RodrigAndrisan

Gil Delamare was a famous stuntman who died young, at only 41 years old, I've read a book written by him, "My job is risk", long time ago, when I was a teenager. Here in this "The Spy Catcher" he's the actor in the lead role, a kind of idiot James Bond. The film starts promisingly, but after only a few minutes, the "action" moves inside a house and stays there for about an hour. Nothing happens anymore and you want it to end as soon as possible. Finally, we have a chase through the tunnels of the Paris Metro, which, if it hadn't been so slow, would have been interesting.

Any film with Alberto Sordi it's a delight, together with Peter Sellers, they remain the most gifted comedians of all time. This is not Sordi's greatest film, but it's a good film anyway, it's definitely worth seeing. Antonio Pietrangeli, the director, who died very young (49 years old) has made several excellent films, absolute masterpieces actually, films to be seen and seen again at any time: "I Knew Her Well" (1965), "The Magnificent Cuckold" (1964 ), "The Visit" (1963), "The Parmesan" (1963). Antonio Pietrangeli also worked with Alberto Sordi in the episode "Fata Marta" from "The Queens" (1966). In this "The Batchelor" there are some other excellent actors: the great later comic actor, Nino Manfredi, very young here, and the beautiful Sandra Milo, Fellini's mistress, here in her first film role, and another beauty, the Swiss Madeleine Fischer.

"Ma'am, you forgot your hat...", the excellent reply of the peasant who runs to give the bra to the "distinguished" lady who had to pay something extra besides the 5 million Italian lire, to shut his mouth and convince him to withdraw his complaint about his minor daughter. It's in episode 3 of the movie which is the best. The second best is the one with Gastone Moschin's extramarital affair with the beautiful Virna Lisi. The first episode is neither great nor bad. A bunch of exceptional actors, apart from the two already named: Franco Fabrizi, Alberto Lionello, Gigi Ballista, Beba Loncar, Nora Ricci, Patrizia Valturri. Pietro Germi, great master!

And very ingenious for 1965, a real competition for the original James Bond series, although made on a low budget. Original gadget the radio and knife hidden in a human hump, obviously fake. Some Chinese spies, dressed in black suits, black hats, tie, not even blinking, American spies, Russian spies (Comrade Kommissar), transplanted camera-eye, dehydrating pills, pistol-camera, smart lines, a cool babe (Tania Béryl), action in Berlin, Paris, Amman, Portofino, and a secret formula that everyone wants, tattooed on the scalp of the heroine played by Pier Angeli (it would have been much more interesting if it was tattooed in the groin area). Dana Andrews is cool and credible as the head of American spies, Gastone Moschin is funny as the villainous boss Boris, and Luciano Pigozzi, the Italian equivalent of Peter Lorre, present in many films of the same genre in the '60s, is credible as an assistant villain. Nice music by Riz Ortolani. Worth 8 stars!

2 hours and 3 minutes it's too long, it could very well have been much shorter. And it's not really comedy, I didn't laugh at all. They all keep talking about whether she killed her husband or not. In the end, everything is clarified. It's a film to be seen only for the sake of Kim Novak, Jack Lemmon, Fred Astaire and Lionel Jeffries. Fred Astaire probably has his best non-dancing role, if not the best, the most consistent.

Introducing Kim Novak! Very young and beautiful. And she did a good job. Her later roles will be better and better, very beautiful and very talented. Fred MacMurray, he never was my type, like nor were James Garner or Rock Hudson, I prefer Kirk Douglas, Walter Matthau and, of course, Marlon Brando. But he's convincing here as a dirty cop. He even manages to make you want him to run away with the money. But you know in advance that he will not succeed and that he will die. Although it's predictable, it's well done and worth watching. Richard Quine did a good job and he'll work again with Kim Novak in "Bell, Book And Candle" (1958), "Strangers When We Meet" (1960) and "The Notorious Landlady" (1962).

More thriller than comedy! Well, to climb so many floors, it's very dangerous. I also saw an interview with Harold Lloyd made in 1965, in which he states that nothing was faked, he really climbed that tall building, having some platforms under him. At that time they had no special effects, green screen or anything else. There are other excellent stunts and some quality comic moments. The scene with which the film begins, when Harold makes us think that he's saying goodbye before being taken to be executed by hanging, it's brilliant. Now, in 2021, 98 years after it was made, the film still has great value. Harold is eternal!

But not all 5 episodes. The first and the last are weak. The episode with Margaret Lee, in which she finally has a real good role and looks sexier than ever, it's the best. On the 2nd place, the episode with Leopoldo Trieste, in which he's the "monster". On the 3rd place the episode with Michel Serrault and Sylva Koscina. In the last episode, which is not great, but very daring for 1965, there is a very young and more beautiful than ever Dominique Boschero.

