NEW SPAGHETTI WESTERN – ‘BOUNTY KILLER’ – PLUS ‘HOW TV WEST IS WRITTEN’, AUTRY EVENTS, DVD REVIEWS AND MORE!

THIS JUST IN! STARTING TUESDAY, JANUARY 15^TH, THE AUTRY WILL EXTEND FREE ADMISSION TO LAUSD STUDENTS AND THEIR CHAPERONES DURING THE LAUSD TEACHERS’ STRIKE!

‘BOUNTY KILLER’ OPENS JAN. 25^TH IN L.A.!

‘BOUNTY KILLER’, the new Spaghetti Western from Chip Baker Films, opens Friday, January 25^th, at the Arena Cinelounge, 6464 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, CA 90028. When a young woman, played by Naila Mansour, is abducted during her wedding, her father, Eurowestern stalwart Antonio Mayans (MORE DOLLARS FOR THE MACGREGORS, A TOWN CALLED HELL) hires bounty hunter Crispian Belfrage to rescue the woman, and kill the men. Also in the cast are Aaron Stielstra (THE SCARLET WORM, 6 BULLETS TO HELL) and Lenore Andriel (YELLOW ROCK). Directed by Chip Baker, written by Baker and Danny Garcia, Jose Villanueva and Nick Reynolds, many of the folks who made the fine 6 BULLETS TO HELL are also part of BOUNTY KILLER. Cinematographer of both films Olivier Merckx may be the first to use a drone in a Western, and did so to striking effect.

It’s filmed in classic sets and locations in Tabernas, Almeria, and Andalucia, Spain, much of it on the McBain Ranch from ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST. The film will be playing from Friday the 25 through Thursday the 31, and since the times vary from day to day, visit the Cinelounge website HERE for details.

‘HOW TV WEST IS WRITTEN’ AND MORE EVENTS AT THE AUTRY

TUESDAY JAN. 15 – A WORD ON WESTERNS SALUTES BURT LANCASTER

Detail from Thomas Hart Benton's 'The Kentuckian' poster 

Tuesday, at 11 a.m., join Western authority Rob Word and his merry band at the Wells Fargo Theatre for another delightful ‘Word on Westerns’. The topic will be Burt Lancaster, whose Westerns include GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL, VERA CRUZ, APACHE, and THE KENTUCKIAN. Word notes, “Lancaster cared greatly about quality and, when he directed and starred in THE KENTUCKIAN (1955), hired Bernard Herrmann for the music and Thomas Hart Benton to do the movie poster!” Among the guests joining Rob will be Burt’s stunt double from ULZANA’S RAID and POSSE, Billy Burton, and from Burt’s last Western, CATTLE ANNIE AND LITTLE BRITCHES, producer Rupert Hitzig and actors William Russ and Kenny Call. Did I mention this event is free with your Autry admission?  Doors open at 10:30.

WEDNESDAY JAN. 16 – HOW THE WEST IS WRITTEN: INSIDE MODERN TV WESTERNS

A must-attend for any would-be Western screenwriters, Wednesday night at 7 p.m., writers and producers from the latest crop of TV Westerns share insight into the creation of their series, how they’re reimagining the genre, and why stories out of the American West continue to inspire. Panelists include LONGMIRE writer and exec producer Hunt Baldwin, THE SON writer and exec producer Kevin Murphy, and HELL ON WHEELS and BRISCO COUNTY, JR. writer and exec producer John Wirth. This one costs $20 for members & students, $25 for non-members, and reservations are advised.

SATURDAY JAN. 26 – SILENT TREATMENT – ‘CLASH OF THE WOLVES’

The Silent Treatment is the Autry’s new series of silent Westerns with live musical accompaniment. 1925’s CLASH OF THE WOLVES stars Rin-Tin-Tin, his sweetheart Nanette, 7^TH HEAVEN star Charles Farrell, and original Keystone Kop Heinie Conklin, in a tale of Borax miners and claim-jumpers. Presented at 2 p.m. in 35mm, with piano by Cliff Retallick.  It’s free with admission.

SUNDAY, JAN. 27^TH -- THE MUSIC OF ENNIO MORRICONE!

Morricone conducting the Hateful 8 score recording --

and no, he won't be there.

At 1 p.m. – the 5 p.m. performance is sold out -- a concert of music from film scores by the maestro of the Spaghetti Western, performed by a special ensemble of world-class musicians and singers. It’s $10 for members, $20 for non-members, and you’d better make your reservations now.

