Richard Harrison (actor)

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Richard Harrison is an American B-movie actor (and occasionally a writer/director/producer) born on May 26, 1936, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Harrison left Salt Lake City for Los Angeles at 17, where he found work first at the Vic Tanny and Bert Goodrich gyms. Many people working in the film industry trained at the gym and these encounters led Harrison to study acting.

He appeared in a Santa Monica stage production, then in TV, then in small parts in feature films. Harrison worked at Twentieth Century Fox under acting coach Sandy Meiser. He eventually signed a three film deal with American International Pictures, which led him to Italy, where he remained for almost three decades, making a name for himself first in peplum, then spy films and spaghetti westerns. Formal acting studies set Harrison apart from other muscular American actors working in Italy in the early 1960s, such as Brad Harris and Steve Reeves, with whom he is often grouped with.

Harrison was very prolific and worked with most of the better-known names in European B-movies during the 1960s and 1970s, branching out to exploitation films shot all over the world in the early 1970s. He worked with directors ranging from established names like Antonio Margheriti and Marino Girolami to infamous Z-movie directors like Paolo Solvay and Alfonso Brescia. Harrison's co-stars ranged from major and minor stars of the time like Anita Ekberg, Klaus Kinski, Fernando Sancho and Helmut Berger to obscure cult actors such as Mike Monty, Romano Kristoff and Mike Cohen.

He is also famous for refusing the title role in Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars and suggesting the name of his colleague Clint Eastwood instead, a fact that has guaranteed him a footnote in most books on spaghetti western or Eastwood.

Contents

[edit] The spaghetti western/spy/peplum era of the 1960s

  • During which Harrison appeared mostly in solid B-movies, many of which are now considered to be cult films.

Harrison relocated to Italy in the early 1960s with his first wife Loretta, and became a minor star in peplums, spy films, and spaghetti westerns. His first Italian film and first starring role was in The Invincible Gladiator (1962), directed by Alberto De Martino and Antonio Momplet. Arguably Harrison's most well known film from his early career is the western Gunfight at Red Sands AKA Duello nel Texas, directed by Ricardo Blasco in 1963. Gunfight at Red Sands is also noteworthy for being the first Italian Western to feature an Ennio Morricone score. The 1968 film Joko Invoca Dio...I Muori AKA Vengeance, directed by Antonio Margheriti, is another favorite among spaghetti western fans. Luciano Martino's 1965 movie Secret Agent Fireball, Harrison's first Italian spy film, is also often cited as his best film in the genre and one of his better earlier films.

[edit] The death of the spaghetti western and the exploitation years of the 1970s

It was during this time that Richard Harrison started to show up in more and more low-budget features all over the globe. Harrison started sporting a moustache, which became something of a trademark for him in the coming years. Although the general quality of his 1970s' filmography is somewhat low, some films from the time have gone on to cult status.

A cover to a Finnish rental video of You Can Do A Lot with 7 Women from the late 1980s. The title translates as "Drug Couriers".
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A cover to a Finnish rental video of You Can Do A Lot with 7 Women from the late 1980s. The title translates as "Drug Couriers".

Harrison's career dwindled slowly in the 1970s at the same rate as the spaghetti western died. He began appearing in low-budget movies shot all over the world: In Egypt, working with Farouk "Frank" Agrama (You Can Do a Lot with 7 Women), (1971), with the Shaw Brothers in Hong Kong (Marco Polo), (1975), and in Turkey, (The Godfather's Friend), (1972), again directed by Agrama. Harrison even appeared in a Yugoslavian war film, the 1979 effort Pakleni Otok, directed by Vladimir Tadej.

He made most of his better quality 70's films during the earlier half of the decade, like the comic spaghetti western Due Fratelli AKA Two Brothers in Trinity (1972), which he also directed. His co-star in Due Fratelli was the Irish-American actor Donald O'Brien, another veteran of Italian B-films. Harrison and O'Brien played two estranged brothers rejoined after receiving an inheritance, Harrison a "lovable rogue", O'Brien a pious Mormon. Harrison wants to spend his money on building a bordello, and comic adventures in the spirit of the Terence Hill/Bud Spencer hit My Name is Trinity (1971) follow. While Due Fratelli is never quite up to the level of the early Hill/Spencer films that it's clearly inspired by, it's a good film on its own and a rare chance to see Harrison in a comedy.

