Beyond Naschy #30 - THE MAN CALLED NOON (1973)

Westerns are not the most frequent category of cinema covered on this podcast. In fact, this episode marks only the third one in the ten years we’ve been doing this! That might be considered strange when you know just how many fine examples of the genre were made in Spain employing Spanish actors and technicians. Because of the low costs of production many westerns were shot in the Spanish countryside and on the standing sets built for countless Italian movies including some American productions. The cleverest of filmmakers found ways to make those places look fresh and interesting. Such is true of THE MAN CALLED NOON (1973).

We discovered this film while digging into the credit listings of one of Paul Naschy’s most impressive female co-stars. The sight of Patty Shepard aiming a six-gun while dressed in an all black cowboy ensemble encouraged our curiosity and the online plot synopsis grabbed our attention. Based on a Louis L’amour novel? Directed by the guy who made THE ITALIAN JOB (1969)? The lead is played by Rambo’s boss? And the luminous Rosanna Schiaffino is in it as well? How could we resist?

The mystery at the heart of this twisty tale is unraveled slowly over the film’s running time so we do our best to keep spoilers out of our discussion. There are so many reveals and discoveries along the way that we thought it would be best to let new viewers find them as the story plays out. This is a movie with a lot of interesting characters and learning about them is more than half the fun.

We don’t have any new emails or messages to respond to in this episode so if you have any comments for the show we can be reached at naschycast@gmail.com or over on the FaceBook page. We’d be thrilled to hear from you!

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Beyond Naschy #19 - WHITE COMANCHE (1968)

In 1968 westerns were being churned out by the dozens in Europe. The huge success of Sergio Leone's Dollar films had stoked a fire for the genre that had been little more than cooling embers. When those Clint Eastwood star making movies helped turn a samurai film into Italian gold every European producer with access to horses saw a fortune in them thar oats. Just sign up an American (or Canadian) star (or two, if cheap enough), build some clapboard shacks, strap on six-guns and ride, baby! Enter William Shatner. On a break from shooting Star Trek he travels to Spain to make WHITE COMANCHE and, from his own accounts, is miserable the entire time. But did great art come from his suffering? We shall see!

Of course, the reason we are covering this odd Euro-Western is because it is a Spanish production and it stars several actors we have seen before in the films of Paul Naschy. The lovely Rosanna Yanni, the saucy Perla Cristal, the deadly Victor Israel as well as the amazing Barta Barri turn in excellent performances here showing real talent and professionalism. And I'm sure the fact that nearly all of them got to share scenes with the legendary (slumming) Hollywood actor Joseph Cotton had to be a career highlight. Cotton plays the town sheriff in what is easily the best role the script has to offer. Every scene he is in is better off for his presence and his skill elevates some sequences to a place the director rarely could manage on his own. And did we mention the inappropriate score? This is a film with much to talk about.

We close this episode out with a few pieces of mail that come packed with some interesting information. One alerts us to a source for a bootleg NIGHT OF THE HOWLING BEAST disc while another points to some connections between COUNT DRACULA'S GREAT LOVE and Hammer's Karnstein Trilogy. The horror geekiness is in high gear in this one, folks! If you have any comments or questions please write us at naschycast@gmail.com or join us on the Naschycast Facebook page for occasional updates and links to things of interest for Spanish Horror fans. Thanks for downloading and listening!

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