FILM REVIEW OF ''A MAN TO RESPECT" (ITALIAN-WEST GERMAN-1972)

This entertaining 'crime-does-not-pay' European heist caper pits mastermind safe-cracker Kirk Douglas against his trapeze artist sidekick Giuliano Gemma as well as his former Teutonic criminal underworld boss Wolfgang Preiss. "Goliath and the Sins of Babylon" director Michele Lupo's suspenseful yarn boasts intrigue, betrayal, and a demolition-derby car chase in Hamburg, Germany, as our hero sets out to pull another one of those formulaic fool-proof last jobs. "Un uomo da rispettare" benefits from the terrific widescreen cinematography of "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" lenser Tonino Delli Colli and his use of 'Dutch' tilt angles. Composer Ennio Morricone contributes a muted orchestral score and Lupo relies on a lively classical Mozart tune in two scenes. The twist here is that our anti-heroic protagonist stages one robbery but plans to be caught for another robbery so as throw the German police and the villains off the scent. Naturally, nothing goes quite as it is planned in this ingenious but familiar caper. Like director Richard Brooks' crime caper "Dollars" (1971), Lupo's film focuses on banks that contain ultra-sophisticated security systems to safeguard their assets.

"Un uomo da rispettare" (**1/2 out of ****) opens with marked police cars rampaging around the city while Detective Hoffman (Reinhard Kolldehoff of "Shout at the Devil") transports convicted career criminal Steve Wallace (Kirk Douglas of "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral") home to his wife Anna (Florinda Bolkan of "The Last Valley") after having served three years in prison. No sooner does the police car leave Wallace in front of his house than a carload of thugs cruise up. One of the ruffians informs Wallace that their boss, Miller (Wolfgang Preiss of "Raid on Rommel"), wants to talk to him. Reluctantly, Wallace accompanies them to see the well-heeled Miller in his huge office above a casino. Miller surrounds himself with an array of electronic gadgets to present his proposition for a heist with a million dollar payday. "I've got a job only you can do," he explains. "Now, listen carefully, you must knock out this alarm system. It's called 'Big Ben.' If it goes off, the whole city can hear it." Miller shows Wallace the vault on the top floor where the International Insurance Company has stored a cool million. "Now I know you can handle this safe, Steve, but Big Ben is the problem. The buzzing of a fly, a footstep, a deep breath is enough to trip the alarm." Miller pauses and then observes in an effort to entice Wallace. "Nobody has ever thought of it before." Wallace refuses flatly to pull the job for Miller. Before he worked for Miller, Wallace never encountered trouble. He wound up serving three years in prison when he did his first job for Miller. Nevertheless, Wallace tours the building and finds the edifice decked out with surveillance galore. He heads up to the top floor to snoop around but the disembodied voice of a woman interrupts him. He tells her that he has an appointment with Mr. Schmitt. The woman at a central control desk tells him that Schmitt's office is located on the second floor. Miller's rough-hewn henchman (Romano Puppo of "Death Rides A Horse") spots him leaving the building. He tries to persuade Wallace to see Miller again. Wallace refuses. While they are talking, a young man in an old jalopy, Marco (Giuliano Gemma), pulls up behind the henchman and honks at him. The two tangle in a rough and tumble fight with Marco demonstrating his agility. Miller's man brandishes a pistol. Wallace intervenes and knocks the gun out of the thug's fist.

This chance encounter serves as an opportunity for Wallace and Marco to become friends. Sadly, Wallace doesn't pay enough attention either to his unhappy wife or his new friend. Wallace convinces Anna that he can steal millions without being held accountable if he stages one robbery but takes the fall for another lesser robbery. If everything goes according to plan, Wallace calculates that--under German law--he will only land in prison for 18 months from robbing a pawn shop. Unfortunately, Marco relies too heavily on his switchblade knife. Earlier, Wallace warns Marco sternly about this predilection. Director Lupo does a good job of staging the International Insurance safe-cracking job. Wallace decides to pull the job in the afternoon rather than at night. He slips into the building just after it has closed and looks like just another businessman with a bag that contains his instruments. Meantime, Anna makes appropriate phone calls at the precise moments to distract the uniformed guards while our hero sets up an array of gadgets to warn him when the guards are making their rounds. He uses Mozart music to skillfully distract the 'Big Ben' alarm system. Furthermore, after he gains access to the vault room, Wallace sprinkles powder on the push-buttons that must be punched according to a sequence to raise the circular vault out of the floor. He uses the powder to determine which buttons have fingerprints on them. Pretty savvy!!! Unfortunately, the best laid plans go awry when poor Marco kills the guard. You'd think after his knock down, drag-out brawl with Miller's henchman that Marco could have beaten the guard and left him unconscious. That isn't the point. The guard must be found down and at the last moment so that it comes as a complete surprise to Wallace.

"Un uomo da rispettare" is one of those crime caper films made after the abolition of the Production Code. Earlier, Hollywood films and European films would never allow the criminals to escape with their ill-gotten gains. This would been a prescription for anarchy. Filmmakers could not make such a radical, anti-status-quo statement. The idea that 'crime could pay' would have been considered unethical! Cleverly, however, Lupo and scenarists Roberto Leoni, Franco Bucceri, Mino Roli, and Nico Ducci create suspense by letting Wallace get away with one robbery only to be nabbed for another one! After all, this is a testament to Wallace's brilliance as a safe-cracker. A handsome, well-tailored Kirk Douglas is shrewd throughout until he realizes that he has been sold out. As his immature pal, Giuliano Gemma looks like a European version of Paul Newman. He appears to be performing his own stunts in the circus scenes. The slam-bang car chase between Marco and Miller's lieutenant as a part of their feud is amusing. This isn't the kind of car chase that was usually found in Hollywood epics at the time. Surprisingly, this chase seems to have been filmed in chronological order since neither vehicle looks like it changes during the demolition.

