La muerte se llama Miriam (1965) or L'uomo di Toledo is a minor epic displaying action , adventures , humor , luxurious scenarios and results to be quite amusing . A Marquis dies poisoned when celebrating a betrothal ; as he is the victim of a conspiracy . In the imperial city of Toledo, Capital of Spain in the fifteenth century, and in the palace of the powerful nobleman Don Pedro de Borja , the marriage chapters that are established for the upcoming wedding of the offspring of the Borja and Mendoza families are being read . Doña Isabel (Ann Smyrner) , daughter of Don Pedro (Gianni Solaro) , has to contract a short marriage with Don Pedro de Mendoza. When Don Pedro, after having attested to the Notary of the city of the chapters , invites the witnesses to the act to a toast , Don Alfonso de Mendoza (Nerio Bernardi) falls to the ground, dying suddenly. From the smell given off by his wine glass , it's easily guess that he has been poisoned by a mysterious hand . Simultaneously, a tall, black man, hooded and endowed in his right hand with a steel gauntlet covered with deadly points , has been causing havoc in Don Alfonso's house, beating the soldiers who have stopped him as they pass through the corridors . And killing them, horribly mangled . With the same intention he has approached Don Alfonso, but seeing him dead, he disappears from there. The main suspect is the aristocrat Don Felipe (Ivan Desny) but he soon appears murdered as well . The commotion caused by the death of the noble Don Alfonso de Mendoza reaches the court of Isabel de Castilla and Fernando de Aragón . They call the brave captain Don Miguel de Fuentes (Stephen Forsyth) - helped by his squire Pancho (Enrique Ávila)- to get ready to fight against the powerful enemies that have caused the death of Don Alfonso , telling him that his mission is top secret, a villain that intends to seize a secret weapon, ¨Greek fire¨ , since it is closely related to the development of a powerful weapon : a huge cannon destined for to expel the Moors of Boabdil from the city of Granada, thus giving a definitive end to the reconquest of Spanish soil .
Adventure/comical film with brief historical remaks containing thrills , emotion , romances , sword-play and spectacular battles with no too much extras . The movie itself is mediocre but quite enjoyable for an afternoon when you have nothing to do . The film contains many imperfections, inaccuracies , bad leprosy makeup , bad crossbow , and a hero getting shot by means of a catapult from a castle governed by its feudal lord - José Calvo of Django- to behind enemy lines wrapped in a big bale of hay , though there're very cool moments as well . On the other hand , the action is poorly choreographed and very awkward , as well as non-sense and unmotivating . There're various versions of the film that seem to have the best days behind it for a long time and unfortunately, a few or countless frames are missing , which together with the already very marked cuts further spoils the few joys . Packs some historical remarks about invasion Moors over Spain , gorgeous landscapes and glimmer scenarios from Toledo , Castilla y León and Andalucia . L'uomo di Toledo (1965) is a fun film with plenty of action , humor , tongue in cheek , fights , entertainment and amusement . The movie has not characterization accuracy , neither expectation historical , though showing famous roles, such as : Catholic Kings , Isabel and Fernando , and Cristóbal Colón himself , sympathetically interpreted by the always nice Manolo Gómez Bur . This is a chronicle about Spanish Medieval at the time of the conquest of Granada but with lack luster and budget . None of the actors are very interesting , except for lead actor and tamer Canadian Stephen Forsyth , who some may also know from Mario Bava's Honeymoon Hatchet . Stephen enjoyed a short career in Italy playing various Spaghettis , and adventure movies , such as : All'ombra di una colt , Sangue chiama sangue , No killing without dollars , Furia a Marrakech and Genoneva de Brabante. Unhappy with the roles he was being offered, he quit acting around 1970 and returned to his native Canada, where he started a new career as a music composer. Being a Spain/Italy co-production there appears several secondary actors , many of them Peplum and Spaghetti's usuals , such as : Italian players as Andrea Scotti , Nerio Bernardi , Fortunato Arena, Aldo Canti and Spanish ones as Enrique Ávila , José Calvo , Elena Maria Tejeiro , Manolo Gómez Bur and the beautiful Brazilian Norma Bengell.
The motion picture was middlingly directed by veteran director Eugenio Martin or Gene Martín (recently deceased at 97) . He was a good professional , an expert craftsman who directed several movies in all kinds of genres , such as , Terror : Hypnosis , A candle for the devil, The fourth Mrs Anderson. Spaghetti, Paella Western: Pancho Villa, Bounty Hunter , Bad man's river . Comedy : Esclava te doy, Tengamos la Guerra en paz , Una Señora estupenda . Musical : La vida sigue igual, Las Leandras . Adventures : Corsarios del Caribe , Duelo en el Amazonas . Being the most succesful film , the classic ¨Horror Express¨ (1972). Rating : 5/10 , mediocre but attractive enough.
