Even though he was born in Italy on July 14th, 1919, Lino Ventura would become one of France’s most beloved character actors from the 1950’s through the 1980’s. In 1972, Ventura played Don Vito Genevese in THE VALACHI PAPERS, starring Charles Bronson. This film was released on the heels of the runaway success of THE GODFATHER (1972), and it would go on to make quite a bit of money itself. DEATH WISH (1974) is the only Bronson film that made more money at the U.S. box office in the 1970’s. I’ve always enjoyed that these two legendary actors were able to work with each other at least one time in their careers!
Happy 106th Birthday in cinematic heaven to the great Lino Ventura! Enjoy this fun scene from THE VALACHI PAPERS that begins with a cute domestic situation before ending with a vicious “hit.”
Every Monday night at 9:00 Central Time, my wife Sierra and I host a “Live Movie Tweet” event on X using the hashtag #MondayMuggers. We rotate movie picks each week, and our tastes are quite different. Tonight, Monday June 16th, we are showing THE MECHANIC (1972) starring Charles Bronson, Jan-Michael Vincent, Keenan Wynn, Jill Ireland, and Frank DeKova.
In THE MECHANIC, Charles Bronson plays a hitman who takes on a young apprentice (Jan-Michael Vincent) and trains him to be a professional assassin. But in their world, you never know when you’ll go from being the killer… to becoming the next target!
I reviewed THE MECHANIC for The Shattered Lens back on New Year’s Day!
Charles Bronson is an Arizona cop who goes to Switzerland to bring back a gangster’s girlfriend (Jill Ireland). The gangster (Rod Steiger) sends a hitman (Henry Silva) to kill her so she can’t tell his crime secrets to the authorities.
This isn’t one of Bronson’s best films, but it’s still a fun movie to watch on a chilly, rainy day. There are some good action scenes set in various cold & snowy European locations. This is Bronson in “Bond” mode which is kind of fun and different. And what can you say about a stuttering Rod Steiger screaming at his advisors about the meaning of “love.” It’s fun stuff when you like Steiger as much as I do. I do deduct half a star because Steiger gets so mad at one point that he turns over a table with some of the biggest, most scrumptious looking shrimp I’ve ever seen. That was completely uncalled for and wasteful, but not quite as wasteful as Bronson and Henry Silva in the same movie without an epic battle of some sort. The fact that they didn’t fight it out on the Matterhorn itself can only be described as a missed opportunity.
I reviewed the entire SHANE TV series here on The Shattered Lens because I wanted to watch Jill Ireland in a role that did not involve her famous husband Charles Bronson. I really enjoyed it. Here’s a personal story about Jill Ireland in my own life!
From December 4th – December 15th, 1989, a 16 year old Bradley was a resident of the Baptist Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas. I had a terrible car accident on December 4th and broke my left femur as well as my pelvis in 3 places. As I was healing over those days, I’d watch the morning shows with my mom. Jill Ireland was a guest on one of the shows during that time, and I was excited to watch her. She had a big smile on her face, and she exuded beauty, strength and courage. I have to admit just seeing her made me feel better during a time when I was really struggling. A little over 6 months later, I found out that she had passed away, and it made me very sad.
In 2024, I was able to meet Jill’s niece Lindsay. Finding out what wonderful, caring people they are has been so wonderful. Jill’s children have watched our episode of the THIS WEEK IN CHARLES BRONSON podcast with Lindsay. It’s so humbling to share my love for this family and actually find out that they also appreciate it. It’s truly wonderful.
See the link to our episode with Linday Ireland below:
Episode 17, the final episode of this short lived TV series, begins with Rufe Ryker (Bert Freed) in serious need of a cook at his cattle ranch. While lamenting the horrible state of the vittles that he and his men are being forced to consume to Sam Grafton (Sam Gilman), it’s suggested that he consider asking Marian Starett (Jill Ireland) to be his cook. Ryker ends up taking Sam’s advice and heads out to the Starett ranch to see her and even gets invited to stay for dinner. None of this is setting well with Shane (David Carradine) or Tom Starett (Tom Tully), as neither man trusts Ryker, especially since he has spent the better part of the first 16 episodes of the series wanting to take the ranch away from them. They make their feelings very obvious as Ryker plays nice and Marian seems to appreciate his suddenly more caring and complimentary nature. Later at Sam’s bar, Ryker begins telling Sam about how good it would be to have a woman to spend his time with. Sam tells him “You’re talking like a man in love.” It really seems that Ryker may be falling for Marian. He even gets a fresh shave and haircut. Shane walks in on Ryker getting his haircut and gets pissed all over again. He heads back to the ranch and tells Marian, who offers to give Shane his own haircut, that Ryker is “trying to court you,” hoping that she’ll put down the idea. Sensing what Shane is up to, Marian decides to play devil’s advocate and acts like dating Ryker isn’t such a bad idea. It drives Shane crazy, which seems to be making Marian quite happy. Ryker keeps pressing forward, even bringing Marian some excellent peanut brittle. As a jealous Shane tries to warn Marian that Ryker is dangerous, she asks Shane why he cares, clearly wanting him to answer honestly, which he doesn’t. Will Shave ever admit to Marian that he loves her?!! Will Ryker be able to convince her that he can give her a good life at his ranch? Will Tom threaten to kick Shane’s ass if he doesn’t handle his business with Marian? The good news is that all such questions are answered in this final episode.