COWBOYS AND INDIANS AND VIKINGS! – A DVD REVIEW

Wild East Productions presents Volume 60 of their Spaghetti Western Collection, a Giuliano Gemma double feature, DAYS OF VENGEANCE and ERIK THE VIKING. In VENGEANCE (1967), Gemma stars as man framed and imprisoned not for just any crime, but the murder of his own father! His old girlfriend, Nieves Navarro, is now with the lawman who set him up, and Gemma teams up with a traveling charlatan (Manuel Muniz as his comic character Pajarito) and his granddaughter (gorgeous Grabriella Giorgelli) to get justice, and uncover a startlingly baroque conspiracy. It’s elegantly made and highly enjoyable.

The second film, ERIK THE VIKING (1965) is goofy, exuberant fun. Gemma is Erik, nephew of Viking King Thorwald, and when the old man is on his deathbed, he says he wants his power to pass to his nephew, not his own son Erloff (Lucio De Santis). It’s a tough time for Vikings, who get no end of abuse from the more militarily organized Danes. Erik convinces several Vikings that they should find a new land far away from the Danes, and sails off in search of it. They arrive in – you guessed it – the New World, where they make friends with some Indians and enemies with others.

This action-packed daffy little history lesson is surprisingly entertaining, capturing the spirit of the Warner Brothers swashbucklers of the 1930s and ‘40s, and borrowing plot elements from them as well. Yes, there is a beautiful Indian princess (Elisa Montes), and evil plotters working for Erloff, including the indispensable muscleman Gordon Mitchell.

Among the special features is an excellent interview with actress Nieves Navarro conducted by Western screenwriter Danny Garcia (6 BULLETS TO HELL, THE BOUNTY KILLER). The double feature sells for $21.72, and can be purchased HERE. 

A NEW SOURCE FOR TV WESTERNS – JEWISH LIFE TV!

Gail Davis and Jimmy Hawkins

Next time you’re spinning the dial – remember when TVs had dials? – looking for a Western, you might just find one in an unexpected location: JLTV, aka Jewish Life Television, has added oaters to the line-up! Episodes of BONANZA, ANNIE OAKLEY, and the 1954 Western anthology series STORIES OF THE CENTURY have joined THE JACK BENNY SHOW and YOU BET YOUR LIFE, with Groucho Marx, as reasons to watch. Lorne Green, Michael Landon, and BONANZA-creator David Dortort were all Jewish, so perhaps that’s the connection, but whatever the reason, thanks JLTV!  

‘UNSPOOLED’ LOOKS AT ‘THE SEARCHERS’

Paul Scheer and Amy Nicholson, the film critics who are re-examining all of the films on the  AFI 100 Best Movies of All-Time list, with 100 individual podcasts, are up to #34, THE SEARCHERS. They are knowledgeable, but not big Western fans – it’s the first John Wayne Western Scheer has seen (!)  – so their takes on it are by turns fascinating and infuriating. Well worth a listen. And I must give them credit on one point in particular: it NEVER occurred to me that John Wayne might be searching not for his brother’s daughter, but his own!  THE SEARCHERS is #34. The episode about HIGH NOON, where I was guest, is #19. You can hear them all HERE. 

I HAVE 5 ARTICLES IN THE FEBRUARY ‘TRUE WEST’!

It’s a personal record for one issue! If you’d like to read ‘em…

p.19 – ‘Cowboy Pens Best Rodeo Movie Ever Made’

p. 26 – ‘Remembering Jeb Rosebrook’

p. 52 – ‘Max Evans in Hollywood’

p. 54 – ‘Ballad of Buster Scruggs’ review

p. 55 – ‘Fire Engulfs Paramount Western Ranch’

ONE MORE THING…

Every spring there are two events in the Los Angeles area that movie nuts, western nuts, and especially western movie nuts dream about all year. One is the Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival, a great get-together of all things cowboyish, at the estate of the great movie cowboy William S. Hart. The other is the annual TCM Classic Film Festival, one of the great and rare chances to see classic movies, and especially westerns, the way they should be seen, on a big screen. Well, after years of having them one weekend after another, the Cowboy Festival has been moved up, so they will both be on the weekend of April 13 and 14. TCM is actually the 11^th through the 14^th, and before you say, “Then just go to TCM on Thursday and Friday,” it doesn’t work that way, since the movies you want to see are generally scattered through the four days. They’ve just started to announce films, and included are BUTCH CASSIDY, a new restoration of WINCHESTER ’73, and a Tom Mix double bill with live music, THE GREAT K & A TRAIN ROBBERY and OUTLAWS OF RED RIVER. Cowboy Festival hasn’t started announcing their events yet, but it should be noted that for the second year, the Cowboy Festival will be free, while TCM costs a fortune, and even individual movies are $20 a pop.  I’ll keep you informed as I learn more!

