Even Angels Eat Beans (1973)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Did you people see the same film I saw?

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

If you grew up in Germany during the 70s and 80s, there was no way around Bud Spencer and Terence Hill. Whole scenes were "re-enacted" in the schoolyards (needless to say, often with painful results), most kids knew the one-liners by heart and most people were a bit vary about a Bud Spencer / Terence Hill comedy without Terence Hill. However, director Clucher being a master of his trade – always over the top yet never crossing the line from physical slapstick into cheap gags or infantile grimacing, that ailed many of contemporary Italian comedies – managed win the hearts of his fans over, even though Hill is nowhere in sight.Stepping away from the Western setting of former films and transferring the story to an Al Capone-time Chicago, Bud plays an out of his luck wrestler, who gets on the wrong side with the mafia after having refused to have a fight rigged. He teams up with the fast-talking crook with a golden heart Giuliano Gemma. Both being out of work and on an empty stomach, the unlikely duo hires themselves out as muscle for the local Mafiosi, the ever-smiling Don Angelo (legend has it, he was once shot in the knee and wears an perpetual grin ever since). Their job is to shake down the Italian-immigrant tenants on Angelos territory, a place of squalor where most people consider suicide a happy alternative and where the only thing there is to feed the babies are apricot seeds (which can hence be recycled). It goes without saying that, despite trying to act the tough guys, neither Bud nor Giuliano have it in them to rob from those who have nothing and rather opt to deliver food and medicine to the needy. Unwilling to return to their boss empty handed, they decide to rob the rival Mafiosi from across the street, thus unwittingly starting a turf war.Like said, there's everything you would expect from a Bud Spencer / Terence Hill comedy (except Hill of course): Fast talking gags and one-liners en masse, fight-scenes that seem to come straight out of a Asterix-comic and of course – at the end of the day – no participants in the movie were hurt or killed during the making. Spencer is his usual Bud-Spencer-persona; rough on the outside, soft like overcooked spaghetti on the inside and Gemma doesn't commit the cardinal sin of trying to imitate Hill (too much). Rather, he relies on his own natural charm, playing a looser that essentially prevails through his charm and big mouth. Almost sad that Spencer and Gemma never again paired up after this movie (and that many of Spencers future sidekicks would be nothing short of obnoxious).Sad also that Spencers career, like Hills, would a few years ahead take a rather steep decline downhill, but this kind of comedy was rather repetitive and did come with an expiration-date (something Spencer didn't seem to have understood). It's probably a case of nostalgia, mixed with a hint of "you had to have been there to understand", but "Even Angels Eat Beans" remains one of the best Spencer-solo-effort, deserving within this range a 8/10.

