Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Duccio Tessari and his films


Duccio Tessari is another of the prolific Italian directors, whose movies, sadly, I still have to explore a lot more. There are some I saw multiple times. But not all those I would like to watch.


My Son, the Hero (1962)
A peplum movie and I think the first movie to star Giuliano Gemma.

Secret of the Sphinx (1964)
An eurospy movie. I just found out about its existence.

A Pistol for Ringo (1965)
A classic spaghetti western with Gemma and Tessari's to be wife Lorella de Luca. But not my favorite. Too long, too clean shaven characters and too clean environment.

The Return of Ringo (1965)
The second Ringo is, on the other hand, the negative of the first and maybe therefore my favourite Tessari. This is an amazing spag with basically the same cast an crew of the first movie, but this time they are all much better.

Kiss Kiss - Bang Bang (1966)
And almost all of them returned for this spy movie, but I have never seen it. I used to think that Gemma's most frequent lady partner was Evelyn Stewart, but it's apparent that actually it was Nieves Navarro.

The Bastard (1968)
An Italian attempt to do a film noir probably, starring Gemma again with Rita Hayworth, Margaret Lee and Klaus Kinski. I have yet to see it.

Alive or Preferably Dead (1969)
On the other hand I almost pity I saw this. A really unfunny attempt to make a spaghetti western comedy. The movie looks like a TV movie, which really doesn't help.

Death Occured Last Night (1970)
And Giuliano Gemma is gone for a while. The first of Tessari's gialli, of which, unfortunately, I haven't seen anything. Frank Wolff stars. It's based on a book which I have, but still, I haven't read it.

The Bloodstained Butterfly (1971)
Another giallo that is now on Netflix, so I will probably watch it soon... Starring Helmut Berger.

Long Live Your Death (1971)
A spaghetti western that tries to be a sequel of The Mercenary and Companeros, and a remake of The Good The Bad and the Ugly at the same time. But it lacks basically everything that makes those movies great. Only Nero, Wallach and Fajardo stand out.

Forza G (1972)
A plane racing movie probably. Maybe the only film with both Anita Strindberg and Barbara Bouchet.
Tony Arzenta (1973)
Tessari's first poliziottesco and his first working with Alain Delon. A good movie, but I haven't seen it for a very long time. I guess the only thing I remember is Richard Conte.

The Heroes (1973)
I found out about this film only as I started writing this article. A war movie with Rod Taylor and Rod Steiger should be quite interesting. Also starring Gianni Garko, Claude Brasseur and Terry-Thomas.

Tough Guys (1974)
A really bizzare film. Blaxploitation made by Italians, co-starring Lino Ventura! The only available copy is unwatchable though.

Puzzle (1974)
Another giallo, this time with Luc Merenda and Senta Berger. Anita Strindberg appears for a while.

Zorro (1975)
Another of the zillion Zorro adaptations. This one was quite popular since the hero is played by Alain Delon.

Safari Express (1976)
Giuliano Gemma is back! But not in a western, but in an adventure movie, co-starring an ape, Ursula Andress and Jack Palance. The same year there was a similar movie called Africa Express, directed by Michele Lupo and starring the same cast...

Tex and the Lord of the Deep (1985)
And finally, Giuliano Gemma again in a western, this time an adaptation of a comic book The only Gemma and also only Tessari western I haven't seen.