Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Joe/Manco/Blondie vs. Harry: What Was the Better 60's Movie Trilogy?

(The weather has been bad yesterday and today: It was snowing all day yesterday{Hammond, IN} and lots of wind as well. Hard to go anywhere.)

The sixties on screen were known for its share of movies that came in the same patterns. The two most notable was the film trilogies that Italian director Sergio Leone and British producer Harry Saltzman did. In both instances (one was a Western and the other was a spy saga; more about both subjects later on) the lead actors became major stars: Michael Caine and Clint Eastwood. For the first trilogy it requires some background.

Harry Saltzman, along with producer Albert Broccoli were the men responsible for bringing Ian Flemings' novels of James Bond to the big screen and making it the rage in the 60's (more about that later as I picked the three that defied the movie decade as well as their imitators). In 1964, Saltzman was more determined to bring more spy stories to the screen. So he bought the rights to the novels by Len Dreighton. In his autobiography Michael Caine remembers the first time he met Saltzman: At a restaurant where he was having dinner with his roommate of that time (who happened to be actor Terrance Stamp). He explains that he got a tip from a waiter about Saltzman so he went over to his table. It was there that if Caine was interested in starting in Len Dreighton's book "The Ipcress File." Caine, who as he explained was reading the book at the time, said yes and Saltzman signed him up to a seven year movie deal. When Caine went back to his table and told Stamp the news, as he remembers he couldn't believe it and it only took four minutes! Caine also explains that Dreighton's main character did not have a character name and he was writing in the first person, so he and Saltzman had to come up with a name and as Saltzman asked, "What's the dullest name you can think of?" Caine as he explained, choose after many numerous first and last names, Harry Palmer; and he thought it would be a good idea to have the first name after the producer. Saltzman also thought allowing Caine to wear glasses was the best idea. (below)

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In The Ipcress File, Caine plays Palmer (above), a troubled young man who becomes a British agent in order to avoid jail time. Along with agent Darby (Nigel Green) Palmer investigates the case involving a "brain drain" created by a scientist. After when an American agent is found dead inside a parking garage shootout (and later, his black partner is also dead) Palmer gets kidnapped and is put into the actual brain drain. (below)

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The way they abuse Palmer (not to mention, they've taken his beloved glasses) has to be one of the most unbeliveable torture scenes I've seen because they only give him cornbread for food and Palmer couldn't take it at times since it was very hot. After a while Palmer busts out and as his boss, Ross (!) (Guy Doleman) shows up, he tells him to kill Darby since that he was behind the experiment. Palmer does. Sue Lloyd co-stars as Jean Courtney, who has a fling with Palmer (below)

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while the movie was directed by Canadian director Sidney Furie; and according to Caine in his autobiography, Furie almost fled the project before producer Saltzman had to bring him back.

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Here's the full trailer to this movie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch/v=Wnyxn_E2XR8
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In Funeral in Berlin, Harry Palmer leaves for Berlin to meet a Soviet general (Oskar Homolika) in charge of security at the Berlin Wall (below).

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He wants to defect to the British side. Guy Doleman returns as Ross while Eva Renzi also co-stars as German girl Samantha Steel. The movie was directed by Guy Hamilton; who directed the Bond film Goldfinger along with producer Saltzman.

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And in Billion Dollar Brain, Palmer (above)leaves England again for Finland and America and trying to stop a Texas oil man (Ed Begley Sr.) from using his computer to control the world.

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Guy Doleman and Oskar Homolika returned to reprise their roles

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while Karl Malden co-stars

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along with Francoise Dorlec (the sister of Catherine Deneuve and sadly, Dorlec was killed in a car crash prior to the film's release).

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The film was directed by Ken Russell in only his second film. Producer Harry Saltzman wanted Caine back to do another Dreighton adaptation(I think it was to be "Game, Set, and Match") but Caine said no thanks. Since after Brain was a big disappoinment (It would be nearly thirty years before Caine would play Harry Palmer again).

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What's my take to this trilogy? I think all three movies were good. Good plotlines and the music is solid. What is amazing is that all three ends with Palmer meeting up with Ross. I'm very lucky that my glasses that I bought last spring resembles what Caine wore as Harry Palmer.

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During the 60's there was little doubt that the Western was in trouble. But it took one Italian director a chance to re-write the genre's map. His name was Sergio Leone. After several period dramas Leone made a Western that changed everything: A Fistful of Dollars. Based on the Japanese sword film Yojimbo (director by the legendary Akira Kurosawa) and inspired by what director John Struges did with The Magnificent Seven (which was also based on another Kurosawa film-The Seven Samurai; more about that movie later) Leone went to work on his film (and the ones there after) that would later became known as "The Spaghetti Western." To play the lead role of Joe (alias "The Man With No Name") Leone surprised everyone by choosing Clint Eastwood. Although only known for being in the TV Western "Rawhide" he shot to stardom with this movie.

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Filmed in Spain and set at the U.S./Mexico border (much like what The Magnificent Seven used), Eastwood plays Joe-a drifter who comes to the western town of Sam Miguel and is divided by two bitter families: The Baxters and the Rojos (just like what the Montegues and Capulets were in "Romeo and Juliet").

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After given a job, Joe decides to take the law on his own. He frees Marisol (Marianne Koch) a young mother who had been taken as a slave by Ramon Rojo (John Welles). In one of the film's defining moments Joe uses a metal plate under his poncho as a bulletproof vest so that Rojo couldn't kill him. His mission is accomplished as Joe kills Ramon. In the end, Joe takes the money that the Rojo's have stolen and leaves town.

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Incredibly, Eastwood got paid $15,000 for this film and A Fistful of Dollars became one of the surprise hits of the decade.

Here from YouTube is the showdown (it appears) between Joe and Ramon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eeo52VfDfkU param name

In For a Few Dollars More Eastwood returns as Manco.

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He arrives in a western town; where an evil bounty hunter named Indio (played by Lee Van Cleff) along with Mortimer, arrives and seeking revenge on Manco.

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It leads up to a showdown between the two.

Here's the climax to the movie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2T4IKz3m7c
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And in The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly; Leone uped the antie by using Eli Wallach (who was the villian in The Magnificent Seven)

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along with Eastwood and Van Cleff. The story follows three cowboys: Blondie (Eastwood), Angel Eyes (Van Cleff), and Tuco (Wallach)-all of them looking for gold while The Civil War progresses.

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Amazingly, when it was released in America, the movie was over an hour than what A Fistful of Dollars had been!

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The one thing that is interesting to point out is that the filmmakers in both of these trilogies introduce the main character in the first movie and then added a key character in the next two.

Here is a clip from TGTBATU: How does a director like Sergio Leone follow up the climatic showdown to For a Few Dollars More? By having another showdown, of course!


Leone's films came out from 1964 to '66 (while it was released in America from '65 to '67). Well, that is it for today. More to come.
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