On m'appelle Dollars

There were a few worthwhile moments and interesting tidbits here. I can't claim it's a well done movie and it certain had some fowl ka guage and other garbage-y elements that did nothing but detract from it. But I got a kick out of some of the aspects of it.

In this awful late 70's cross country adventure film, Italian actor Terence Hill plays Guido Falcone, the recipient of his recently deceased uncles estate. Guido lives in a small village in Italy where he fixes cars for a living. He is visited by John Cutler, his uncles former right-hand man at the Falcon Bank in San Francisco. He informs Guido that he has 20 days to make it to San Francisco, or the inheritance will be null and void. Soon Guido is in New York and Cutler is back in San Francisco. Cutler has his greedy eyes on Guido's money and new found power at the bank. So he hires the sexy Rosie Jones to seduce Guido on his was to California, and trick him into signing over power of attorney to Cutler. What follows is an episodic cross country lark involving kidnappings, cowboys, explosions, bar fights, car chases, gunfights and other misadventures.

This movie might have been tolerable if the leads could actually act. Terence Hill and Valerie Perrine are embarrassingly bad. Watching Terence Hill in this made me wonder if the directors just grabbed the first decent looking Italian guy they could find, rolled camera, and told him to read the cue cards.

Valerie Perrine, most well known (and funny) as Lex Luthor's main squeeze in the first two 'Superman' films, borders on bad camp in this. I must say her scenes were funny but not for the reasons intended. Her introduction scene is notably guffaw worthy.

But sadly, this isn't a good movie to watch to laugh at. Although there are a few unintentional howlers here and there, most of the movie is just plain boring.

There are some good aerial shots along the way, and Slim Pickens makes things a little more fun when he's on screen, but all in all this is a true dud.

Mr. Billion is a highly entertaining, fast-moving road action comedy in the "Smokey and the Bandit" style. The basic plot concerns an heir to a billion-dollar fortune, an Italian mechanic and race driver played by Terrence Hill, who must travel to California to claim his inheritance within a certain amount of time. If Terrence's character does not get to the corporate offices in time to claim the inheritance, the entire estate will end up in the hands of the executor, played devilishly by Jackie Gleason. Gleason's character continually directs a concerted effort throughout the film to stop the rightful heir from getting there on time.

Now, forget the plot. As you have probably guessed, the above situation simply sets the stage for the real feature of this movie--the bone-jarring, speed-limit-busting, car-rattling stunts, including a railroad jump stunt you have to see to believe. There's plenty of humor in this movie, too, and all of the players (Hill, Gleason, and Slim Pickens thrown in to boot) really have fun with the script and their characterizations.

To be honest, I first saw this movie on TV when I was about 13, but I often think back on this film and I think I would still enjoy it today (I'm 33 now) if it ever came back on TV. However, a trip to the rental store would probably be too much effort to expend on this film.

In summary, if you like road-action pics, this is an excellent kick-back-and-enjoy movie to spend an evening with.

One billion dollars. A race against time. A conspiracy to prevent the heir from reaching his destination. It sounds like the perfect recipe for an electrifying film, but Mr. Billion (1977) loses its way in its own rush and stumbles where it should shine: in its narrative and characters.

Our protagonist, Guido Falcone (Terence Hill), an Italian mechanic with a heavy accent and a seductive gaze, sees his life change when he is named heir to an unbelievable fortune. But there's a catch (there always is): he needs to be in the right place at the right time. Unfortunately, John Cutler (Jackie Gleason), a ruthless businessman, has other plans and is willing to do anything to make sure Guido never gets there - and if he can convince him to sign a contract handing everything over, even better. To achieve this, he enlists Rosie Jones (Valerie Perrine), a potential con artist, but her romantic subplot with Guido develops so quickly that we barely have time to care.

If the story fails to create memorable characters and an engaging plot, the action tries to make up for it. And indeed, Mr. Billion shines when it's in the air - literally. Helicopters on a collision course, skydiving stunts, car chases with moves worthy of Steve McQueen, and a spectacular sequence in the Grand Canyon prove that there's competence in executing these scenes. Unfortunately, the comedy doesn't match the same level. Cutler's henchmen are as efficient at tracking Guido as they are ineffective at stopping him, and their sabotage attempts lack both impact and humor.

The bigger issue, however, lies in the dynamic between Guido and Rosie. She's supposed to be a cunning scam artist, but she lacks the charisma needed to make this aspect interesting. And Guido, although charming when impersonating movie stars, falls into the trap of falling in love too quickly - quicker, in fact, than any vehicle involved in the chase scenes. If only the script had explored a previous connection between them, there might have been more emotional weight in their relationship.

In the end, Mr. Billion delivers a visual spectacle of action and stunts, but forgets to fill it with a good story. Guido might be good at fighting and know how to drive anything with an engine, but against a flimsy script, even he doesn't stand a chance.

Jackie Gleason plays it straight as the bad guy, and has trouble pulling it off. Too bad, because everyone else here is having a marvelous time, especially spaghetti western veteran Terrence Hill in the lead. An enjoyable supporting cast is led by Slim Pickens and William Redfield. This is just diverting fluff and would be a more-than-adequate time passer for the small screen if not for Gleason.