Un poing... c'est tout!

You are probably better served reading the plot description on the IMDb title page for "This Time I'll Make You Rich" than reading anything I might describe, as I wasn't quite sure what transpired story wise after viewing this film. It certainly had potential but the humor is quite broad, the acting at times exaggerated, and the action (mostly fistfights) is portrayed in a slapstick manner, so it (the action) would perhaps be better suited for Saturday morning television. The movie gives the impression the filmmakers hoped to replicate the success of the Terence Hill and Bud Spencer films (My Name Is Trinity, All The Way Boys, etc.) so it's no surprise they are referenced in the films tag line. Unfortunately, though Antonio Sabato (father of Antonio Sabato Jr.?) and Brad Harris (who is one ripped cat!) play the two leads in a charismatic fashion, the film is not of the same caliber as the Trinity films. The film had the participation of the famous Hong Kong Shaw Bros. Studio, so some martial arts figure into the action, but it's of the sub-standard variety.

This Italian movie was directed by Gianfranco Parolini. He started his career in making PEPLUM films in the early 1960s, those beefy action adventures with a Hercules-like muscular hero. Parolini's first productions also starred Brad Harris. The two men would end up making 11 films together, including a spat of PEPLUM productions, KOMMISSAR X spy films and so on. This was their first and only collaboration made in the 1970s. Handsome Antonio Sabato co-stars with Brad Harris in this Bud Spencer - Terence Hill kind of action comedy, with Harris playing Bud and Sabato being Terence Hill. The film itself is sloppy and there's very little to recommend. The one thing which is a constant from the PEPLUM film is the uber beefiness of it all. Parolini loved super brawny action and this movie is no exception. Harris and Sabato basically spend the entire film together. They are inseparable. The way Parolini conceived this and focused everything on their brawniness (check out the poster) lends an indirect sexed-up aspect to it. Sabato keeps gently brushing Harris' hair. In one scene, in a market, the camera focuses in Harris' butt and we hear a seller saying "Melons for sale!" The two men wear some of the skimpiest (Brad Harris in cut-off jeans) and tightest clothes ever put on screen. Sabato certainly wears the tightest jeans I've ever seen in a film. Nothing is left to the imagination. In one scene, Harris falls between Sabato's legs and, after Sabato strokes his hair, Harris stands up, his junk pops out from his skimpy shorts. It's often played for crassness but it comes off more as sexual than funny. The two actors have amazing chemistry together (and zero chemistry with the few women in this). This is what Parolini wanted. And it's the only interesting aspect about it. Harris would go on and make another film as a brawny bearded man wearing wifebeaters and that hat, WHO BREAKS...PAYS. It wasn't directed by Parolini but the formula is pretty much the same and instead of Sabato, Harris teams up with hunky Giancarlo Prete. Veteran Italian actor Gianni Rizzo would star in both films.

Crazy slapstick comedy with Brad HARRIS and Antonio SABATO

Based on an idea by screenwriter Francesco MERLI, three film companies from Italy (Futuramik), West Germany (TV13 Filmproduktion by Horst HÄCHLER, the first husband of the Swiss-Austrian world star Maria SCHELL) and the legendary Shaw Brothers from Hong Kong tried to establish a new fighting duo in the wake of the mega-successful films with Bud SPENCER and Terence HILL. Under the experienced direction of Gianfranco PAROLINI (1925-2018), Brad HARRIS (has worked repeatedly with PAROLINI since SANSONE (1961)) and Antonio SABATO (alongside the German actress Uschi GLAS in SETTE ORCHIDEE MACCHIATE DI ROSSA (1972)) acted as two buddies with thick upper arms who stir up half of Hong Kong with their fists. Brad HARRIS (1933-2017) as "Keule" was given the Bud Spencer-like role of the invincible scoundrel, while Antonio SABATO (1943-2021) as "Bubi" was able to play out his Terence Hill-like womanizer qualities and smack his opponents in the face with mischievous sadism. For whatever reason, the production had set its mind on establishing the character of "Keule" as a Scotsman. In order to maintain this mimicry, Brad HARRIS had to call himself Robin McDavid for this film (and the sequel WHO BREAKS...PAYS! (1975) with Giancarlo PRETE (1943-2001) as a replacement for the otherwise committed SABATO)!

There was no great emphasis on a comprehensible plot in this film. It's all about getting the two brave whipping boys into crazy situations in which they can beat up any guy other than their hopelessly inferior opponents as they please. If there are no opponents to beat up, the two musclemen just fight with each other. Cheeky and rude remarks included! It may seem strange that the defeated opponents are mostly Chinese, who don't seem to come off well. It would be interesting to know what the renowned Shaw Brothers film company hoped for from this co-production. But you should definitely see the end of the film, which of course will not be revealed, in order to form your own opinion.

The good-looking boy (Antonio SABATO) and the muscle-bound guy (Brad HARRIS) are two good-for-nothings stranded in Hong Kong who can't get anything done and are constantly in financial difficulties. That's why they're constantly having to deal with creditors, which the two ruffians, blessed with bear strength, enjoy doing. On one of these occasions, when Bubi and Keule are beating the living daylights out of their opponents, they catch the eye of the strangely affected businessman Giorgiakis (Gianni RIZZO), who is having fun at the pool with his friend Joyce O'Hara (Karin SCHUBERT). He offers the two thugs to do courier services for him for a lot of money. Of course, the cash-strapped ne'er-do-wells can't turn down an offer like that. The only problem is that gangster boss Wang (George WANG) and his sinister bodyguard with sunglasses (Hsiung KAO) also get wind of the matter. From now on, Bubi and Keule have to defend their transports for Giorgiakis against Wang and his men with their powerful fists. In addition to the crazy fights, there is also plenty of love. While Bubi has his eye on the blonde Joyce, Keule gets a good beating from the cute "Little Junk" (Eva LIN). But there are other surprises waiting for the two cheeky rascals...

The interesting thing about this tried and tested concept of Italian slapstick comedy is that the two protagonists are shown in a relatively clear way in homoerotic situations. Bubi and Keule live together on a boat in the harbor. Despite all the squabbles, there are always bizarre moments of intimacy between the two. One of them tenderly ruffles his hair or lustfully touches the other's shapely bottom. Both HARRIS and SABATO have to squeeze their well-trained bodies into such tight-fitting 70s-style clothes that it seems like a parody of the post-flower power era and is hilarious. The two are also so unbelievably interested in the ladies (Karin SCHUBERT, Eva LIN) that it is very noticeable. But that makes the whole thing interesting again, but perhaps also explains why the film was not a hit. The chemistry between Brad HARRIS and Antonio SABATO is definitely good. They had a lot of fun with this wonderful nonsense. At least the concept was taken up again a year later for a sequel filmed in Turkey (WHO BREAKS...PAYS!).