While episode 17 presents a strange conundrum, Shane vs. Rufe Ryker for Marian’s attention, I must admit that I found it an excellent conclusion to the series for several reasons. First, Rufe Ryker’s best nature is finally revealed. Throughout the series Ryker has been a lot of bluster, but with a couple exceptions, he has mostly been a reasonable man and has even worked with the Starett’s multiple times for the good of the valley. His feelings for Marian bring out a sensitivity and kindness in him that we have not seen before. Being one of the more interesting characters, I liked that he was given even more depth this late in the series. Second, there’s a scene late in the episode where Tom confronts Shane, chews his ass out and tells him he’d kick that same ass if he was a little younger since he’s not “man enough” to take care of his business. So many times people dance around and do everything possible NOT to tell people how they feel in these shows. Not this time, as Tom tells Shane exactly how he feels and he doesn’t pull a punch even slightly. It pisses off an already pissed off Shane even farther, but these are words he needs to hear, and they spur him to action. I’ve mentioned some of Tom Tully’s excellent moments in the past, but he saved the best for last. I found it to be one of the best individual moments of the entire series. Finally, you’d think this storyline and the fact that it’s the very last episode would force Shane to finally tell Marian how he fills about her. I’m not going to spoil the ending, but throughout the entire series, Shane has been shown to be a man of action, not of words, and that aspect of his character remains unchanged to the very end. You’ll have to watch for yourself to find out exactly what I mean with that last statement.
I started watching this series for two reasons; I loved the 1953 movie SHANE with Alan Ladd, and I wanted to watch Jill Ireland in an on-screen role that does not rely on Charles Bronson. After watching every episode, I can confidently state that SHANE is a solid TV series, and that Jill Ireland does a fine job as the beautiful Marian Starett. And even better, it’s been a lot of fun sharing my thoughts with the readers of The Shattered Lens. Thanks to all who have joined me!
Episode 16 opens with Shane (David Carradine) back in Cheyenne, WY. He has joined up with Major Hackett’s (Bradford Dillman) outfit to try to find out the Major’s plans for attacking the homesteaders. The first thing he has to do is have it out with Jed (Charles Grodin) who is still smarting from the ass-whoopin’ he took in the last episode. The two men get into another brawl that ends when Major Hackett shoots Jed in the knee and discharges him from his service for good. The next day, Major Hackett, Shane, the men, and the Gatling Gun head towards the valley after rustlers and homesteaders. Major Hackett assigns Shane to advance scout their next target, Bull O’Reilly. Shane heads out and forces O’Reilly to leave his home before the other men arrive. Shane tells them O’Reilly was gone before he got there, but Major Hackett doesn’t appear to be buying what Shane is selling and tells his men to keep an eye on him. When Shane finds out they are headed for the valley the next day, he beats up the guy he’s on night watch duty with and rides all night back to the Starett ranch. With Tom (Tom Tully) and Marian’s (Jill Ireland) help, he is finally able to convince the homesteaders and the cattlemen, led by Rufe Ryker (Bert Freed), to stand together and take on Major Hackett and his men. But do they have any chance against that gun?
Part 1 of the Great Invasion spent most of its running time setting up the backstory for Major Hackett’s invasion of the valley in order to get rid of all the rustlers and homesteaders. With all of that out of the way, Part 2 mainly focuses on the actions Shane takes in trying to stop Major Hackett from within. He engages in two fistfights. He convinces an old man to leave his home as soon as possible, giving him time to put on his boots but not time to put on his pants, which gave me a chuckle. And he stands with the homesteaders and the cattlemen as they trick Major Hackett into thinking the Ryker ranch is abandoned so they can attack with an element of surprise. David Carradine, of course, handles all of the action and drama very well. Part 2 is a pretty solid episode, but after the setup from Part 1, I was hoping for a little more. I can’t help but question Major Hackett’s judgement when it comes to Shane. There were plenty of red flags that would indicate Shane wasn’t very trustworthy when it came to executing the plan, but Hackett seemed willing to give him the benefit of the doubt anyway. His cockiness and over confidence in his ability to control the Gatling Gun also knocked him down a notch or two. Major Hackett turned out not to be as smart as we originally thought him to be, which was a little disappointing, especially with Bradford Dillman’s interesting performance. On a positive note, I was glad that Little Joey (Christopher Shea) gets a sweet moment in this episode. He’s mostly a background piece in the series but his childlike wisdom comes in handy at one point. He overhears the adults questioning whether or not Shane has really joined the invaders. Joey tells them matter of factly that he knows that Shane has a plan that will help everyone and finishes his statement with, “Y’all just don’t know him as well as I do.” Tom and Marian can’t help but smile with that innocent truth-bomb, and from that point never doubt Shane again. Tom Tully gets another opportunity to shine as well, as his Tom Starett gives an impassioned speech to his fellow homesteaders asking them join together and fight the invaders. It was a good moment for him.