AND THAT’S A WRAP!

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Material Copyright January 2019 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved

LOS ANGELES ITALIA FEST HIGHLIGHTS!

Angelica Huston and Franco Nero

The 9^th annual Los Angeles, Italia Fest opened on Sunday, February 23^rd, and closed Saturday night, March 1^st.  Held, as always, at the Chinese 6 Theatres at the Hollywood and Highland Center, in the heart of Hollywood, the yearly celebration of film, fashion and art attracts fans and stars, especially those with an Italian background, or an interest in Italian cinema.

With the Oscars being awarded last night, it’s worth noting that among attendees were Best Director nominees David O. Russell and Martin Scorcese; Best Adapted Screenplay nominee Steve Coogan for PHILOMENA; Best Score nominee Alexandre Desplat for PHILOMENA; and Bono, who sings the Best Song-nominated Ordinary Love in MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM.  Al Pacino and Keith Carradine were there as well.

Joe Mantegna with an Italian beauty 

On Sunday night’s Red Carpet, I badgered unsuspecting celebrities about western movies, especially their own.  Joe Mantegna is the Chairman of Los Angeles Italia, and hasn’t done a western since THE THREE AMIGOS.  I asked him when he was going to do another.  “When they ask me.”  I asked him what his favorite westerns are.  “THE WILD BUNCH.  And THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN.” 

Mark Canton

I asked producer Mark Canton when he was going to do a western.  “When I’m done with the easterns .  I’m shooting my new TV series, called POWER, for STARZ in New York now.  But in a way, the new ‘300’ has the spirit of westerns, and that’ll be out March 7, so we’re very excited.  I don’t shy away from anything, but it has to be the right script and the right material. ”

Alexandre Desplat

I asked composer Alexandre Desplat whose music he listens to for pleasure. “Quincy Jones.  Debussy.  Many things.”  I asked him if he had any favorites among composers of Western scores.  “For Western movies?  Yes.  Bruce Boughton’s score for SILVERADO I think is fantastic.  I think Elmer Bernstein’s MAGNIFICENT SEVEN.  John William’s MISSOURI BREAKS.”

Franco Nero

I was particularly excited to see Franco Nero, and to quiz him about the soon-to-be-filmed DJANGO LIVES!, where he’ll portray his original character living in early 20^th century L.A., working as a technical advisor on silent westerns, and getting into trouble.  He gave me his charming, enigmatic smile, but wouldn’t talk about the movie.  I think, like so many of us, he’s superstitious about discussing things that haven’t happened yet, though he has signed a letter of intent to the project.   Also starring in the film will be Nero’s co-star from the wonderful Sergio Corbucci western LOS COMPANEROS, Tomas Milian!

Also attending the Fest was actress Angelica Huston, seen at the top with Nero.  Her father, the great John Huston, discovered Nero, and cast him as Abel in THE BIBLE.  The original DJANGO came shortly after.     

Eli Roth

HOSTEL and HOSTEL 2 writer-director Eli Roth had plenty to say about Italian horror (no surprise) and westerns, even before he reached me in line.

ELI ROTH:  I’m happy to come out and support Italian cinema.  I grew up on Italian movies.  I think (Jesse Franco’s) DEMONS was the first one I saw; Italian horror was the most important form of horror.  First I went for American horror, which I became obsessed with. Then I saw Italian horror, which blew my mind.  I was very much influenced by Italian horror from the ‘70s through the ‘80s.  And I’m here to support David O. Russell, who’s a friend.  We’re writing a movie together.  It’s called THE HIVE, and nobody’s read it except me and David.  We’re working on it now. 

LADY NEXT TO ME:  What Italian films have influenced you the most?

ELI ROTH:  CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST by Ruggero Deodato; huge influence.  ZOMBIE 2 by Lucio Fulci – where a zombie fights a shark, one of the greatest movies ever.  And SUSPIRIA, by Dario Argento.  That movie blew my mind.  There were no rules – it was like being in some beautiful, fantastic dream.  And so it taught me that not everything had to add up; you can make abstract horror movies.   Doesn’t have to be so rigid and so linear, so plot driven.  It can be operatic and stylish.  Huge influences, all three of those.

