Charleston (1977)

Con-man tries to pull a fast one on what appears to be an easy prey, but his "victim" scams him for five million dollars!

Director:

Marcello Fondato

Writers:

Marcello Fondato, Francesco Scardamaglia

Stars:

Bud Spencer, Herbert Lom, Jack La Cayenne

Cast

Cast overview:
Bud Spencer	...	Charleston
Herbert Lom	...	Inspector Watkins
Jack La Cayenne	...	Jack Watson / Columbus
Dino Emanuelli	...	Bull
Geoffrey Bayldon	...	Uncle Fred
Ronald Lacey	...	Frankie
James Coco	...	Joe Lo Monaco
Renzo Marignano	...	Morris
Gino La Monica	...	Sergeant Roy (as Luigi La Monica)
Michele Starck	...	Morris Girlfriend
Lucretia Love	...	Secretary
Peter Glaze	...	Casino Owner
Roland MacLeod	...	Brown

Storyline

Con-man tries to pull a fast one on what appears to be an easy prey, but his "victim" scams him for five million dollars!

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Plot Keywords:

character name in title | 

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Taglines:

Charleston is my name. Con tricks are my game!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

5 March 1977 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Charleston - Zwei Fäuste räumen auf

Company Credits

Production Co:

Delfo Cinematografica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Alternate Versions

The English version released in Sweden and Finland is cut in the scene where Charleston goes on stage to sing and the fight with the circus people and Joe's henchmen has some cuts.

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Connections

Referenced in Zeg 'ns Aaa: Opwindend (1988)

User Reviews

Amusement , fun , and entertainment with the great Bud Spencer as a con man

Entertaining and funny Italian film with the bouncing Spencer or Carlo Perdesoli as a con-man tries to pull a fast one on what appears to be an easy prey , but his "victim" scams him for five million dollars . A gangster named Joe Lo Monaco (James Coco) along with his lawyer are attempting to get rid of a luxury boat he owns to get the insurance . However , the band led by Mister Charleston (Bud Spencer who even dances an amusing musical number) , really a nice guy, and his trio of idiot Englishmen henchmen (Ronald Lacey and other unknown actors) are scheming a to double cross him . Furthermore , the four of them swipe a priceless Gaugin from the house of a police inspector Watkins (Herbert Lom , interpreting similarly to Pink Panther's Inspector Dreyfuss) . Then , there takes place a caper (similarly to ¨George Roy Hill's The Sting¨)in which swindler Joe Lo Monaco and his gang are deceived . Fun comedy set on Londres , it's a vehicle for Bud Spencer , dealing with mobsters , robbing , reckonings , fight among bands and brawls between clowns and mobsters .

This is an enjoyable entertaining juvenile for Bud Spencer buffs , as he's delightful . It packs humor , fist-play , tongue-and-cheek and is quite amusing ; however , being inferior to other Spencer movies . This is an entertaining , engaging movie , though bears excessive dialog , it is crammed with lots of humor , fist-fights and overwhelming stunt-work when takes place the final fighting at a theater between clowns and botcher henchmen . Burly Bud Spencer is top-notch as a master criminal taking on a swindler played by James Coco , and as always he makes his own stunts with comic touches , as usual . This release has some cool and several hilarious moments , though the Terence Hill-Bud Spencer duo films are much better . The film isn't always good , sometimes is fresh and diverting and on a couple of memorable occasions is frankly delicious . The movie displays innumerable laughters , jokes and slapstick . Commercial musical score by the usual Guido and Maurizio De Angelis including catching leitmotif fitting perfectly in the mood of the movie . Bud Spencer is good as a professional con-man , also master of disguise , named Charleston , he is accompanied by a trio of idiot English underlings . Bud , the popular Latin movie actor who starred in innumerable spaghetti Westerns and action-packed potboilers during the 1960s and '70s, was born Carlo Pedersoli (1929) in Naples. He was the first Italian to swim the 100 meter freestyle and competed as a swimmer at the Olympic games . He appeared as a member of the Praetorian Guard in his first movie, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's epic "Quo Vadis" in 1951. He changed his screen name to "Bud Spencer" in 1967, as a homage to Spencer Tracy and to the American beer Budweiser. Spencer achieved his greatest hit in spaghetti Westerns lensed for a global audience. Teaming up with fellow Italian Terence Hill, the two made such international successes as I Quattro dell'Ave Maria (1968) and "They Call Me Trinity" , and ¨Trinity is still my name¨ . Their dual outings made both stars famous, particularly in Europe. In all, Spencer made 18 movies with Hill . Later on , he became a jet airplane and helicopter pilot after appearing in ¨Crazy plane¨ (1972) and owned an air transport company, Mistral Air, which he founded in 1984. However, he terminated his business interest in Mistral and entered the children's clothing industry. After 1983, Spencer's movie career slowed down, though he did have a big success in the early 1990s with the TV action-drama "Extralarge". A man of many talents, Bud wrote texts and plots for some of his films . He also has registered several royalties. .

The motion picture was middlingly directed by Marcello Fondato, following the Hill-Spencer ordinary trademarks . Fondato wrote several Spencer vehicles as ¨Bulldozer¨, ¨Aladino¨, ¨The Supersheriff¨, and ¨The sheriff and the extraterrestrial little boy¨ and directed to Hill and Spencer in a best vehicle titled ¨Altrimenti ci Arrabbiamo! ¨. If you love the Spencer's other movies, go for it, and if you've never seen one this is an acceptable start .