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.

Rosalba Neri and her spaghetti westerns

Now this could be even more interesting. Women had only occassionally a big part in spaghs, mostly they played just a second fiddle. Still there are some actressesconnected tightly with the genre and Rosalba Neri was one of them. She actually starred in many SWs, but mostly she just appeared somewhere in one scene or so. Let's see her resume.

Arizona Colt (1966)
She didn't appear in the western genre till 1966 but that year she made three of them. In this one she has just a small part of a prostitute that gets killed. Bad luck. Even for us, because the unsympathetic Corinne Marchand lives till the end of the movie.

Johnny Yuma (1966)
Now that's a good part - the villain of the movie! I don't remember much but her stripping sequence, that is too hot even for the parrot.

Dynamite Jim (1966)
A comedy, that I haven't seen. Just the awful title sequence.

Wanted Johnny Texas (1967)
Rosalba gets murdered in the first 30 minutes. That's all I know. Oh, and Fernando Sancho is blonde in this one.

Days of Violence (1967)
And again, dead at the beginning. I still have to watch that one.

This Man Can't Die (1968)
A really crappy movie with Rosalba in a tiny part with an ugly red curly wig.

Killer Adios (1968)
And she has the wig again! I don't know much about the size of her part here.

A Long Ride from Hell (1968)
Another of her typical small prostitute parts. The star of this one is Steve Reeves in his only western.

Sonora (1968)
George Martin, Jack Elam and Gilbert Roland are the stars and Rosalba probably plays again the same part.

El Puro (1969)
Another I haven't seen. Rosalba gets beaten to death in a long sequence, as far as I know.

Arizona Colt Returns (1970)
Rosalba plays a slightly bigger part in the sequel with Anthony Steffen, but most of the time she pretends being kidnapped and doesn't really have a lot to do.

The Day of the Judgment (1971)
She is even in the flashback only! As a long dead wife!

Watch out, Gringo! Sabata Will Return (1972)
She is now a hostage from a coach robbery. Not a big part, but more interesting one than the previous movies. At the same time she was starring mostly in horror pictures and in medieval erotic comedies...

The Great Treasure Hunt (1972)
And finally a movie where she plays a really big and good part. She really shines in this one and overshadows everyone in the cast. You really want more Rosalba as you watch it, and you get a lot. She's not nude in this, but that really doesn't matter. If you want her nude, watch Slaughter Hotel. Or rather Amuck instead.

In the West There Was a Man Named Invincible (1973)
A really lousy idea, letting one of the prettiest actresses play a widow with a moustache! A silly western comedy, too silly for me to try to watch it.

Charity and the Strange Smell of Money (1973)
I have even never heard of this comedy, so i don't have anything to write.

Blood River (1974)
And the last one... I still have to see this. It stars Fabio Testi and John Ireland, yet it can be really bad.

So altogether it's 17 westerns. I've seen 6. I believe the only bigger part of Rosalba's in a western is in Dynamite Jim and Blood River, otherwise she wouldn't be the reason to watch the movie. She did probably better in gialli, maybe worse in horrors - she had big parts, but the movies are all crappy.

Anthony Steffen and his spaghetti westerns

A new series that would serve as a guide to spaghetti westerns with actors, who made so many of them. I think Steffen as a hero was the most active actor in the genre - his number goes to like 25 or something? Let's count. I haven't seen all of them, but I guess most of them. So let's look at the filmography of a guy with a small hat

Last of the Mohicans (1964)
Ok, this is now a German western based on the James Fenimore Cooper book. Steffen plays Hawkeye, the white hunter, in his first western. I haven't seen it. Other notable names in the cast is Karin Dor, wife of the director Harald Reinl, who at the same time made a lot of other German westerns based on the Karl May novels.

Why Go On Killing? (1965)
A first spaghetti by Edoardo Mulargia, first with Steffen, probably first with the beautiful Ida Galli, who finds a cruel destiny in this movie. Pretty violent one for 1965, but otherwise nothing special.