Overall, “The Great Invasion” is an episode that builds a solid foundation in the first part that it doesn’t completely capitalize on in the second. It has its moments, though, especially with some good character moments from both the main cast and its guest stars. I also found the very final shootout to be exciting. The relationship between Shane and Marian does seem to be reaching a breaking point as her patience is wearing thin with his inability to share his true feelings with her. We only have one episode to go, so I’m expecting some sort of action in that department as the series reaches its conclusion.
Episode 15 opens with Shane (David Carradine) at a hotel in Cheyenne, WY. He hears a ruckus in the next room where a guy named Jed (Charles Grodin) is holding court with a group of men and women. Jed, who has clearly been drinking way too much, is going on about the honor of serving with Captain William Quantrill. He asks Shane to have a drink with him and Shane declines. Offended by this, Jed challenges Shane only to get his ass thoroughly kicked in about 10 seconds flat. One of the men in the group recognizes Shane as the great gunfighter. Soon the men force Shane at gunpoint to go see their boss, Major George Hackett (Bradford Dillman). It seems Hackett is putting together a group of men for a project and offers Shane the large sum of $75 per week to join up. Sensing something bad, Shane turns down his offer and leaves. Shane is right to leave as we soon learn that Hackett’s “project” is to eliminate any homesteaders who are not a part of the Cattlemen’s Benevolent Association, a large outfit out of Chicago.
While in Cheyenne, Shane also runs into his old friend Longhorn Jenny (Constance Ford) who is in town selling a herd of cattle. She’s accompanied by her assistant Dan (Archie Moore). The two swap some old stories, with Shane even asking how she came across that herd of cattle. They seem to hint that she didn’t necessarily come across them legally. Shane says goodbye and starts the journey back to the ranch. Before leaving Cheyenne, he reads a story in the paper that specifically mentions Longhorn Jenny, implying that she’s a rustler. The story in the paper, which seems to back the Cattlemen’s Association, plus Major Hackett’s offer convinces Shane that something truly bad is on the way. When he gets back to the ranch, he tells Tom (Tom Tully), Marian (Jill Ireland) and a few other local homesteaders that he’s concerned that they may all be in danger. Unfortunately, everyone he speaks to in the valley about this situation, including cattleman Rufe Ryker (Bert Freed), think he’s overreacting and don’t seem concerned at all. Then Major Hackett and his men ride out to Jenny’s ranch, unveil their Gatling Gun and proceed to kill Jenny and Dan, ultimately hanging her at the gate with a sign that says “Rustler.” Even after Jenny is killed, no one in the valley will listen to Shane and prepare to defend themselves. Marian tells Shane that she’ll prepare to defend their ranch, but she is not leaving. Not knowing what to do to keep those he loves safe, Shane heads back to Cheyenne and accepts Hackett’s offer to work for him. Credits roll for the end of Part 1.
A lot happens in the “The Great Invasion: Part 1.” All the main people are introduced, with Hackett and his plan coming into light. We also spend an inordinate amount of time with Longhorn Jenny as we meet her, learn about her and ultimately see her die. This being the first part of a two part episode, I’ll withhold my larger analysis for the next review, but I am looking forward to seeing where the story goes. I find the characters quite interesting. Bradford Dillman comes off as very odd and extremely dangerous as Major Hackett, a man who seems to relish the opportunity to use his Gatling Gun. Charles Grodin’s Jed appears to be your typical loudmouth killer at this point, but it will be interesting to see what happens to him. And I’m looking forward to seeing what Shane does to stop the madness before it takes out the people in their valley. There’s no way they can compete with Hackett’s Gatling Gun, so Shane will have to figure out a way to stop things from within.