LADY NEXT TO ME:  What’s the difference between Italian horror films and American horror films?

ELI ROTH: The Italian horror films, they came from the spaghetti westerns.  And in the American westerns they never had on-screen violence.  The old fifties movies, somebody’d get shot, and they’d fall down.  You couldn’t show blood in the movies.  You couldn’t show blood onscreen in America.  The Italians didn’t know those rules existed, so they started doing all these on-screen blood shots.  Which then, with Sam Peckinpah, Scorcese, it kind of filtered its way into late ‘60s, early ‘70s American cinema.  But then the Giallo films, the Italian crime films, became the ‘80s slasher films.  They’ve kind of mirrored each other, but the Italians have always pushed it further.  There was this incredible golden age, when Italy was making so many movies in the 1970s and ‘80s, and of course that’s changed now.  Economically, in Italy, they don’t have the same output.  But I just love films of that period.  I think they have an energy and a violence about them, that just anything can happen. 

HENRY:  When are you going to make a western?

ELI ROTH: I don’t know.  I’d have to have a great idea for a western.  I love westerns, but I don’t have an 

idea for a western I want to direct. 

HENRY:  Do you have favorite westerns?

ELI ROTH:  Yeah.  FOUR OF THE APOCALYPSE by Lucio Fulci, one of my favorites; a really incredible film.  And SHANE, and THE SEARCHERS.

Vera and Giuliano Gemma at 2013's Fest

The previous two Fests that I attended gave considerable time to the spaghetti western, but there was very little this time.  Sadly, the one Eurowestern-related screening was in tribute to Giuliano Gemma, who died in October, following a car accident outside of Rome.  Starting out in films as a stuntman, he became ‘Montgomery Wood’ and starred in several spaghetti westerns as Ringo, and later played Arizona Colt.  After a long career in major European movies, his final role was as the hotel manager in Woody Allen’s TO ROME WITH LOVE. 

His daughters, Vera and Giuliana Gemma, directed a documentary about their father, AN ITALIAN IN THE WORLD, which was screened on Sunday afternoon.  Last year, Giuliano attended the Fest, when the documentary was first shown, and I had a chance to speak with him.  I asked him which of his Westerns are his favorites.  “You know, I made about seventeen Westerns, but I don’t know the titles in English.  A PISTOL FOR RINGO, THE RETURN OF RINGO.”

“I was just watching ARIZONA COLT last night.  That’s a delightful picture.”

“Ahh…nice!”

“How do you like your daughter’s documentary?”

“She made a good work; it just brings about twenty years of my filmography.   We have to do a second part.”

“And when are you going to do another western?”

“Ahh…the Western, it is finished.  We don’t have the opportunity.  But maybe Tarantino will call me – why not?!”  

On Monday night, Mike Malloy’s documentary, EUROCRIME: THE ITALIAN COP & GANGSTER FILMS THAT RULED THE ‘70S, was greeted with thunderous applause by an enthusiastic crowd.  Mike is one of the producers behind the amazing no-buget western THE SCARLET WORM if you missed my review, here is the link: http://henryswesternroundup.blogspot.com/2013/04/cowboy-festival-brings-deadwood-prom.html

Leonard Mann, Fred Williamson, Mike Malloy

The wonderfully entertaining and informative film traces the largely overlooked (in America) history of the European films that started out imitating DIRTY HARRY and THE GODFATHER, and created a genre of their own.  Among the interview subjects were spaghetti western stars Franco Nero, Henry Silva and Richard Harrison, and blaxsploitation western star Fred Williamson.  Joining Malloy, producer of the upcoming Franco Nero starrer DJANGO LIVES! were Franco Nero, Fred Williamson and Leonard Mann. 

That was it for western fans at the Fest.  Hopefully next year’s event will have more for us!

THAT’S A WRAP!

Well, I’ve got a few other items I was working on, but they’ll have to wait until next week.  

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright March 2014 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved

INTERVIEW WITH ‘MY NAME IS NOBODY’ WRITER ERNESTO GASTALDI

I became aware of the work of the talented and prolific Italian screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi as I prepared to do audio commentary, with fellow western writer C. Courtney Joyner, for Blue Underground’s DVD release of Gastaldi’s THE GRAND DUEL, starring Lee Van Cleef (you can read my review HERE.)

