Carambola! | |
---|---|
![]() Italian theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Ferdinando Baldi |
Written by | Ferdinando Baldi Nico Ducci Mino Roli |
Produced by | Manolo Bolognini |
Starring | Michael Coby Paul L. Smith |
Cinematography | Aiace Parolin |
Music by | Franco Bixio Vince Tempera |
Release date |
|
Language | Italian |
Carambola! (Italian : Carambola, also known as Strange Adventures of Coby and Ben) [1] is a 1974 Italian comedic Spaghetti Western film co-written and directed by Ferdinando Baldi. It was the first film starring the duo Michael Coby and Paul L. Smith, a couple formed by producer Manolo Bolognini with the purpose of copying the successful films of the duo Terence Hill and Bud Spencer. [2] [1] [3] It was followed by Carambola's Philosophy: In the Right Pocket . [1]
A former soldier and champion of pool and his gigantic and irascible friend accepted, for $50.000, to investigate arms trafficking that would take place between the US and Mexico. The two devise a trick.
They Call Me Trinity is a 1970 spaghetti Western comedy film written and directed by Enzo Barboni and produced by Italo Zingarelli. The film stars the duo of Terence Hill and Bud Spencer as half-brothers Trinity and Bambino, who help defend a Mormon settlement from Mexican bandits and the henchmen of the land-grabbing Major Harriman. It was filmed on location in Campo Imperatore, Abruzzo, Italy, with financial backing from West Film.
Paul Lawrence Smith was an American-Israeli actor and director. Burly, bearded and imposing, he appeared in feature films and occasionally on television since the 1960s, generally playing "heavies" and bad guys. His most notable roles include Hamidou, the vicious prison guard in Midnight Express (1978), Bluto in Robert Altman's Popeye (1980), Gideon in the ABC miniseries Masada (1981), Glossu "Beast" Rabban in David Lynch's Dune (1984) and Falkon in Red Sonja (1985). He was most frequently credited as Paul Smith or Paul L. Smith, but was also billed as P. L. Smith and Paul Lawrence Smith.
Ferdinando Baldi was an Italian film director and screenwriter.
Blindman is a 1971 Spaghetti Western film directed by Ferdinando Baldi and co-written and co-produced by Tony Anthony. The film's protagonist, played by Anthony, is an homage to Kan Shimozawa's Zatoichi character: a blind transient who does odd jobs and is actually a high-skilled warrior.
Antonio Cantafora, also known professionally as Michael Coby, was an Italian film and television actor.
The Witch's Curse is a 1962 Italian peplum-fantasy film, directed by Riccardo Freda.
The Nephews of Zorro is a 1968 Italian comedy film directed by Marcello Ciorciolini starring the comic duo Franco and Ciccio.
The Invincible Masked Rider is a 1963 adventure film directed by Umberto Lenzi. It was based on a novel by Johnston McCulley. The film was released in the US as Terror of the Black Mask.
Special Mission Lady Chaplin is a 1966 Italian-French-Spanish Eurospy film directed by Alberto De Martino and Sergio Grieco. It is the third and last of the Secret Agent 077 film series starring Ken Clark as 077 and Daniela Bianchi as fashion expert and professional killer Lady Arabella Chaplin. Bianchi reprised her role as Arabella in Your Turn to Die (1967). The film was shot in New York City, London, Madrid, Rome, and Paris.
Those Dirty Dogs is a 1973 Italian-Spanish Spaghetti Western film written and directed by Giuseppe Rosati and starring Gianni Garko and Stephen Boyd. The film was made in the later part of the Spaghetti Western boom. As such it features such latter-day genre elements as self-parody, guffaw humour, near-slapstick fight scenes, machine guns hidden in everyday household items, and bombastic villains.
Terror Express is a 1979 Italian horror-crime film directed by Ferdinando Baldi and starring Silvia Dionisio. The screenplay was written by George Eastman.
Two Sons of Trinity is a 1972 Italian western-comedy film written and directed by Osvaldo Civirani and starring the comic duo Franco and Ciccio. The film features Anna Degli Uberti as Calamity Jane, Claudio Ruffini as Sabata, and Pietro Torrisi as Sartana.
Paolo il freddo is a 1974 Italian comedy film written and directed by Ciccio Ingrassia and starring Franco Franchi. A parody of Marco Vicario's Paolo il caldo, it is Ingrassia's second and last film as a director.
Return of Halleluja is a 1972 Italian Spaghetti Western film directed by Giuliano Carnimeo and starring George Hilton. It is the sequel to They Call Me Hallelujah.
Convoy Buddies is a 1975 Italian-Spanish adventure-comedy film directed by Giuliano Carnimeo and starring Michael Coby and Paul L. Smith, a couple formed with the purpose of copying the successful films of the duo Terence Hill and Bud Spencer. It was followed by The Diamond Peddlers
The Diamond Peddlers is a 1976 Italian comedy film directed by Giuliano Carnimeo and starring Michael Coby and Paul L. Smith, a couple formed with the purpose of copying the successful films of the duo Terence Hill and Bud Spencer. It is the sequel of Convoy Buddies.
Carambola's Philosophy: In the Right Pocket is a 1975 Italian comedic Spaghetti Western film co-written and directed by Ferdinando Baldi. Starring the duo Michael Coby and Paul L. Smith, a couple formed by producer Manolo Bolognini with the purpose of copying the successful films of the duo Terence Hill and Bud Spencer. It is the sequel of Carambola!.
We Are No Angels is a 1975 Italian comedy film directed by Gianfranco Parolini and starring Michael Coby and Paul L. Smith, a couple formed with the purpose of copying the successful films of the duo Terence Hill and Bud Spencer.
In the Shadow of Eagles is a 1966 sword-and-sandal film written and directed by Ferdinando Baldi and starring Cameron Mitchell and Beba Lončar.
Terence Hill and Bud Spencer are Italian actors who made numerous action-comedy and Spaghetti Western films together. They "garnered world acclaim and attracted millions to theater seats". While Hill's characters were agile and youthful, Spencer always played the "phlegmatic, grumpy strong-arm man with a blessed, naive child's laughter and a golden heart".