Now Playing: MARCH 23, 1962

Stark entertainment choices face the Palm Beach moviegoer this weekend. First, perhaps as high a concept as you can possibly imagine: Gunga Din redone as a western, starring the Rat Pack.

For all I know, the Jack Davis ad campaign is more entertaining than the actual film. Exhibitors could also run photo ads of Sinatra & Co. bounding about like idiots. Based on the trailer, which soapbxprod has uploaded to YouTube, the photo ads give a more accurate impression of the picture.



Honestly, all Joey Bishop's shtick does is convince people that this is a lousy comedy. And we still have to take their word for it that the Indians are funny.

If Sergeants 3 is too profane for your tastes, there's always this.

Did you see what they did there? St. Francis is a rebel with a cause. Like this is some sort of a youth movie. Crazy, man. Now dig the trailer.

Trailer provided by Video Detective

And what do you know? That pitch sure sounds like a lot of hype, but Dolores Hart does seem actually to have been inspired by her role. As many people found out around Academy Award time, she became a nun in real life and remains one today.
If that kills you buzz, here's Claudia Cardinale opening in Milwaukee.

La Ragazza con la Valigia is a film from the director of Black Jesus, who seems on more comfortable ground here. Couldn't find a trailer in any langauge, but clips abound online. Here's one that shows off the star and some early Italian rock 'n roll. onironauta666 uploaded it.



The Ruffians is Maurice Labro's Les Canailles, starring ex-spouses Marina Vlady and Robert Hossein. It's obscure enough today in the Anglophone world that it doesn't even have a rating at IMDB. Hossein went on to star and direct in the outstanding spaghetti western Cemetery Without Crosses, while Vlady would act for both Godard and Welles after winning an acting prize at Cannes. American distributors used to make an effort promoting new international stars. I wonder whether either of these films would play even in an arthouse today.