Sfida sotto il sole

An odd kind of film, but entertaining, a few brutal scenes to it but relatively a tame movie by today's standards. This film was not some all time great by any means, but it did hold my interest. - Oh, but to start with, contrary to the summery of this film, the hitchhiker and the woman never actually have a sexual affair.. it was really no more than a brief chance encounter.

Here is a more accurate overview of the movie.. An older man with a young sexy wife, who, in a fit of misguided jealousy, comes home and kills her with a shotgun - one blast to her, then about 4 shots to her teddy bear.. weird. The crooked cop enters the scene and bullies the killer husband into a deal.. they are going to pin the wrap on the hitchhiker who is passing through town. So now the hitchhiker is on the run for a crime he did not commit. - Sounds familiar don't it?..

It's interesting that Sammy Davis Jr. had a short part as a truck driver in this film. Robert Duval plays a more substantial role as one of a pair of trouble makers on a motorcycles (and there are definite undertones that he and his sidekick are.. well.. sweet) Anyway.. everyone is trying to capture the hitchhiker and rake in a reward.. So what happens next?.. hey, I ain't going to tell you the whole damn story!

The plot to "Nightmare in the Sun" is a bit hard to believe. After all, we are expected to accept that a lovely young lady (Ursula Andress) is married to an old man (Arthur O'Connell) who moves her to the desert to live. Not surprisingly, she's bored....very bored. As for the husband, he's insanely jealous...so much so that it will end with disaster for his wife as well as an innocent stranger (John Derek) who just wanders into their lives. I could say more, but I don't want to spoil the suspense.

I mentioned above that the film reminded me of "The Postman Always Rings Twice". Both films featured a gorgeous young blonde who inexplicably marries an old coot who moves them to the desert. But apart from this, there are many differences...enough that "Nightmare in the Sun" is still worth seeing.

The most interesting character in the movie is the crooked sheriff played by Aldo Ray. He's a conniving brute and dominates the scenes in which he appears. What also is interesting is how the film features some amazingly talented actors who are barely in the film at all...such as Sammy Davis, Robert Duvall, Keenan Wynn and Richard Jaeckel.

Overall, this is a surprisingly effective thriller. While I never thought John Derek was an especially good actor, here he is just fine as a man on the run from an evil Sheriff. My only complaint is a minor one...the music is often annoying and detracted from the story.

Writer/director/producer Marc Lawrence does a very solid job when it comes to "NIghtmare in the Sun". Lawrence delivers a nice, tight thriller. He also gets nice performances from a strong cast. The only weak link is John Derek. Derek is a pretty face but he's out of his league with this bunch. The copy I watched was not very good. It looked like the kind of copy Good Times video used to release back in the '80s. I won't fault "Nightmare in the Sun" for that. I will fault it, however, for its music. The music in this movie stinks. It's probably the movie's biggest demerit. Otherwise, this is a movie that is worth seeing. Honorable mention: a dreamy Ursula Andress.

Nightmare In The Sun is the first of many vanity projects for his wives. This one was for Ursula Andress and why she gets killed a third if the wat into doesn't make for a good spotlight.

But it was also ursula needed. She's the nymphomaniac wife of Arthur O'Connell and she's constantly itching and the older O'Connell can't scratch enough. One of those scratching the most is Sheriff Aldo Ray in this small Arizona community.

Andress picks up Derek who is hitchhiking his way to the Pacific coast. She makes him one irresistible offer and as he's leaving Arthur O'Connell is arriving. He shoots his cheating wife and calls the sheriff. Both Ray and O'Connell who is overwhelmed with guilt decide to throw the blame on the stranger they saw leave.

After that Derek is running for his life and meets all kinds of folks who let him down, each and every adult.

Compared to some of his later projects Nightmare In The Sun was like Citizen Kane. A whole lot of familiar faces make appearances, long enough to collect a paycheck.

The appearance of a subdued Sammy Davis Jr. in a cameo as a truck driver establishes early on the quirky unpredictability that informs much of the rest of this raw little independent production superbly shot in colour in 15 days by veteran cameraman Stanley Cortez that sure lives up to its title. (I could, however, have done with less of Paul Glass's noisy score, which is still pounding away in my head as I write this.)

John Marley has one of the larger supporting roles, and is notably good as one of the relatively few 'normal' characters. After a rather meandering middle section involving bikers Robert Duvall and Richard Jaeckel it picks up pace again with a trio of eccentrics played by Laurene Tuttle, George Tobias and Keenan Wynn and a conclusion that improbably but satisfyingly settles the question that increasingly preys on your mind as it approaches the end of its 80 minute running time: how on earth is this all going to be resolved in the time left?