by WW II. German Jurgen Dietrich (Horst Buchholz) is isolated from his old chums by his loyalty to the Fatherland. Still, he and his former comrades hold out hope for a happy reunion at war's end. George Peppard, George Hamilton and Capucine also appear. Despite some well-done battle sequences and a star-studded cast, From Hell to Victory never received an American theatrical release. In some prints, director Umberto Lenzi is billed as "Hank Milestone" (possibly an homage to All Quiet on the Western Front director Lewis Milestone). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Peppard, George Hamilton, (more)
- 1987
This uneven giallo thriller from Lamberto Bava stars the amazingly well-endowed Serena Grandi as Gioia, a centerfold model for Pussycat magazine. Her co-workers are murdered with pitchforks and bees, among other things, and posed in front of photos of her, which Gioia receives from the taunting killer. A solid cast including Capucine, Daria Nicolodi, and Luigi Montefiori (aka "George Eastman") goes through the motions, upstaged constantly by Ms. Grandi's imposing pulchritude. Nevertheless, Bava's stylish direction has some interesting touches, such as having the killer seeing his victims as hideously deformed monsters, and the production is slick and polished. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Serena Grandi, Daria Nicolodi, (more)
Federico Fellini makes his most decadent, undisciplined work in this free adaptation of Petronius' famous farcical chronicle of ancient Roman life. The film opens with Encolpio (Martin Potter) vying with his friend Ascilto (Hiram Keller) for the affections of a young effeminate lad named Gitone (Max Born). When the youth chooses his rival or him, Encolpio begins a journey that has him encountering Romans of every stripe and color. He drops in on an orgy thrown by Trimalchio (Mario Romagnoli), a wealth-loving ex-slave who has spurned his wife in favor of a pleasures of a young boy; he toils on a slave galley, fighting off the advances of Lichas (Alain Cuny) -- the ship's burly wall-eyed captain; he steals an albino hermaphrodite demi-god who is reputed to be able to tell the future; and fails to summon the enthusiasm to make love to a whore-priestess. Along the way, we witness a parade of prostitutes in ancient Rome's pleasure quarters; watch performance by Vernacchio (Fanfulla), an actor whose on-stage specialties include farting and public amputation; and the wonton devouring of a human corpse for financial gain. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Potter, Hiram Keller, (more)
- 1955
Released in some markets as The Toy Wife, the French Frou-Frou stars Dany Robin in the title role. The heroine is a WW1-era cigarette girl who captures the hearts of four wealthy, middle-aged cabaret patrons. The jovial foursome take it upon themselves to pluck Frou-Frou out of her tawdry surroundings and transform her into "a lady". Through their sponsorship, she emerges as one of the top singing attractions of the Roaring Twenties--and, eventually, as the wife of one of her "fairy godfathers." A few early scenes, in which Frou-Frou is shown living without benefit of clergy with one of her benefactors, were trimmed for American consumption. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dany Robin, Gino Cervi, (more)
- 1969
- R
Two German spies and a woman physician (Suzy Kendall) are taken by submarine to Scotland where they enter the country at nightfall. Their mission is to assassinate the British Field Marshall Lord Kitchener. The woman's male companions are captured, but she escapes with the knowledge of what boat the Marshall is on. Boarding the submarine, the Germans make plans to bomb the boat with a series of strategically placed land mines. She travels from Russia to Germany to Britain and Spain as she double-crosses double agents in a cat-and-mouse game of espionage. A gruesome scene shows a German gas attack that peels off the flesh of the Allied soldiers as they writhe in agony. James Booth, Capucine, and Kenneth More also star in this World War I drama. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Suzy Kendall, James Booth, (more)
- 1978
Crime specialist Sergio Corbucci directed this madcap comic mystery that is just waiting to be discovered by cult audiences. It stars Marcello Mastroianni as a café mandolin player who performs on a streetcorner to help pay for his father's gambling debts. After a murder and a suicide occur, the innocent Mastroianni becomes the prime suspect, and he undertakes his own investigation to clear his name. In the process, he is force-fed cocaine in a disco, hung from the side of a high-rise, almost killed in a car accident, and trapped in a sinking boat. As if that wasn't enough, there's also a frozen midget and a New Year's Eve party in an insane asylum. Ornella Muti, Capucine, and Michel Piccoli co-star, and as silly as it is, the film manages to maintain a giallo look thanks to rich photography by Luigi Kuveiller (the man responsible for the lush earthtones in Profondo Rosso) and a brisk score by Riz Ortolani. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brenda Vaccaro, Joseph Bologna, (more)
- 1962
Curt Jurgens stars as a middle-aged playboy, living by his wits on the Riviera. Among the ladies with whom Jurgens dallies are Martine Carol, Capucine and Mylene Demongeot. Released in Europe in 1962, Beach Casanova didn't make it to American shores until three years later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
- R
Carol Ault and Elliott Gould co-star with Jean Rochefort and Pierre Cosso in this softcore erotic drama. Marina (Ault) is a young woman from a wealthy family who graduates from affairs with her maid and a young count to favoring the brutish attention of domineering men. Although she is portrayed as an amoral heroine with liberal attitudes, Marina inexplicably does not seek an end to her degrading humiliation and abuse. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carol Alt, Elliott Gould, (more)
- 1979
- PG
Karate champion Joe Lewis stars as a special agent on a worldwide mission to put the skids on a drug cartel. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Lewis, Christopher Lee, (more)