A Coffin for the Sheriff (1965)
Another revenge tale, Steffen gets into the gang to find out who killed his wife. There's a blonde Eduardo Fajardo in a part that would suit more to Klaus Kinski. Nothing special about this movie.

Seven Dollars on the Red (1966)
Another one I haven't seen yet. Steffen must get his revenge once again. His enemy is Fernando Sancho. Who else?

Some Dollars for Django (1966)
A first Django clone, Steffen is a sheriff this time. His enemy is and isn't Frank Wolff. Nothing memorable.

Blood at Sundown (1966)
A big revenge tale against Steff's own brother, played by Gianni Garko. And the brother's name is Sartana! But not the big Sartana from the latter movies. A slightly better movie, but not a great one by any means.

Gentleman Killer (1967)
Steffen against Fajardo and I still haven't seen it.

Ringo the Face of Revenge (1967)
This title is really confusing, because it's a tale of several men and one map to the hidden treasure. Fajardo is Steffen's friend this time, the enemy is played by Frank Wolff again.

Killer Kid (1967)
Steffen gets mixed with the Mexican revolution and with Fernando Sancho once again. Haven'T seen this one.

A Train for Durango (1967)
A comedy within the Mexican revolution, and a good one. Steffen meets Mark Damon, Roberto Camardiel and Enrico Mario Salerno as a Tuco-like sidekick.

The Man Who Cried For Revenge (1968)
Steffen meets Ida Galli again, but most importantly William Berger as the bad guy. Steffen loses his memory and has to find out who he is.

Cry For Revenge (1968)
A confusing title, but two movies that are nothing alike. This one is more comedic one, Steffen has a partner in form of Mark Damon, and they are two bounty killers involved in a land stealing scheme by a wealthy rancher. Piero Lulli plays a mean sheriff.

A Stranger in Paso Bravo (1968)
Another revenge tale I've yet to see. The enemy is Eduardo Fajardo this time again.

No Room to Die (1969)
Bounty killer Steffen vs. bounty killer Berger and I don't know what was it all about anymore. A stylishly made film, but made in a sandpit, so it doesn't look that great.

Garringo (1969)
Steffen vs. Peter Lee Lawrence! But I still haven't seen this one.

Django the Bastard (1969)
Steffen is a ghost! Or not? Again a Sergio Garrone movie, very stylish, very dark, and probably one of the best that Steffen can offer.

Shango (1970)
Another Mulargia, a cruel picture set in a village occupied by a crazy colonel Fajardo, who doesn't want to believe that the civil war is over.

Arizona Colt Returns (1970)
Another cruel picture that starts with a goofy song and behaves as a comedy, but turns pretty violent later. The bad guy is Aldo Sambrell, we have here also Roberto Camardiel as the sidekick and Rosalba Neri as a kidnapped woman. Is it a sequel to Gemma's Arizona Colt or not?

Viva Sabata (1970)
Steffen meets Peter Lee Lawrence and Eduardo Fajardo again. But this one looks like a bad comedy.

Apocalypse Joe (1971)
A really funny movie with a great Bruno Nicolai music. Eduardo Fajardo is a bad guy once again. It's something about a silver mine, but ratherabout shooting every five minutes, with the final battle that lasts 30 minutes!

W Django (1972)
This one is somehow similar to the previous western, but it's a revege tale. Steffen has a Tuco-like partner and it's called Django, because he wears black. Like in the other movies.

Too Much Gold For One Gringo (1972)
Juan Bosch gets to the director's chair and not for the last time. I still haven't seen this one. Fernando Sancho is in it. Again.

Tequila (1973)
Oh, this one is a turkey that tried to be funny... But wasn't. Roberto Camardiel is the really annoying sidekick and Fajardo is a confused bad guy.

Dallas (1975)
That looks like the worst one. It was shot in 1972, but never got released till 1975. Sancho is Steffen's sidekick in it.

My top 5:
Django the Bastard
Apocalypse Joe
A Train for Durango
Cry for Revenge
Blood at Sundown