Carambola

CARAMBOLA is an unashamed rip-off of the spaghetti western comedies starring Terence Hill and Bud Spencer. It casts two actors who look remarkably like that popular double act and has a plot that could quite easily have starred the original actors instead of these goofy imitators.

And you know what? It's fun! There's little to dislike about CARAMBOLA, an efficient comic western with plenty to enjoy. Ferdinando Baldi is one of my favourite western directors as you get the feeling he knew and understood the genre like few others and indeed this is a lively and action-packed romp. From the opening scenes with those cheesy pool "trick shots" I knew I was going to be in for a good time.

The best thing about this production is Paul Smith (POPEYE) playing the Spencer role. All of the funniest scenes belong to him, including the endless fights in which his opponents discover he's as tough as steel. The bit where his horse gets tired and he ends up carrying it is my favourite. Elsewhere, the convoluted storyline sees the duo constantly outing various factions and bad guys (and each other) as they battle with the slimy Horst Frank. The low brow humour comes thick and fast and this good-looking film ends up being impossible to dislike.

First time I saw this movie was 1980, I was 8 years old and I loved it. I just saw it again and the movie was just as great as when I was 8. The slapstick humor era might be over but in this movie they just got it right. At it´s moment the movie is totally ridiculous, but in a very charming way. If you like Terence Hill and Bud Spencer you gonna like this movie. Antonio Cantafora and Paul Smith (Midnight express) are very entertaining copies of Bud and Terence. If you like this you should also watch "Convoy Buddies" or the italian title "Simone e Matteo: Un gioco da ragazzi", totally hilarious. This movie is a classic like Django, Companeros, Trinity, Nobody and the man with no name movies.

Just like the "Beach Boys" use to sing, watching this movie is fun, fun, fun from the start till the end... Ferdinando Baldi guessed right making it. He found the clones of Terence Hill & Bud Spencer, (the Italian Michael Coby and the American Paul Smith), and just made a Trinity-style film. Funny situations, lots of punches and cuffs and a very good music by Bixio & Tempera make this film worth watching. Just in case you´re wondering, the following film that was made almost by the same cast and crew: "Carambola filotto...tutti in bucca" is just as funny as this one so don´t miss any of them!!...

Many have tried to imitate Bud SPENCER and Terence HILL, but only Paul L. SMITH and Antonio CANTAFORA have at least managed to come close to their larger-than-life role models.

With CARAMBOLA! A successful start was made, which brought in at least 143 million ITL into the box office. Horst FRANK (1929-1999) is also a Cinecitta Divo from Germany. The party was so successful that four more slapstick comedies were to follow: CARAMBOLA, FILOTTO...TUTTI IN BUCA / SIMONE E MATTEO UN GIOCODI RAGAZZI / NOI NON SILAMO ANGELI and IL VANGELO SECONDO SIMONE E MATTEO.

Paul L. SMITH (1939-2012) also starred in films such as RED SONJA, DUNE (1984) and MAVERICK (alongside Mel GIBSON and Jodie FOSTER). Antonio CANTAFORA was seen in BARON BLOOD alongside German GOLDEN GLOBE winner Elke SOMMER.

In the German dub, the two whipping boys are called Toby and Butch, while in the original they are referred to as Simone and Matteo.