- 1975
Right after his release from prison, Victor (Jean-Paul Belmondo) resumes his con-man activities. He rents apartments he doesn't own, sells nonexistent fighter planes to African countries, and by turns pretends to be a gardener, lawyer, private detective, governmental official, and even a transvestite in order to fool his unsuspecting victims. He does it all under the nose of his charming but naive parole officer Marie-Charlotte (Genevieve Bujold). When Victor finds out that Marie-Charlotte's father curates the museum that has an extremely valuable painting, he and his friends decide to steal it. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Paul Belmondo, Geneviève Bujold, (more)
- 1971
The story of this Spanish film revolves around the corpse of a woman, Esther (Judy Matheson), whose body parts are sent in numerous packages to a horrified and puzzled print editor (Carlos Estrada). He is also sent a dead turtle, which must mean something. The packages are sent as a form of psychological torture, part of an elaborate revenge scheme by the dead woman's lesbian lover (Capucine). The editor, at one time, had a relationship with Esther which he ended rather harshly. Given that she was suicidal, the break-up apparently sent her over the edge. Though this film has some of the gruesome and bizarre imagery appropriate to a horror-fest, it is a thriller/melodrama. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1966
This melodramatic Italian and French anthology is comprised of four unrelated short films directed by four different directors. The first vignette, "Queen Sabina" (or "The Hitchhiker") chronicles the sexual misadventures of a teenage girl on the road home. "Queen Armenia" (aka "The Room with a Juke Box") centers on a self-serving opportunistic gypsy babysitter who uses her employer's kids for her own gain. The third episode, "Queen Elena" (aka "The Digestive Tablet") centers on a husband who learns a lesson about the perils of infidelity after he succumbs to the wiles of the seductive wife next door. The last vignette, "Queen Marta" (aka "Giovanni") centers on a wealthy woman who, when drunk, uses her butler as an outlet for her lust. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Monica Vitti, Enrico Maria Salerno, (more)
- 1961
Triumph of Michael Strogoff borrows its title and main characters from a famous Jules Verne adventure novel. This, however, is where the resemblance between the two properties comes to an end. Curt Jurgens stars as Strogoff, a Russian espionage agent engaged in the war against the Turks. Instead of delivering valuable secret papers (as in the novel), Strogoff takes time out to go to the aid of a young prince. The lovely Capucine co-stars in this sprawling French production. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Curd Jürgens, Capucine, (more)
- 1985
This time out, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is vacationing on an idyllic Mediterranean island, which is also the retreat of famous artist Diego Santana (Cesar Romero). The placid mood is shattered when an attempt is made on Santana's life. A second murder attempt, occurring at Santana's birthday party, is unfortunately successful--but Jessica begins to wonder if the clues at hand are as "obvious" as they seem to be. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Those familiar only with Johnny Horton's song hit North to Alaska might not be aware that the song came equipped with a movie. John Wayne and Stewart Granger star as a couple of lucky miners in Alaska Territory during the '98 gold rush. Since the Duke is the only man he can trust, Granger sends his pal to Seattle to fetch his fiance. Fabian appears in the cast (playing Granger's brother) primarily to attract teenage filmgoers; he gets to sing, of course, but he's better than usual. The film's centerpiece, an outsized brawl in the muddy streets of Nome, was repeated with several variations in Wayne's subsequent McLintock (1963). North to Alaska was based on a considerably more genteel stage play, Laszlo Fodor's Birthday Gift. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Wayne, Stewart Granger, (more)
- 1971
In what was billed as "The First East-Meets-West Western," Toshiro Mifune plays Kuroda, a samurai warrior who accompanies a Japanese diplomat to the United States. The diplomat has brought with him a golden, jewel-encrusted sword to present as a token of good will to the president, but as they travel by train through the west, they're ambushed by a pair of outlaws, Gauche (Alain Delon) and Link (Charles Bronson). Gauche and Link steal the sword, but Link leans the hard way about his partner's trustworthiness when Gauche double-crosses him and makes off with the booty. Since both Kuroda and Link have a grudge against Gauche, they warily join forces to track him down and return the sword to its rightful owner. Along the way, they have to deal with cultural conflict, Indian attacks, and encounters with beautiful women (played by Capucine and Ursula Andress). Given its cast and theme, Red Sun was predictably enough a major box-office success in Europe and Japan, but it passed through with little notice in the United States. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Bronson, Ursula Andress, (more)
- 1949
Jacques Becker's Rendez-vous de Juillet has been credited as the first postwar European film to accurately depict the Continental "youth culture." Teenaged Lucien (Daniel Gelin) aspires to become a filmmaker, and to that end organizes his friends into a film unit. The young cineastes hope to make a journey into Africa, there to film an uncompromisingly realistic documentary. Amusingly, Lucien and his friends are shown to be rather ill-equipped for "real life," shuttling as they do between theatre classes, jazz bars and coffee houses. Also, Lucien will have to overcome some family problems before he can embrace the responsibilities of adulthood. The winner of a critics' award at the Cannes Film Festival, Rendez-vous de Juillet was released in the U.S. as Appointment with Life. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Gélin, Maurice Ronet, (more)
