DEAD MEN DON'T MAKE SHADOWS (1970) Miles Deem directs
3886DVD
original
Italian title INGINOCCHIATI STRANIERO...I CADAVERI NON FANNO OMBRA! [The
Stranger That Kneels Beside the Shadow of a Corpse]
director:
Demofilo Fidani (as Miles Deem)
starring Jack Betts (as Hunt Powers) · Simone Blondel· Chet Davis ·
Gordon Mitchell · Ettore Manni
Of
course, the title makes no sense. But the original Italian language
moniker [see above] translates to "The Stranger That Kneels Beside
the Shadow of a Corpse," so it's a slight improvement. Either one
could be the most surrealistic title in the Spaghetti Western arena.
It's the brainchild of the industry's favorite hack, filmmaker Demofilo
Fidani who also wrote the script. Even though the plot is Swiss cheese,
the movie looks great, thanks to the exquisite eye of cinematographer
Aristide Massaccessi (real name for the man who later became the controversial
director Joe D'Amato).
The
movie is a rambling, dreamlike prowl. A stranger named Blonde is following
corrupt bounty hunter Lazar throughout the west. The two men find themselves
in the city of Lamazons (?) where evil mine owner Barret totally controls
the townspeople through fear and torture. Barret sends a hit squad to
kill Lazar. When they fail, Barret pays Lazar $100,000 to leave town.
He does. Blonde follows. Eventually, Lazar ends up at an old shack where
an elderly man named Solinas lives. Lazar enslaves the old man, tormenting
him mercilessly. Finally, Blonde arrives and a showdown transpires.
Beautiful,
exotic Simone Blondel (Simonetta Vitelli) is the daughter of director
Demofilo Fidani. She appeared in most all of his 20+ films. She was
probably best known for her role in his lone Giallo A.A.A.
MASSEUSE, PRETTY, OFFERS HER SERVICES . Filmmaker Fidani is
a quirky director. He was called the "Ed Wood of Spaghetti Westerns"
and would often hide behind an alias. Over the years, he signed movies
as Dennis Ford, Slim Alone, Sean O'Neal, Danilo Dani, Nedo De Fida,
Dick Spitfire, Lucky Dickinson, Nedo Fidano, Demos Filos and (his most
popular) Miles Deem. Of his twenty films, 14 were westerns (including
ONE
DAMNED DAY AT DAWN: DJANGO MEETS SARTANA) and one horror film
SKIN
UNDER THE CLAWS. Failing health forced him to retire from cinema
in 1978; Mr Fidani died in March 1994 at age 80.
An Italian
film in English language; widescreen format, uncut (93 minutes),
DVD encoded for ALL REGION NTSC; extras include selected trailers.