Seeing this movie in February 2021, I found out that my childhood sweetheart, Claudine Auger, died on December 18, 2019. I fell in love with her seeing her in "Yoyo" (1965), "Thunderball" (1965), "Triple Cross" (1966), "The Treasure of San Gennaro" (1966), "Flic Story" (1975), in all these films she had much better roles than in this "A Bay of Blood". Was Mario Bava probably traumatized when he was little or influenced by certain Shakespeare plays, such as Hamlet, in which all the characters die? However, the film is not great, it's rather boring and very predictable. Claudine Auger was not the only reason I wanted to watch the film, I also wanted to see it because of my Romanian compatriot Chris Avram. Ungrateful role, like all the other actors roles in this film. Laura Betti, Leopoldo trieste, Luigi Pistilli, all three good actors, they tried their best, unfortunately, bad scenario. The ending is somewhat funny, and Stelvio Cipriani's music, in some places, not entirely, is cool. Only one collective star for those 5 mentioned actors, because they tried hard.

Wolves, as far as I know, are noble animals, I love them. They should not be offended by being transformed into what can be seen in this production. The film is a total failure, an absolute waste of time. I wanted to see it only because it was filmed in my hometown, Bucharest. Everything is bad, the script, the actors' play, money and time lost. No stars!

I also saw Lola Falana in serious films, made by great directors, "The Liberation of L.B. Jones" (1970), directed by William Wyler and "The Klansman" (1974), directed by Terence Young. Giancarlo Giannini, the later important actor, is here in one of his first roles. Marisa Sannia was more of a singer, with a very beautiful voice, she appears here singing, the role being created especially for that. Nino Taranto has starred in many light comedies and many other musical films, like this one, fashionable in the '60s. In two embarrassing roles, Ciccio Ingrassia and Franco Franchi, two Italian comedians, present in many other cheap comedies, Ciccio appearing also in two very good films, "Amarcord" (1973) by Fellini, and "La violenza: Quinto potere" (1972). Enrico Montesano, the great comic actor of later, here in a very small role, being in his debut. The film is worth seeing exclusively by those who know and love the mentioned actors and singers. No stars!

Bernard Borderie lived only 53 years, he died young. What a pity he did not lived much longer and made many more immortal films. Like this gorgeous "Rocambole". I grew up with his films, I spent my childhood watching many times: Clash of Steel (1962) Le chevalier de Pardaillan (original title), Hardi Pardaillan! (1964), Seven Guys and a Gal (1967) Sept hommes et une garce (original title) and the films in the "Angélique" series with Michèle Mercier and Robert Hossein. I've also saw Channing Pollock many times, with immense pleasure, in "Judex" (1963), one of my favorite movies ever.

Everything is becoming more and more dramatic, the alien storylines intertwine with the terrestrial dramas. The whole situation is much complicated, the characters are more and more complex. "Life is no Sunday school picnic, you take what you can get when you can get it...", says one of the characters, and it's so true, I've met myself, in real life, people like that...

It is not a film for everyone, it will be understood and appreciated only by very sensitive people. Dino Risi with the dance, "Paradiso per tre ore", and "Agenzia matrimoniale" by Federico Fellini, are the best. "Storia di Caterina" by Francesco Maselli, very sad. Sad also "Tentato suicidio" by Michelangelo Antonioni. And, in the last episode, "Gli italiani si voltano" by Alberto Lattuada, we see that the Italian women of the '50s were not only more elegant than they are today, but also much more beautiful. The actors, with only about 3 exceptions, all unknown, are in fact non-professionals, real citizens playing themselves, and they are exceptional. In the last episode, that of Lattuada, the great director Marco Ferreri appears as an extra. Music by the great Mario Nascimbene. 20 stars! Ah, I can't give it 20, only 10 then.

Despite the pros and the cons, me, I liked it. Very much! I saw it 3 times, to understand it better. First, I saw the Spanish version on You-tube, without subtitles, and I don't know Spanish perfectly. Very bold and very naturally interpreted by all actors. If you don't like the movie, because you are too puritanical and you will be shocked by the porn scenes, you will definitely like the music, abundant and very beautiful, especially the Spanish version of "Je ne regrette rien" by Edith Piaf, sung by Javiera Mena and the Italian song "No voglio mica la luna" originally performed by Fiordaliso, which became "Yo no te pido la luna", sung by the same Javiera Mena. Me, I'm young and wild even now, at 62.

It has its moments, but per total it's just an unsuccessful attempt to make a second hit like the first. Film in film, interesting, but not as clever and inspiring. A new character, a screenwriter, Alison, actress Dahlia Salem looking a lot like Hedy Burress, the actress from the first film. All scenes are rushed, without the magical intensity of the original.

I wanted to see the movie firstly because of the beauty of Margaret Lee. She was very sexy in her films made in the '60s. Then because I liked Treat Williams very much in Milos Forman's "Hair" (1979). And because of Vittorio Caprioli, a great comic actor in many other films. Here, Caprioli is also the director and has a non-main role. I wasted over two hours counting every minute, wanting to finish much faster. The script, the story, is of no interest, everything is just dull talk, without any comic moments, so boring, absolutely nothing fun or worth watching. Caprioli, Treat Williams and Margaret Lee would have done very well to not make this movie.