Other notable early 70s films were Churchill's Leopards (1970), directed by Maurizio Pradeaux and also starring Giacomo Rossi-Stuart and Klaus Kinski, in which Harrison got to play a double role, Acquasanta Joe (1971) directed by Mario Gariazzo and starring Ty Hardin and Lincoln Tate, an otherwise mediocre western worth mentioning for having Harrison cast against type as a villain, and Dig Your Grave, Friend...Sabata's Coming (1971), directed by Juan Bosch, a western livened up by the presence of Spanish actor Fernando Sancho. Harrison acted in several films with Sancho, the archetypal Mexican bandit of paella and spaghetti westerns, most of which were produced and/or directed by Ignacio F. Iquino.

A cover to a Finnish rental video of La Belva Col Mitra from the early 1980s. The title translates as "Death Knows No Law". Harrison can be seen holding a gun in the photo on the bottom right.
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A cover to a Finnish rental video of La Belva Col Mitra from the early 1980s. The title translates as "Death Knows No Law". Harrison can be seen holding a gun in the photo on the bottom right.

Some of the arguably most dubious films Harrison made during the decade were Achtung! The Desert Tigers! (1977) for Paolo Solvay, Black Gold Dossier (1979), also by Solvay, and Voodoo Baby AKA Black Orgasm, (1980), by notorious Italian director Aristide Massaccessi, also known as Joe D'Amato. Achtung! The Desert Tigers, also starring Harrison's friend and frequent co-star Gordon Mitchell and featuring Mike Monty in a small role, was a collage of footage from Solvay's previous World War II films mixed with new prison camp and war action scenes, including somewhat tasteless torture footage. Black Gold Dossier, again co-starring Gordon Mitchell, was a spy epic set in an unnamed Middle Eastern country, spiced up by liberal use of stock footage and female lead Florence Cayrol, who spends the majority of the film in different stages of undress. Voodoo Baby was a sexploitation film that Massaccessi added hardcore porno scenes to without Harrison's knowledge and much to his disgust.

One of the more successful Harrison films from the latter half of the 70's was the Italian crime thriller La Belva Col Mitra (1977) AKA Beast With A Gun, directed by Sergio Grieco, also starring Helmut Berger and Marisa Mell. Harrison played the part of Police Commissioner Giulio Santini, with top-billed Berger as psychotic criminal Nanni Vitali, out to kill Santini and everyone else who testified against him in court. Although La Belva Col Mitra is no classic, it's a well-directed movie and the contrast between Harrison's underplayed style and Berger's manic performance works to its favor. However, La Belva Col Mitra is not without some controversy. Apparently, at Berger's request, Harrison's scenes were cut down in the film. For additional trivia, a scene from La Belva Col Mitra shows up on TV in the Quentin Tarantino film Jackie Brown (1997).

Probably the most interesting curio in Harrison's 70s filmography is the 1971 film L'Explosion, directed by Marc Simenon (the son of Georges Simenon) and co-starring Mylène Demongeot. The 1978 martial arts/spy film Gymkata Killer is also of curio interest, if only for the presence of Bruce Lee imitator Bruce Le (who also directed the film, with uncredited help from Paolo Solvay), European softcore star Nadiuska and Harrison's son Sebastian.

[edit] The Z-movie period of the 1980s to 1990s: Godfrey Ho and Filipino action

  • In the 1980s, he found himself mostly stranded in B-movie action films made in the Philippines and Hong Kong. Although generally considered the lowest point of Harrison's career, some of his 80s' films have gained a cult audience of their own.

