Assorted Bits & Pieces: 2 Recent Departures From Italy & Hong Kong

With the passing of Paul Naschy earlier this month, only a few days prior, European cinema lost another luminary.

This pic and the next: RETURN OF THE BLIND DEAD (1973) aka ATTACK OF THE BLIND DEAD

Tony Kendall (real name, Luciano Stella), the star of several dozen Euro cult films of varying genres passed away November 28th in a Rome hospital. Although he didn't have the following other performers did outside their native land, Kendall is still a recognizable face in Spanish horror films. Possibly his most notable performance in horror would be as the protagonist in Amando De Ossorio's excellent sequel to his own TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD (1971), ATTACK OF THE BLIND DEAD (1973). He also featured in Ossorio's THE LORELEI'S GRASP (1974) as well as the Paul Naschy horror flick, THE PEOPLE WHO OWN THE DARK (1976).


Kendall also starred in a successful string of Italian spy pictures as well as some Euro westerns such as the awful BROTHER OUTLAW and DJANGO AGAINST SARTANA (both 1970). Earlier in the 1960's, Kendall appeared opposite former peplum star, Brad Harris, in several western films such as PIRATES OF THE MISSISSIPPI (1963). These mimicked the style of the wonderful Karl May German westerns such as TREASURE OF SILVER LAKE (1962) and WINNETOU, THE WARRIOR (1963). Kendall also starred in an Italian clone of KING KONG entitled YETI, GIANT OF THE 20TH CENTURY (1977).

On the opposite end of the spectrum, one of Hong Kong's most notable bad guys passed away recently.

Chen Hung Lieh in the violent and bloody Wuxia tale from respected director, Yueh Feng, A TASTE OF COLD STEEL (1970)

Chen Hung Lieh, the star and co-star of many late 60's and early 70's Shaw Brothers productions died on November 24th while shooting a television program for the TVB network in Hong Kong. Chen, like so many HK actors, went through the Shaw's training course and began acting in movies in the mid 1960's with roles such as THE TWIN SWORDS and TEMPLE OF THE RED LOTUS (both 1965). His first notable part came as one of the main villains in the seminal King Hu movie, COME DRINK WITH ME in 1966.

From there, Chen played many bad guys in swordplay dramas such as THE RAPE OF THE SWORD (1967), DEATH VALLEY and TWIN BLADES OF DOOM (both 1968). He did play a good guy in THE WINGED TIGER (released 1970). Being a protagonist didn't suit Chen as his face was perfect for conniving villainy. He took on more bad guy parts such as A TASTE OF COLD STEEL (1970) and the wuxia fantasy/horror hybrid, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE (1971). He left the Shaw's in 1971 and did a slew of independent action films such as a memorable turn as 'One Man Army' in the delightfully absurd, colorful and bloody swordplay film FEARLESS FIGHTERS (1973). His roles in both Chang Cheh's avant garde tragedy DEAD END (1969) and Chu Yuan's THE VILLAINS (1973) are also notable.

Cool Ass Cinema Book Reviews: Gunfighters Of the Italian West

10,000 WAYS TO DIE: A Director's Take On the Spaghetti Western

By Alex Cox

Softcover; 336 pages; Color & Black & White

The director of REPO MAN (1984), a devout fan of the Italian brand of westerns, divulges his thoughts on 51 European westerns from 1963 through the 1970's. The book is incredibly thoughtful and precise in terms of what works and what doesn't as viewed through the eyes of its author. Cox has some startlingly diverse opinions on these movies and some fans may be a slight bit put off at Cox's disdain for some of the more respected entries in the spaghetti western canon.

It's a great read and one you may find yourself skipping around curious as to how one of your favorite pasta land westerns stacks up to the authors scrutiny. Ostensibly an entirely new publication from the authors original work entitled '10,000 Ways To Die' that was written some 40 years ago, this refurbished version is as the books subtitle suggests, 'A Director's Take On the Spaghetti Western'. One of the best aspects of this book is the attention paid to Sergio Corbucci, an Italian director whom I feel was more talented and definitely more versatile, than Sergio Leone.

If you are a fan of the genre, than this book is a must own for your library. It only features a handful of pictures in color and black and white, but excels in background information and a unique critical analysis easily understood by the casual fan. It's much simpler to follow than the academic approach taken by Sir Christopher Frayling, a much respected author who has written almost exclusively about Sergio Leone within this genre.

The books chapters are broken up into years from 1963 to 1969. Then there's a chapter entitled The Seventies where Cox discusses the comedic trappings and the succeeding downfall of the genre as the decade wore on. The films discussed are listed below...

RED PASTURES
FISTFUL OF DOLLARS
MINNESOTA CLAY
IN A COLT'S SHADOW
FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE
A PISTOL FOR RINGO
RETURN OF RINGO
JOHNNY ORO
DJANGO
ARIZONA COLT
THE BOUNTY KILLER
THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY
THE BIG GUNDOWN
QUIEN SABE? (A BULLET FOR THE GENERAL)
MASSACRE TIME
A STRANGER IN TOWN
NAVAJO JOE
DJANGO KILL
REQUIESCANT
$1,000 ON THE BLACK
HELLBENDERS
FACE TO FACE
DEATH RIDES A HORSE
BANDIDOS
RITA OF THE WEST
THE BIG SILENCE
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST
TEPEPA
A PROFESSIONAL GUN
BLACK JACK
JOHNNY HAMLET
EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF (THE RUTHLESS FOUR)
TODAY IT'S ME, TOMORROW YOU!
SARTANA
THE PRICE OF POWER
CEMETERY WITHOUT CROSSES
DJANGO THE BASTARD
AND GOD SAID TO CAIN...
SABATA
THE SPECIALIST
COMPANEROS
THEY CALL ME TRINITY
DUCK, YOU SUCKER!
BLINDMAN
THE BIG SHOWDOWN (THE GRAND DUEL)
TO KILL OR DIE
MY NAME IS NOBODY
A GENIUS, TWO PARTNERS & A DUPE
DON'T TOUCH THE WHITE WOMAN
CLOSED CIRCUIT
CALIFORNIA

The book is available rather cheaply at amazon.com.