I wanted to see the movie only because I also participated, I can be seen - if you have sharp eyes - only for 2 seconds, after the 32nd minute, I'm The Bell Man, near the ring, at the boxing match, with glasses, white shirt and black bow tie. I didn't expect the movie to be so good. It is not a masterpiece, it has many clichés and deja-vu, like many British films of recent years, but it also has some very intense and dramatic scenes. Timothy Spall manages to make a character so unbearable that you want to kill him. David Hayman, who plays the cop corrupted to the bone, is also convincing. Sam Claflin is OK. Decca Heggie is a very special appearance, he kind of steals the film, not only because of his massive stature but he's really good as a very bad guy. The other actors are not as good as the ones named. Too many scenes showing us London by night, or by day, especially filmed in Canary Wharf and Stratford area, far too many. I know that the Canary Wharf is very attractive due to those skyscrapers, but a scene, maximum two, would have been enough.

Suspense, all the movie long, great story, great acting, original, a movie gem! I'm the first to give it 10 stars, the others weren't so "generous". I put generous in between quotation marks, because the movie really deserves 10 stars. The director, Hubert Cornfield, made another very good film, "The Night of the Following Day", with a super cast, Marlon Brando, Richard Boone, Al Lettieri, Rita Moreno, Pamela Franklin, Jess Hahn. In this "Plunder Road", the actors are not big names. Except for Elisha Cook Jr. who is known and was a workaholic, starring in over 200 movies, and I've seen him in many, Gene Raymond, Wayne Morris, Stafford Repp, Steven Ritch (who is also the screenwriter), I only saw them in very few other productions. I also saw Jeanne Cooper in two small roles in "Tony Rome" (1967) and "The Boston Strangler" (1968). Too bad no one managed to stay with the gold, as the female character who serves them sandwiches and coffee at the stop on the road says, I would have wanted them to get away. And, they would have succeeded if they stayed put, hiding somewhere near the place where they robbed the train, and did not start to cross so many states and numerous police blockades.

I will not tell the film, as most do here on IMDb, writing a review does not mean relating the action of the film in your own words, I have written this several times, writing a review means expressing a critical opinion about the film, that's all. So, this "Night of Evil" it's a mediocre production about the drama of a young woman played honorably by Lisa Gaye. The rest of the cast is OK. The story is trivial and very predictable. I also saw Lisa Gaye in "Face of Terror" (1962), a much better film than this one, she was a very good actress, who deserved to act on much better screenplays. And to be directed by first-rate directors.

A film so good that you forget everything about it and I don't think I suffer from amnesia. The filmmakers thought of putting as many women almost naked, only in panties, to make the film more attractive: they failed. Yutte Stensgaard, who is really very sexy, appears completely naked, all in vain. Anna Gaël is also appetizing, also to no avail. No stars!

It's not perfect but I like it, it's good! I liked all the actors but specially Hedy Burress as Mallory and Judd Nelson as the writer serial killer Stanley. The music is great too. I repeat, the film is not perfect, it has some weaknesses, I will not reveal them here, but even so, it's still captivating. It's not easy to give it some stars, precisely because of those imperfections. Here's what I'm going to do: the first hour of the movie, is excellent, is worth 10 stars. The remaining 31 minutes are not worth more than 4 stars. 10 plus 4 divided by 2 equals seven. And, if you haven't noticed already reading this review or from other reviews of mine for many other movies, I try with all sincerity to be the most critical objective possible, from all points of view.

Jean-Pierre Mocky was a very prolific filmmaker, director, writer, actor. His absolute masterpiece, in my humble opinion, is a film with Bourvil that I have seen countless times, "Heaven Sent" (1963) Un drôle de paroissien (original title). This "La bourse et la vie" it's a beginning movie, a comedy so light that you don't laugh at all. Fernandel, a quintessential comedian, struggles, the script doesn't help him at all. The great French actor Michel Galabru appears in a small role. Marilù Tolo, a beauty from the '60s, an honorable actress, also appears in a small role.

One of the best roles for Dustin Hoffman and the film is not American, it's Italian! His other three super roles are in "The Graduate", "Midnight Cowboy" and "Marathon Man". Along with him, two very beautiful and very talented actresses, Stefania Sandrelli and Carla Gravina, both excellent, their merit and that of the script. Not coincidentally, the director is Pietro Germi, who also had Sandrelli in "Divorce Italian Style" and "Seduced and Abandoned", two superfilms. Beautiful music by Carlo Rustichelli.

Only Melina Mercouri is funny, a little bit, that's all. The rest of the cast, except for Tony Franciosa who tried hard, is embarrassing, especially James Garner, who was never a great actor. Sorry, he was 1.87 m tall! One star for Melina.