In the Philippines, Harrison acted in four ultralow-budget actioners, best classified as Z-movies, produced by K.Y. Lim for Silver Star Film Company (called Kinavesa in the Philippines). Three, Fireback, Hunter's Crossing and Blood Debts (1983), were directed by Teddy Page, and one, Intrusion Cambodia (1984), by John Gale. Harrison also wrote some of the script outlines for the Filipino films, apparently practically overnight, under a pseudonym. All the films were bad, but the three directed by Page exceptionally so, mixing near-sadistic violence with childlike, enthusiastic naivety reminiscent of the films of Ed Wood.

Silver Star recycled the same group of American and European expatriate actors from film to film, all of whom appeared in the Harrison vehicles. Mike Monty, an old acquaintance of Harrison from the Italian days who had migrated to the archipelago, James Gaines, Romano Kristoff, Bruce Baron, Ann Milhench and others. Harrison struck a friendship with Kristoff, one of the leading Silver Star actors, and later invited him to Italy to act in a film he produced and directed, Three Men on Fire (1986).

At the time they were made the poor quality of the Filipino films hurt Harrison's reputation. Over the years, they have attracted some cult interest in bad movie fandom. Although he remembers Teddy Page fondly, Harrison doesn't have too many kind words for Lim and working for Silver Star.

A Finnish video cover of Fireback from the 1980s.
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A Finnish video cover of Fireback from the 1980s.

In Hong Kong, Harrison starred in what was supposed to be a single low-budget martial arts "ninja" film, directed by Chinese filmmaker Godfrey Ho, whom he was already familiar with from working for the Shaw Brothers in the 1970s. However, Ho later reedited his scenes into several more films in a cut-and-paste style of filmmaking that has since made him infamous. Harrison found himself the unwilling star of almost a dozen different movies, with titles like Cobra Vs. Ninja, Golden Ninja Warrior, and Diamond Nínja Force. Like the Silver Star productions, the "ninja" films have since become cult films. Disgusted with that outcome, Harrison returned to the United States, slowed down his film work and quit acting in the early nineties. His last films to date were the 1993 erotic thriller Angel Eyes, directed by the prolific cinematographer/director Gary Graver and starring Erik Estrada, John Phillip Law and Monique Gabrielle, and the 2000 film Jerks.

Richard Harrison in action in Fireback. Note the customized weapon, a recurring element in the films of Teddy Page.
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Richard Harrison in action in Fireback. Note the customized weapon, a recurring element in the films of Teddy Page.

Some of the more noteworthy movies in Harrison's later career were the Moroccan film Amok (1982) and Dark Mission (1987), by the both loved and hated Spanish director Jesus Franco. The latter might not be much better than Harrison's Filipino films in terms of quality, but did have a more-interesting-than-usual cast featuring Christopher Lee, Christopher Mitchum, Franco regular Jack Taylor and French porno star Brigitte Lahaie (also known from the horror films of Jean Rollin).

Although Harrison remains little known in the English-speaking world, he is a cult figure among B-movie, peplum and Eurospy (a fan name for European, usually Italian, spy movies) fans. The recent resurgence of spaghetti western fandom has also generated new interest in Harrison's work in the genre. Despite that, he is still often somewhat unfairly labeled as a camp Z-actor, probably due to the fact that Harrison's worst movies are the easiest to find today. Many of the Godfrey Ho Ninja films are available on midprice Region 1 and Region 2 DVD, while most of Harrison's 1960s' spaghetti westerns are available only on ex-rental video tapes (usually in European PAL format only, often not in English) found at fleamarkets, second hand movie stores and eBay, if at all. Before the damage done to his reputation by the Z-movie era of the 1980s, Harrison had a long, solid career in European B-movies, which is often overlooked by fans of his weaker films.

He has now founded a multisystem electronics company named Gladiator Electronics with his son Sebastian.

[edit] Memorable quotes

"In my opinion, it is a death wish for an actor to be in too many B or should I say C movies. Maybe my greatest contribution to cinema was not doing A Fistful of Dollars, and recommending Clint for the part."

"It was a sad way to make films." -On Fireback and the Filipino action films.