The auteur theory of film, which deifies the director, often ignores the fact that the words have to come from someone, and Mr. Gastaldi’s words have illuminated many of the best European Westerns and Giallo (literally ‘thrilling’movies); he has more than 120 produced movies to his credit.  We exchanged a few emails after I did the commentary, and to my delight, he agreed to an email interview about his westerns for the Round-up. 

In preparing my questions, the hardest part of my research was identifying his films from the maze of alternate titles.  I was reminded that in February I had been talking to Spaghetti Western star Giuliano Gemma at the Los Angeles Italia Fest, about his favorites among his own westerns.  He was talking about MAN FROM NOWHERE and I was talking about Gastaldi’s ARIZONA COLT, and it took us a minute to realize we were talking about the same movie. 

I finally put every Euro-western DVD I had in the player to read the writing credits – and I was startled to realize how many of my favorites were written by Ernesto Gastaldi.  I emailed my questions to Ernesto late on Thursday night, and to my great surprise, on Friday afternoon, all of my answers were waiting for me.  Here, then, is my interview.

HENRY: What is the first movie you remember seeing?

ERNESTO: Maybe L’ASSEDIO DELL’ALCAZAR by Augusto Genina. I was 6. (Note: an Italian war film about the famous Siege of Alcazar during the Spanish Civil War; winner of the Mussolini Cup at the Venice Film Festival)

HENRY: When did you know that you wanted to make movies?

ERNESTO: After RASHOMON by Kurosawa.

HENRY: In 1957 you graduated from Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia of Roma with degrees in direction and screenwriting.  In the United States, ‘film school’ was practically unheard of until the early 1970s.  What were the most important things you learned in your film studies?

ERNESTO: CSC allowed me to stay in Rome and meet people. One good prof was the director Alessandro Blasetti. (Note: the founder of the school, he directed his first film in 1917, and he continued directing until 1981.)

 

The young writer and director.

HENRY: In 1960 you were writer and assistant director on THE VAMPIRE AND THE BALLERINA.  Was that your first movie?  How did you get the job? 

ERNESTO: In 1959, at Christmas, I was assistant director of Renato Polselli in that movie: we wrote the script together.  Renato was fiancé of a girl I met at CSC.

HENRY: How did it feel to hear actors saying your dialogue for the first time? 

ERNESTO: Having been on the set, not so much...

HENRY: In the first three years of your screenwriting career, 1960 through 1962, you worked on nineteen movies – horror movies, pirate movies, comedies, gladiator movies.  Were you under contract? 

ERNESTO: In Italy no writers were under contract. I wrote for many different producers.

HENRY: Where did the projects come from?  What genres did you prefer?

ERNESTO: I like all commercial genres.

HENRY: With THE HORRIBLE DR. HITCHCOCK you started using the pseudonym Julian Barry on certain films.  Why?

ERNESTO: Italian producers preferred to pretend your movies were American.

HENRY: In 1965 you did uncredited script work on BUFFALO BILL, starring Gordon Scott.  Was that your first western?

ERNESTO: The first Italian western was COWBOY'S STORY by (19 year old) Peppo Sacchi, in 1953. I was on the set as visitor. BUFFALO BILL wasn't a real Italian western.

HENRY: Were you a fan of westerns as a boy?

ERNESTO: No, but I liked them.

HENRY: Who were your favorite cowboy actors growing up? 

ERNESTO: Gary Cooper.

HENRY: What western writers or filmmakers influenced you?

ERNESTO: Nobody.

HENRY: It was another year and fourteen movies – a lot of spy thrillers among them – before you made another western, and it was the excellent ARIZONA COLT.  You established that perfect balance of western adventure and humor that would be seen in much of your western work.  Was ARIZONA COLT your idea, or was it brought to you?

ERNESTO: Duccio Tessari (A PISTOL FOR RINGO) invented the humorous western; Sergio Leone followed and I too.

HENRY: Giuliano Gemma had made the RINGO films and several other westerns by then.  Did you write ARIZONA COLT with him in mind, or was he cast after it was written?

Colt and his sidekick, Whiskey

 

Fernando Sancho as Gordo

 

ERNESTO: I knew, while I was writing the script, that Giuliano Gemma would be Arizona Colt.

HENRY: You have written five movies that Giuliano Gemma starred in.  Which was your favorite?

