Occasionally I go onto YouTube and watch excerpts from Action Movies.
(Kind of a ‘guilty pleasure’)
One of my favorites is this brilliant swordfight scene between
Tony Curtis and Ross Martin
from the film “The Great Race” (1965).
You can’t fake this stuff. These guys were great.
But it got me thinking …
Most anyone who came along at the end of Tony Curtis‘ career probably wouldn’t know that Tony was a HUGE Action Hero during the 60’s –
making several notable films in the genre that are now
considered to be Action Classics.
Starting out Tony paid his dues with minor roles in several films for Universal Pictures which included three Westerns, Sierra (1950), Winchester ’73 (1950) and Kansas Raiders (1951), before getting his break with a
starring role in the swashbuckler
The Prince Who Was a Thief (1951), with Piper Laurie.
Trailer below:
Epic! LoL!
But I just watched it for the “Dancing slave girls of Tangiers.”
*Koff*
Not sure how they discovered Tony was going to be good at this?
But in those days the Studios trained their stable of Actors in Dance, Gun Handling, Swordfighting, Horseback riding, and other skills.
Curtis proved to be agile and athletic. A natural.
The start of brilliant entertainment career.
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‘Take me to me fodder’s castle’
Reply from My Favorite Westens:
O My God Don! I had completely forgotten about
this famous hilarious quote! LOL!
Just goes to show how those old Film Studios worked.
If they said your are going to Dance and Sing, you Danced
and Sang. If they said you are going Star in a Medieval Drama (?)
and recite dialogue with your obvious Bronx accent, you did it.
Sometimes with unintentional results.