Amusement , fun , and entertainment with two hoodlums , really two nice guys , who help unfortunates and helpless during depression and crack 29s . Entertaining and funny Italian film with the bouncing Spencer or Carlo Perdesoli and Giuliano Gemma as botcher gangsters who this time travel to roaring 20s . A corpulent wrestler named Sonny (Bud Spencer) and a hustler named Charlie (Giuliano Gemma) are mistaken for nasty murderous by an important local gangster (Robert Middleton), whose nickname is "Angelo". With the help of many funny coincidences they play along with Angelo "working" for him, but when they receive the order to recollect taxes of protection for the band at Little Italy in New York City . Meanwhile the duo befriends and helps components of a very indigent family , just to survive. When they are unmasked the problems emerge and the events get worse . Fun comedy set on New York , it's a vehicle for Bud Spencer , Gemma enthusiasts , dealing with mobsters , robbing , reckonings , fight between bands : Angelo versus Colosimo gang , and our starring facing off risks, dangers and several adventures.Sympathetic Giuliano Gemma as an ice-cream vendor turned dreamer gangster , he plays like Terence Hill . Gemma in his beginning worked as stunt-man , practiced many sports in his life, boxing, gymnastics, such as is well proved at the movie . Then the director, Duccio Tessari, gave him the first role as protagonist in the film " The Titani" and the first spaghetti western films where he often worked under the name of Montgomery Wood , playing Western as ¨A pistol for Ringo¨, ¨The return of Ringo¨ and others as ¨Adios Gringo¨, ¨Arizona Colt¨, ¨The price of power¨ , ¨Day of anger¨ and later ¨California¨. However, his first big opportunity came with the important Italian director, Luchino Visconti in ¨El Gatopardo¨ this was followed by important roles in "Angelica" , ¨Tenebre¨ , ¨Young Lions¨ and ¨The master touch¨. Then he played his most significant roles in ¨Il Deserto Dei Tartari¨ and ¨Il Prefetto Di Ferro¨ . This is an enjoyable entertaining juvenile for Bud Spencer buffs , as he's delightful . It packs action, fist-play , slapdash, humor with tongue-and-cheek and is quite amusing . This entertaining , engaging movie is crammed of fist-fights, punches , kicks, slapstick , overwhelming stunt-work and lots of humor . Bud Spencer is top-notch as one army man taking on a group of bandits 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 ,it's frankly delicious. The movie displays innumerable laughters , jokes and slapstick . The picture is well co-starred by Bud Spencer . 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.Being a co-production Italian-Spanish appears ordinary support cast seen in several Peplum and Western as Victor Israel ,unforgettable as informer , Jorge Rigaud as senator, Steffen Zacharias , Fortunato Arena ,George Wang and Riccardo Pizzuti . The picture packs commercial musical score by the usuals Guido and Maurizio De Angelis , including catching songs fitting perfectly in the mood of the movie . Passable cinematography by Francisco Marin , though is necessary a perfect remastering , being shot in Balcazar studios , Barcelona , De Paolis Rome and New York . The motion picture is regularly directed by Enzo Barboni or E. B. Clucher. He was a noted cameramen including classic Spaghetti Western(Djiango,Goobye Texas,Hellbenders), but with the hit of ¨Trinity is my name¨ left it and turned to film-making, and directed the following ¨Trinity is still my name¨ and the third outing ¨Trinity and Bambino, the legend lives on¨, plus others Hill and Spencer vehicles. The story is middling written by by Tulio Demichelli and Juan Fortini , following the Hill-Spencer ordinary trademarks , if you love the Spencer's other movies, go for it, and if you've never seen one this is an acceptable start ; but only for Bud fans . This is an average entertaining juvenile that will appeal to Italian comedy buffs .

Enzo Barboni (AKA E.B.Clucher) Comedy about the confusion of two gents & the mob. Bud Spencer who usually paires up with Terence Hill in this sort of thing is paired up with Giuliano Gemma, who did a really great job. A fun movie with some really funny parts. If you are a usual Hill/Spencer fan, give this a shot. Giuliano Gemma might suprise you a bit, although I am a huge Terence Hill fan, I thought Gemma did very well. The humor is classic & maybe a bit uneasy (The bomber baby poop scene was a bit much) if you watch it while eating. Some great familiar faces from other Hill/Spencer films are in this. Including the late great Steffen Zacharias, who played Johnathan in They Call Me Trinity, as well as a ton of other roles. Great soundtrack in the tradition of Oliver Onions. If you can find a copy it is worth a watch.

Enzo Barboni, who had previously done Lo chiamavano Trinità and...continuavano a chiamarlo Trinità with Bud Spencer and Terence Hill stray's from the Western genre with this film and attempts a Mob-comedy with this film. Now I've only seen the dubbed German version of this film, but I must say it works pretty well. In the beginning I wasn't too sure though, as the beginning was quite stupid (the ninja-stuff). But the film grew better as it went on and once it had gained some momentum, it was able to keep it until the ending, despite the fact that the fighting scenes were not too original and had been already seen in a similar way in films like Più forte, ragazzi! And the Trinity/Bambino films. Having said that, I'd like to conclude with saying that although this film is neither as great as the previosly mentioned Western-comedies with Terence Hill and Bud Spencer nor as good as Più forte, ragazzi! or Lo chiamavano Bulldozer, it still is pretty enjoyable and it sure as hell beats E poi lo chiamarono il magnifico which Barboni made in 1972 with Terence Hill. 7 out of 10