ERNESTO: I think I GIORNI DELL’IRA (DAY OF ANGER) by Tonino Valerii.

HENRY: Did you write any westerns, and then try to sell them, or did you write on assignment?

ERNESTO: I wrote almost always on assignment.

HENRY: In 1966 you co-wrote $1,000 ON THE BLACK, creating the hugely popular character of ‘Sartana’ for Gianni Garko.  You would write several more ‘Sartana’ movies for Garko.  Why do you think the character became so popular? 

ERNESTO: The name ‘Sartana’ had a big success; I don't know why. Many different actors acted ‘Sartana’!

HENRY: How did you like Garko?

ERNESTO: Garko has been a very good ‘Sartana’.

HENRY: You were writing movies that you knew would be translated into many languages.  Did that knowledge affect your approach to the writing?  Did you try to tell the stories more visually?

ERNESTO: When I write I think just to the story, no cares about actors or other conditions.

HENRY: There are often five or six writers credited on Italian films.  Why were there so many?

ERNESTO: I wrote my scripts alone, rarely with one friend. Many names you see in credits are fake, to justify coproductions.

HENRY: In 1967 you wrote a ‘Django’ film, $10,000 FOR A MASSACRE, and your first western for Lee Van Cleef, DAY OF ANGER.  Lee was now a big international star.  Did that change anything in your writing?  Did stars try to tell you how to write for them?

ERNESTO: No. As I (said before), when I write I think just to the story.

HENRY: In 1967 you earned a degree in economics.  Why did you decide to go back to school, and why did you choose economics?

ERNESTO: I started economics studies in Torino in 1953, well before I imagined writing movies. Then I interrupted them for years. In 1965 the Roman University, where I shifted (to) in 1955, asked me to finish or renounce forever. I finished, passing 20 tests in few months.

HENRY: Did you spend time on the sets of films you were writing?   

ERNESTO: I almost never went to sets. Too much to write in those periods!

HENRY: Were you asked to make script changes during production? 

ERNESTO: Yes, but really few times.

HENRY: I have spoken to several European Western stars who complained that many producers were dishonest.  Did you ever have trouble getting paid for your work?

ERNESTO: Once.  Screenwriters were the first people to be paid.

HENRY: In 1968 you made the first of your seven films with George Hilton, with ONE MORE TO HELL, also known as FULL HOUSE FOR THE DEVIL.  You must have had a good relationship.

Title card from FULL HOUSE FOR THE DEVIL

ERNESTO: George Hilton is one of my good friends.

HENRY: In 1970 you made ARIZONA COLT RETURNS, with Anthony Steffen taking Gemma’s role.  How well do you think he did, and why did it take four years to do a COLT sequel?

ERNESTO: The second COLT wasn't a real sequel. The title had been decided by the producer, not by me.

HENRY: Did you have favorite directors and favorite actors? 

ERNESTO: Favorite directors: Tonino Valerii (MY NAME IS NOBODY; DAY OF ANGER; A REASON TO LIVE, A REASON TO DIE; THE PRICE OF POWER),  Sergio Martino (ARIZONA COLT RETURNS; $10,000 FOR A MASSACRE; VENGEANCE IS MINE), and Sergio Leone. Favorite actors: Tony Quinn (note: in 1988 Gastaldi wrote STRADIVARI, starring Anthony Quinn as the violin-maker), Henry Fonda, Lee Van Cleef, Alan Collins (note: his real name is Luciano Pigozzi.  Known as the ‘Italian Peter Lorre,’ he appeared in IT CAN BE DONE, AMIGO, and nearly a dozen gialli written by Gastaldi).

HENRY: How long did you usually take to write a western?  Would a giallo take more time or less time?

ERNESTO: Usually I wrote a script in one month: western or giallo are the same. Of course when I worked with Sergio Leone I spent 8 months to write MY NAME IS NOBODY.

HENRY: In 1972 you wrote the very enjoyable western comedy IT CAN BE DONE, AMIGO, starring Bud Spencer and Jack Palance, and from the ARIZONA COLT films, Roberto Camadiel. 

Bud Spencer and Jack Palance in IT CAN BE DONE, AMIGO

ERNESTO: I wrote SI PUO FARE, AMIGO because Bud Spencer had to be forgiven, and compensate the (production company) SancroSiap.  (He had) told one story of mine, paid for by SancroSiap, to director (Enzo) Barboni, from which he made the film THEY CALL ME TRINITY. To avoid a lawsuit, Bud worked for free.