FILM REVIEW OF ''THE WAR WAGON'' (1967)

 "Return of the Seven" director Burt Kennedy helmed the most imaginative John Wayne western of the 1960s with "The War Wagon." This improbable but entertaining horse opera co-starred a trim Kirk Douglas at his acrobatic best as well as Howard Keel, Bruce Cabot, and Robert Walker Jr. Novelist Claire Huffaker adapted the screenplay from his novel and remains faithful to it for the most part. Huffaker penned paperback westerns so he was no stranger to the genre. He later wrote "The Deserter," "The Valdez Horses," "100 Rifles," "The Hellfighters," "The Comancheros," and "Tarzan and the Valley of Gold." Of course, a seasoned western movie scenarist like Burt Kennedy, whose writing credits include four Randolph Scott westerns "Seven Men from Now," "The Tall T," "Comanche Station," and "Ride Lonesome," brought his sensibility to the subject matter. Kennedy has said that he lightened up Huffaker's dark script. Remember, Kennedy later helmed the classic James Garner western comedy "Support Your Local Sheriff" and its lesser sequel "Support Your Local Gunfighter."  One of the weapons that all Spaghetti westerns featured prominently was the Gatling Gun, and Kennedy makes good use of a Gatling gun.

In "The War Wagon" (***1/2 out of ****), Taw Jackson (John Wayne) rides into Emmett, New Mexico, to report to Sheriff Strike. Initially, Strike (Terry Wilson of "Westworld") is surprised by Taw's arrival and believes that he has broken out of prison. No, Taw explains that he behaved himself so well for three years that he received a pardon with the stipulation that he check in every Monday with the local authority. Deputy Hoag (Gene Evans of "Fixed Bayonets!") observes critically, "Maybe prison took some of the starch out of you." Taw leaves the jail and finds Wes Fletcher (Keenan Wynn of "Point Blank") stealing sugar from Pierce and forces him to put it back. Wes plans to participate in a robbery that Taw has put together. Wes is a harsh, abrasive old man that drives a supply wagon for Pierce and has a beautiful young wife, Felicia (Ann McCrea of "River of No Return"), that he bought for $20 and a horse from her poor parents. Our protagonist sets out to find a flamboyant, temperamental gunfighter named Lomax (Kirk Douglas of "Seven Days in May") because he can crack safes and he is extremely handy with a six-gun. Taw finds him easily enough, but Lomax holds a grudge against him. "You're the only man I ever shot," he snarls with venom, "didn't kill."  We learn from Lomax that Frank Pierce paid him to kill Taw Jackson. "Sure, so he (Pierce) could legally steal your land once he found gold on it. You were a hard-working rancher defending your property yet it was you who got shot, framed, and sent to jail." Taw shares his far-fetched plan with Lomax to rob Pierce. Of course, Lomax points out Pierce transports his gold dust 43 miles between Emmett and the railhead at El Paso in an iron-plated stagecoach and with plans to add a rapid-firing Gatling gun to the roof. Taw knows that they will be pitted against 28 horsemen each armed with Henry repeating rifles, two Colt .45 revolvers, and 200 rounds of ammunition. Five men including Pierce ride in the armor-plated coach. Taw explains, however, that he has assembled five men to pull the job off... Lomax will handle the gunplay and the safe cracking. Billy Hyatt (Robert Walker Jr. of "Young Bill Young") is a teenage alcoholic but an expert with explosives. Levi Walking Bear (Howard Keel of "Kismet") will recruit an army of Native Americans to serve as their cavalry, while Wes Fletcher will be in charge of concealing the loot for six months after the robbery. Predictably, Lomax objects to Taw's grand scheme, despite the $100-thousand pay per man, because of the danger. Taw sweetens the pot. Pierce plans to haul a half-million dollars in gold dust in four days as soon as he installs the Gatling gun.

Meanwhile, when Frank Pierce (Bruce Cabot of "King Kong") learns about Taw being in town, he summons two gunmen, Hammond (Bruce Dern of "The Cowboys") and Brown (Chuck Robertson of "McLintock!"), and orders them to find Lomax. Pierce is prepared to pay Lomax up to $10-thousand for him to kill Taw. Another example of Kennedy's sense of humor occurs when Hammond and Brown find Lomax, discover that Taw is with Lomax, and try to blast them on their own. Our heroes have no trouble killing them. "Might fell first," Lomax chides Taw. "Mine was taller," Taw retorts. Our heroes rescue Levi Walking Bear from an evil band of Mexican outlaws, steal nitroglycerin from Pierce's own supplies and set about arranging their scheme to take the war wagon. At the same time, the conspirators don't like each other. (Kennedy's gunmen in "Return of the Seven" didn't get along with each other either.) Lomax detests Billy because he doesn't trust a drunkard handling explosives and Wes hates Billy because he mistakes Felicia as Wes' daughter not his wife.

The success of "The War Wagon" hinges largely on Kennedy's helming as well as his abundant sense of humor. He covers all bases in this western in 101 minutes without wearing out his welcome. There's a funny barroom brawl and the actual robbery of the war wagon is exciting stuff. The only flaw in this wonderful western adventure is the ending. The heroes are punished as if they were villains. They wind up with only a fifth of the loot. The John Wayne character here is one of the few who was convicted of a crime and had to do the time. A corrupt society enables Pierce to gain control of Taw's land and the fortune underneath it and there is no hope that Taw will ever get his ranch back or clear his name. These are events that would have been reckoned with in his Lone Star B-movie westerns. "The War Wagon" is a postmodern oater because everything is flipped upside down. Just for the record, too, the villains kill themselves so that our heroes need not dirty their hands.