[edit] Trivia

  • Gunfire at Red Sands has inspired the American "hellbilly" band Ghoultown to record an instrumental track of the same name.
  • Harrison and Gordon Mitchell appeared in several films together. Besides Italy and Spain, both Harrison and Mitchell also acted in Hong Kong, Turkey and the Philippines during the 70's and 80's, often for and with the same people, if not in the same film.
  • Due to a mishap with makeup, Harrison was almost blinded when filming the spaghetti western Spara Joe...E Cosi Sia! (1972).

[edit] Partial filmography

  • South Pacific (1958)
  • Master Of The World (1961)
  • I Sette Gladiatori AKA Gladiators 7 (1962)
  • Duello nel Texas AKA Gunfight at Red Sands (1963)
  • Secret Agent Fireball (1965)
  • El Rojo (1967)
  • Joko Invoca Dio...I Muori AKA Vengeance (1968)
  • Churchill's Leopards (1970)
  • You Can Do a Lot with 7 Women (1971)
  • Lo Chiamovano King AKA His Name Was King (1971)
  • L'Explosion (1971)
  • Reverendo Colt (1971)
  • Due Fratelli (1972)
  • The Godfather's Friend (1972)
  • Marco Polo (1975)
  • Achtung! The Desert Tigers (1977)
  • La Belva Col Mitra AKA Beast with a Gun (1977)
  • Gymkata Killer (1978)
  • Fireback (credited as a 1978 film on imdB, probably incorrectly)
On a nanarland.com interview Bruce Baron, who acted in Fireback, says that he made no Filipino films before the 80's. In the book Gods in Polyester, Richard Harrison credits Fireback as a 1978 film, as does the IMDb. Different video editions of the film credit different years. As with Harrison's other Filipino films, there's no final word on which of the multiple years Fireback is credited under is correct. In all likelihood all his Filipino films were made sometime in between 1980 and 1985.
  • Black Gold Dossier (1979)
  • Voodoo Baby AKA Orgasmo Nero (1980)
  • Amok (1982)
  • Blood Debts AKA Eliminator (1983)
  • Intrusion Cambodia AKA Rescue Team (1984)
  • Ninja Terminator (1985)
  • Ninja Holocaust (1985)
  • Ninja Champion (1985)
  • Ninja Thunderbolt (1985)
  • Diamond Ninja Force (1986)
  • Ninja Hunt (1986)
  • Ninja Dragon (1986)
  • Golden Ninja Warrior (1986)
  • Ninja Squad (1986)
  • Ninja the Protector (1986)
  • Cobra vs. Ninja (1987)
  • Ninja Kill (1987)
  • Ninja Commandments (1987)
  • Ninja Operation: Licensed to Terminate (1987)
  • Ninja: Silent Assassin (1987)
  • Ninja Avengers (1987)
  • Ninja Strike Force (1988)
  • Ninja Powerforce (1988)
  • Three Men on Fire (1986)
  • Operation Las Vegas (1988)
  • Dark Mission (1988)
  • Angel Eyes (1993)
  • Jerks (2000)

[edit] Some of the people Harrison worked with

Actors:

Directors:

[edit] Further reading

Gods In Polyester, or, A Survivors' Account of 70's Cinema Obscura (2004) -Harrison provides (often cynical) commentary on most of his 70's films and anecdotes on some of the directors and actors he worked with.

[edit] External links

Richard Harrison and his movies:

Reviews of Richard Harrison movies:

Friends and colleagues:

  • An article on the memorial service of Steve Reeves, featuring comments by Richard Harrison
  • A Donald O'Brien interview featuring comments on Harrison and the movie Jesse & Lester
  • Nanarland French B-movie website which hosts interviews of Mike Monty, Bruce Baron (in English) and Gordon Mitchell (in French) that discuss some of the films and people in Harrison's career. Also features reviews and other media on some Richard Harrison's movies, especially the Ninja ones (in French).
  • A transcription of a Gordon Mitchell guest chat at www.cinema-nocturna.com with bits of information on acting in Italy in the 60's and 70's, Paolo Solvay, etc.
  • The Official Antonio Margheriti web site, featuring reviews and articles on Margheriti's films with Harrison, peplum and spaghetti western.

Miscellaneous:

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