Casey James, Balladeer’s Blog’s Official Movie Hostess
With the Frontierado holiday coming up this Friday August 1st the spectacularly beautiful Casey James, the Official Movie Hostess of Balladeer’s Blog, helps us get in the seasonal mood with another look at some very odd Spaghetti Westerns.
DYNAMITE JOE (1966) – The title hero is a Jim West- style government agent who dresses well, gambles even better and is a deadly hand with … dynamite. This oddity features Dynamite Joe on the trail of stagecoach robbers who have stolen a fortune in gold. Naturally he beats all the bad guys without once drawing (or carrying) a gun but by hurling sticks of dynamite with giddy abandon, regardless of the collateral damage. This is NOT a comedy, which makes it much funnier. The theme song tells us Dynamite Joe is “dyna-mighty”. I’m serious.
BLINDMAN (1971) – A blind gunslinger, wearing a sign around his neck that says “Blindman”, is a deadly shot based on his extraordinary smell and hearing. This was one of the many Spaghetti Westerns adapted from Japanese movies, in this case the series about the blind, sword-wielding hero Zatoichi. There are blatant comedic elements in this movie, which costars Ringo Starr, or else it would have made the main list. A knowing sense of humor dulls the Bad Movie Appeal. See also Deaf Smith and Johnny Ears (1972).
KUNG FU BROTHERS IN THE WILD WEST (1973) – Two brothers from China are separated in Hong Kong, but encounter each other in the American west. They heroically protect their new hometown from the scourge of the evil warlord who has followed them across the ocean. Kung Fu Brothers in the Wild West is not nearly as much fun as that title and description make it sound. Unfortunately I’m afraid that this movie is so bad it’s barely even watchable.
JOHNNY HAMLET (1968) – Hey, if we’ve had Don Juan in the west, why not Hamlet? Johnny Hamlet comes back from the Civil War to learn that his father is dead and his sinister Uncle Claude has married his mother. Uncle Claude has also taken over the family estate, a sprawling Ponderosa-sized ranch with the hilariously strange name “Rancho El Senor”. Elsinore … “El Senor” … Get it?
FOR FOUR NEGLECTED REAL-LIFE WESTERN FIGURES CLICK HERE: http://glitternight.com/2011/08/02/frontierado-week-four-neglected-wild-west-figures/
FOR THE NUMBER ONE FRONTIERADO FILM CLICK HERE: http://glitternight.com/2011/07/06/the-top-four-frontierado-movies-number-one-silverado-1985/
DON’T FORGET – FRONTIERADO IS FRIDAY AUGUST 1st.