There were a few other interesting things I noted while watching this episode. First, when Shane is heading back to the ranch from Cheyenne, we see the Grand Teton Mountain range behind him for the first time in the series. If you remember, the Tetons are prominently featured in the classic 1953 film SHANE, and it was cool seeing them here. Second, Shane goes on a rant to Marian at one point about how newspapers spin the facts in a way that distorts the truth. Just in case anyone thought that a dishonest media was only a current issue, this should lay that theory to rest. And finally, Marian Starett flat out asks Shane why he continues to stay at the ranch. She’s clearly wanting to know if it’s for her. Once again he won’t give her the satisfaction of confirming her thoughts, and it appears that his reluctance to be honest with her is starting to wear thin. Couple that with a crying Joey who doesn’t understand why Shane left and the interpersonal emotions are running high as the episode fades out. I’m all in for seeing how it plays out.
Jill Clayburgh would have been 81 years old today. She was quite an actress, receiving 2 Academy Award nominations during her career for her performances in the films AN UNMARRIED WOMAN (1978) and STARTING OVER (1979). She will always be special to me based on her performance as Jill Ireland in the 1991 Made-for-TV film REASON FOR LIVING: THE JILL IRELAND story. Clayburgh passed away in 2010 after a long struggle with leukemia.
Back in 1976, Charles Bronson and Jill Ireland did a movie together called FROM NOON TIL THREE. The western set, romantic comedy featured Jill singing the song “Hello and Goodbye.” The music was written by Elmer Bernstein, with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. It would go on to be nominated for a Golden Globe award in 1977 for “Best Original Song.” In honor of her birthday, I’m sharing it with you today!
VIOLENT CITY opens with Jeff Heston (Charles Bronson) and Vanessa Shelton (Jill Ireland) living it up on a tropical island. They boat, they make love, and then spend some time enjoying the local island culture. Unfortunately, this is all a mirage and Jeff can’t escape the effects of his day job, that of a professional assassin. Soon a group of men are after him in a high speed chase on the narrow streets of paradise. Just when he thinks he’s gotten away, he’s double crossed and shot by his former associate, Jerry. Even worse, Vanessa gets in the car with Jerry and the two speed off. Waking up in jail, Jeff is visited by Steve (Umberto Orsini), the lawyer of his former boss Weber (Telly Savalas). Steve and Weber want him to come back and work for their organization. Jeff is more interested in finding Jerry and Vanessa, so when he finally gets out of jail, he turns their job offer down and continues on his odyssey into New Orleans. Jerry’s not too hard to find because he’s a professional race car driver. Jeff goes to his next race and shoots his tire out from long distance with a high powered rifle and watches as his car explodes in flames of death! Vanessa’s not so easy, not because he can’t find her, but because he loves her. He’d much rather make love to her than kill her, so that’s exactly what he does a couple of more times when he locates her. Even when he finds out she’s actually married to Weber, she’s able to convince Jeff that she only married him so she could be safe and that she despises him. She convinces Jeff that for them to be happy together that he should kill Weber. Does she really love him, or is she just using his badassery again?
In honor of Jill Ireland’s birthday (April 24, 1936), I thought I’d review a Charles Bronson film that features a strong performance from his beautiful wife. And speaking of beautiful, she has never been any more beautiful than she is in VIOLENT CITY. I mentioned earlier that the film opens in a tropical paradise. Let’s just say that Bronson and Ireland are in peak physical condition and absolutely striking as they walk the island streets. With his chiseled features and mustache, Bronson is the perfect image of masculinity. With her blonde hair, curvaceous figure and perfect tan, she’s a vision of feminine beauty. Bronson’s Jeff Heston is as tough as it gets, and we soon find out that no man can get the better of him. It’s a tribute to Ireland’s performance that we don’t necessarily blame him for continuing to give her second and third chances, even to his own peril. And she saves her best work for the end, when we all find out that she has more going for her than just beauty.
VIOLENT CITY was directed by the Italian filmmaker Sergio Sollima, whose other credits include the excellent spaghetti western, THE BIG GUNDOWN with Lee Van Cleef, and the solid “Polizziotteschi” crime film REVOLVER, with Oliver Reed. He gets more sensual performances from the stars than we’d get in future years, as they do lots and lots of loving on each other throughout the course of the film. The musical score is from the master composer himself, Ennio Morricone. It’s not quite ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST level, but it’s really good stuff and quite memorable. If I had one complaint it would be that I wish Telly Savalas had more screen time as Weber. His character added life to the film whenever he appeared. He could be a real asshole, but he seemed to have a lot of fun, and he makes one hell of a cocktail (the moonlight passion)!
My final word on VIOLENT CITY is that it’s a solid Italian crime film, with a lean, mean Bronson, good action sequences, and a more than adequate Jill Ireland as a beautiful femme fatale. I certainly recommend it. Happy Birthday, Jill!
VIOLENT CITY was initially released in America under the name THE FAMILY in hopes of drafting off the THE GODFATHER. See the trailer below.
Through the Shattered Lens 