HENRY: Also in 1972 you wrote REVENGE OF THE RESURRECTED, also called PREY OF VULTURES, for Peter Lee Lawrence, a western mystery.  Did you enjoy combining those two genres?

ERNESTO: I do not remember anything about that movie

HENRY: You next wrote A REASON TO LIVE, A REASON TO DIE, for James Coburn, Telly Savalas, and Bud Spencer, three big stars. Your fourth western of 1972 was THE GRAND DUEL, one of my favorites, as you know.  Again it is an elegant blend of western action and humor.  This was getting very late in the time of the European western.  Did you have any sense that they would soon disappear? 

ERNESTO: IL GRANDE DUELLO – I wrote this movie during my collaboration with Sergio Leone, which lasted 3 years. No, I hadn't any sense that western movies were at their end.

Dentice watches Van Cleef in GRAND DUEL

HENRY: Starring opposite Lee Van Cleef is Alberto Dentice, who is very good, and yet he never did another movie.  Were you making a reference to John Ford and John Wayne is the stagecoach sequence, which reminded me very much of STAGECOACH? 

ERNESTO: No. I just invented a new story.

HENRY: In 1973 you wrote one of your best-known films, MY NAME IS NOBODY, starring Terence Hill and the great Henry Fonda.  What was it like to work with Sergio Leone?    

ERNESTO: I met Sergio Leone when he had just the title MY NAME IS NOBODY. I worked for 8 months, going every day to Sergio’s home to read him the scenes I had written at night. To see Henry Fonda saying my dialogues has been a real emotion.

MY NAME IS NOBODY - Henry Fonda

HENRY: How much of the movie did he actually direct? 

ERNESTO: Sergio Leone directed just two little scenes of MY NAME IS NOBODY.  The only director was my friend Tonino Valerii.

MY NAME IS NOBODY -Terence Hill

HENRY: LA PUPA DEL GANGSTER (1975) starred Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni.   It is a comedy, based on a story by the very ‘noir’ Cornell Woolrich.  Did the story start out as a comedy?

ERNESTO: LA PUPA DEL GANGSTER (was to star) Monica Vitti, but the script so pleased Sophia Loren, wife of film producer Carlo Ponti, (that she) wanted to act in it.

HENRY: In 1975 you wrote another comedy-western for Terence Hill, A GENIUS, TWO FRIENDS AND AN IDIOT.  It was directed by the usually very serious Damiano Damiani.  How was he to work with? 

ERNESTO: Damiano Damiani was not able to direct a movie (as) complex and ironic as it was in the script, and he ruined everything.

HENRY: Was this your last western? 

ERNESTO: I wrote, with my daughter, a new ‘almost’ western story, called TOWN & COUNTRY, located in the US; too expensive for our dead cinema industry.

HENRY: Eleven years after NOBODY, you did script work on ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA.  How was it to work with Sergio Leone again?

ERNESTO: I worked very well with Sergio, but in my treatment of ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA, the young criminal does not become a senator!

HENRY: What do you think of recent westerns, like TRUE GRIT and DJANGO UNCHAINED? 

ERNESTO: I liked very much DJANGO UNCHAINED! I have found a lot of Sergio Leone style and some parfum of my western scenes.

Ernesto with wife, Mara Maryl, in Hawaii

 

HENRY: You have directed several films, many with your wife, actress and writer Mara Maryl.  Given the choice, do you prefer to write or direct?

ERNESTO: I prefer to write.

You can purchase many of Ernesto Gastaldi’s films.  GRAND DUEL is available from Blue Underground, as are many of his gialli, HERE, ARIZONA COLT, ARIZONA COLT – HIRED GUN, REVENGE OF THE RESURRECTED, IT CAN BE DONE -- AMIGO, and FULL HOUSE FOR THE DEVIL are available, some in double bills, from Wild East Productions HERE.  MY NAME IS NOBODY is available from lots of outfits – check out Amazon.

EWAN MCGREGOR TO JANE’S RESCUE!

 

Ewan McGregor has gotten out of bed with Jude Law and in bed with Natalie Portman (okay, I doubt he was really in bed with Jude, but I had to use that picture!), rescuing JANE GOT A GUN from purgatory!  The most troubled western movie production since HEAVEN’S GATE, the movie starring and co-produced by Portman was shut down on the first day when director Lynne Ramsay abruptly quit.  When she quit, lead villain Jude Law – himself a replacement for Joel Edgerton (who is still ‘in’, but in a different role) – quit as well.  Ramsay was soon replaced by director Gavin O’Connor, and Jude Law was replaced by Bradley Cooper, and everything looked honky-dory.  Then Cooper had to exit due to a long-standing commitment to his SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK director David O. Russell, and JANE got shut down again.  But now Ewan McGregor has stepped into the breach!   

