15 August, 2006

WILLIAM SHATNER IS COMANCHE BLANCO!

                                         Transformed Man         
 
Since we didn't have a poster of the ultra-bizarre 1968 Spanish western COMANCHE BLANCO (WHITE COMANCHE) we thought this "classic" album cover would do. Shatner plays both the titular White Comanche, Notah, a peyote-soaked renegade, and his twin brother, a milder mannered gunfighter. Shatner has a ball in this turkey shoot while former Mercury Theater player Joseph Cotton is there to witness his career on the downslide. Franco scream queen Perla Cristal (GRITOS EN LA NOCHE; EL SECRETO DEL DR ORLOFF) has a supporting role, along with future legend Soledad Miranda. The problem is I can't find Soledad in the film! Can anyone enlighten us to her presence here? This deservedly obscure Eurowestern is bad fun but the Plantinum DVD version on their THE GREAT AMERICAN WESTERN compilation Vol. 20, from what looks like the equally dire old video, is  a remarkably ugly, watermarked, washed-out, fullscreen abomination! And we REALLY want the above Shatner album, along with the Bruno Nicolai soundtrack for LUCKY THE INSCRUCTABLE.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

for those in the brooklyn, new york area, this flick is on Turner Movie Classics tomorrow (wed) at 4:30pm.

i will scour the film and try to find soledad (even tho someone will probably come up with the answer before then).

Robert Monell said...

Welcome and thanks for checking it out. I've tried again and again and can't spot her. If this print shown is letterboxed can you or someone tape it? I don't get Turner and would trade you a DVD or something for a dub of a letterboxed version. I've only seen this film in the very poor quality vhs and DVD prints.

Anonymous said...

If you're still looking for the Shatner album let me know. I also have the LUCKY soundtrack.

DamianakaKriminal

Robert Monell said...

Yes, if you could burn me a CD of both. Also, can you email me the cover for the LUCKY soundtrack, not as an attachment, though, just in the email, so I could copy it here. Thanks.

Mirek said...

I caught parts of TCM's showing of WHITE COMANCHE, but didn't have my recording equipment set up at the time. The print looked quite good and was presented full-frame, aside from the opening credits, which were letterboxed. Several other "Franco actors/actresses" show up in this film, including Rosanna "Red Lips" Yanni. Next time I'll try to record the presentation for screen capture purposes. From what I saw, the film is awful.

Anonymous said...

I did record it. The colors were very pleasing. I watched the first third of it, but even looking for Soledad couldn't maintain my interest. If you would like a DVD-R, I would be happy to send one out.

-Adam Williams

Anonymous said...

sad to report, i could not find soledad. although shatner as the shirtless indian was initially amusing, the movie remains inert and lifeless (even the fast forward button fails to move things along).

i had hopes for the final showdown twixt the two shatners (good guy shatner now also shirtless) but thats over with in a blink (or some bad editing).

strange music score too, for a western; its kind of jazzy. opening title sequence where good guy shatner is mistaken for bad guy shatner and almost lynched & then chased by bounty hunters is a prime example of inappropriate music.

everyone's dialogue seems to me to have been recorded & added at a later date.

Robert Monell said...

Thanks Adam, yes I would like a decent copy of this. You can email me at the address at the top of the blog.

Thanks also to Christian for checking this out and at least looking for her. Yes, it's a pretty terrible film by any standard, I'm afraid, but not without amusement for me. Shatner must have been really desperate for $$$$ to make this. I've heard he was really hurting financially and career wise after STAR TREK was cancelled and in the wake of his divorce, so that may explain why he took the role, along with a trip to Europe. And Joseph Cotton going from CITIZEN KANE to this! I think that SM may have either been cut out of the final release version or it may be another imbd mistake in listing her in the cast. Any other references mention her?

Robert Monell said...

Thanks Mirek for subjecting yourself to this ordeal and reporting on the print. It definitely sounds preferable to the PLATINUM disc. If you find SM in there please capture that image and post it here.