''Africa Express'' is a 1975 Italian adventure film starring
Ursula Andress
Ursula Andress (born 19 March 1936) is a Swiss-German actress, former model and sex symbol who has appeared in American, British and Italian films. Her breakthrough role was as Bond girl Honey Ryder in the first James Bond film, '' Dr. No'' (1962 ...
,
Giuliano Gemma
Giuliano Gemma (2 September 1938 – 1 October 2013) was an Italian actor. He is best known internationally for his work in Spaghetti Westerns, particularly for his performances as the title character in Duccio Tessari's ''A Pistol for Ringo'' (1 ...
, and
Jack Palance
Jack Palance ( ; born Volodymyr Palahniuk ( uk, Володимир Палагню́к); February 18, 1919 – November 10, 2006) was an American actor known for playing tough guys and villains. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, all fo ...
that was filmed in
Rhodesia
Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...
. A sequel ''
Safari Express
''Safari Express'' is a 1976 Italian-German adventure- comedy film directed by Duccio Tessari. It is the sequel of ''Africa Express''.
Cast
* Ursula Andress: Miriam
* Giuliano Gemma: John Baxter
* Jack Palance: Van Daalen
* Peter Martell: H ...
'' with the same leads followed a year later.
Plot
John Baxter is a freewheeling trader of goods in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
with a pet
chimpanzee
The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative th ...
and one dream: to save enough money to buy a
gas station
A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel.
Gasoline ...
in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
. Madeleine Cooper is the lady of mystery he runs into as she flees from Hunter.
Cast
*
Giuliano Gemma
Giuliano Gemma (2 September 1938 – 1 October 2013) was an Italian actor. He is best known internationally for his work in Spaghetti Westerns, particularly for his performances as the title character in Duccio Tessari's ''A Pistol for Ringo'' (1 ...
as John Baxter
*
Ursula Andress
Ursula Andress (born 19 March 1936) is a Swiss-German actress, former model and sex symbol who has appeared in American, British and Italian films. Her breakthrough role was as Bond girl Honey Ryder in the first James Bond film, '' Dr. No'' (1962 ...
as Madeleine Cooper
*
Jack Palance
Jack Palance ( ; born Volodymyr Palahniuk ( uk, Володимир Палагню́к); February 18, 1919 – November 10, 2006) was an American actor known for playing tough guys and villains. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, all fo ...
as William Hunter
* as Father Gasparetto
*
Luciana Turina
Luciana Turina (born 13 August 1946) is an Italian singer, actress and television personality.
Life and career
Born in Malavicina di Roverbella, Province of Mantua, Turina started her professional career as singer in 1965, participating at ...
as Lily
*
Rossana Di Lorenzo
Rossana Di Lorenzo (4 March 1938 – 13 August 2022) was an Italian film actress.
Life and career
Born in Rome, the sister of actor Maurizio Arena, she debuted in a main role in 1970, playing Alberto Sordi's wife in a segment of the antholo ...
as Mitzy
*
Nello Pazzafini
Nello Pazzafini (15 May 1933 – 9 January 1996) was an Italian actor who appeared in a very large number of Peplum movies, Spaghetti Westerns and Poliziotteschi. He was an ex-bodyguard and often played a "tough guy" character.
Partial filmog ...
as Hunter's Henchman
* John Wener as Louis Renois
*
Romano Puppo
Romano Puppo (25 March 1933 – 11 May 1994) was an Italian stuntman and actor.
Life and career
Born in Rome, Puppo debuted in 1961 in the Mauro Bolognini's drama '' Careless'', and after a number of very minor roles he soon became a regular ...
* Sergio Smacchi
*
Alberto Dell'Acqua
Alberto Dell'Acqua (born 14 March 1938) is an Italian actor and stuntman. He appeared in more than forty films since 1955 mostly Italian Spaghetti Western
The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerge ...
* Werner Doll
* Biba the
chimpanzee
The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative th ...
Reception
Italian film critic Marco Giusti calls the film a "cute little movie" (Italian: "filmetto carino"), the best being Ursula Andress dressed as dirty sister.
Bibliography
*
External links
*
*
1975 films
1970s action adventure films
1970s Italian-language films
Films directed by Michele Lupo
Films scored by Guido & Maurizio De Angelis
Italian action adventure films
Films with screenplays by Mario Amendola
1970s Italian films
{{1970s-Italy-film-stub