Curiously, with Ewan coming on-board, JANE GOT A GUN has become something of a STAR WARS reunion: Natalie Portman played Queen Amidala; Joel Edgerton, currently Tom Buchanan in THE GREAT GATSBY, played Owen Lars; and Ewan McGregor was Obi-Wan-Kenobi.   

A STUDIO AND MORE CASTING FOR ‘A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST’

Seth McFarlane’s western comedy, set for release on May 30^th of 2014, will be c-produced by Universal, no great shock considering how well they fared with his TED.  Joining McFarlane and the previously announced Charlize Theron and Amanda Seyfried are Liam Neeson, Giovanni Ribisi and Sarah Silverman.  Writing with McFarlane are his TED collaborators Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild.   

 

TCM FANATIC - WESTERN NOW ONLINE!

And speaking of TCM (okay, nobody was), have I mentioned that the segment I was interviewed for is now viewable here?








THE AUTRY NATIONAL CENTER

Built by cowboy actor, singer, baseball and TV entrepreneur Gene Autry, and designed by the Disney Imagineering team, the Autry is a world-class museum housing a fascinating collection of items related to the fact, fiction, film, history and art of the American West. In addition to their permanent galleries (to which new items are frequently added), they have temporary shows. The Autry has many special programs every week -- sometimes several in a day. To check their daily calendar, CLICK HERE. And they always have gold panning for kids every weekend. For directions, hours, admission prices, and all other information, CLICK HERE.



HOLLYWOOD HERITAGE MUSEUM

Across the street from the Hollywood Bowl, this building, once the headquarters of Lasky-Famous Players (later Paramount Pictures) was the original DeMille Barn, where Cecil B. DeMille made the first Hollywoodwestern, The Squaw Man. They have a permanent display of movie props, documents and other items related to early, especially silent, film production. They also have occasional special programs. 2100 Highland Ave., L.A. CA 323-874-2276. Thursday – Sunday 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. $5 for adults, $3 for senior, $1 for children.



WELLSFARGO HISTORY MUSEUM

This small but entertaining museum gives a detailed history of Wells Fargo when the name suggested stage-coaches rather than ATMS. There’s a historically accurate reproduction of an agent’s office, an original Concord Coach, and other historical displays. Open Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. Admission is free. 213-253-7166. 333 S. Grand Street, L.A. CA.


WESTERNS ALL OVER THE DIAL


INSP’s SADDLE-UP SATURDAY features a block of rarely-seen classics THE VIRGINIAN and HIGH CHAPARRAL, along with BONANZA and THE BIG VALLEY. On weekdays they’re showing LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, BIG VALLEY, HIGH CHAPARRAL and DR. QUINN, MEDICINE WOMAN.


ME-TV’s Saturday line-up includes THE REBEL and WAGON TRAIN. On weekdays it’s DANIEL BOONE, GUNSMOKE, BONANZA, BIG VALLEY, WILD WILD WEST, and THE RIFLEMAN.


RFD-TV, the channel whose president bought Trigger and Bullet at auction, have a special love for Roy Rogers. They show an episode of The Roy Rogers Show on Sunday mornings, a Roy Rogers movie on Tuesday mornings, and repeat them during the week.


WHT-TV has a weekday afternoon line-up that’s perfect for kids, featuring LASSIE, THE ROY ROGERS SHOW and THE LONE RANGER.


TV-LAND angered viewers by dropping GUNSMOKE, but now it’s back every weekday, along with BONANZA.

AMC usually devotes much of Saturday to westerns, often with multi-hour blocks of THE RIFLEMAN, and just this week began running RAWHIDE as well.  Coming soon, LONESOME DOVE and RETURN TO LONESOME DOVE miniseries!

THE WRAP-UP

Happy Mothers' Day!  Next week I'll finish my coverage of the TCM Classic Movie Festival, and I've got some other things cookin' as well.  Have a great week, and if you know something that would be of interest to the Round-up Rounders, please share it!

Happy Trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright May 2013 by Henry C. Parke -- All Rights Reserved