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Reviews
Best Revenge (1984)
Worked on this film as an actor
FYI - This film was shot several years before the 1984 UK release date listed here.
I don't think "Misdeal" (orignal title) got a North American theatrical release in it's first incarnation. If it did, it came and went; I recall seeing it on late-night TV only.
I played a Moroccan prison guard.
I had the opportunity to meet and hang out with Levon Helm, who I greatly admired as a singer and drummer. I loved to hear him talk. I would see him over the following years in various locations when he had a gig and I happened to be in the general area. He was always genuine and engaging. He never lost his Southern manners and charm. IMO, he was one of the great singers (and drummers!) of all time - period. He was one-of- a-kind. May he rest in peace.
Wolf Krakowski: Kame'a Media: www.kamea.com
Riel (1979)
Worked on this film as an actor
I was hired to play a Metis warrior. I already had longish hair, and, at the costume fitting, I was asked not to shave. A lot of First Nations people were hired; the first day (and the first ten minutes!) on the set, I struck up a conversation with a young Native man, and he made an anti-Semitic remark about "the Jews" he believed were the bosses of the production. A more pleasant observation: I overheard a young Native man, in an attempt to get acquainted with one of the buckskin-clad young women, ask, "You Ojibway?" It was very sweet; they were teenagers. Production had to be halted when one of the lead actors, it was rumored, took LSD and disappeared into the nearby woods . . . I spent some of the shoot in a trench with a rifle, positioned next Cloutier (Riel) and the real great-grandson of Louis Riel, who came in from Saskatchewan and was also hired on as an actor. After some time cheek by jowl, he said: "You don't talk much for a white man." In the same trench with us was legendary performer Don Francks, with his genuine braids and affable hipster warmth and sense of humor. I still run into him occasionally when I'm in Toronto. He is often barefoot. There were some mishaps with actors who claimed they could ride but, in reality did not have the skills or experience to handle a charging horse. There was an accident where some outdoor lighting equipment fell on a young Native woman. At lunch, we were all given a bottle of beer. Not being much of a beer-drinker, I was able to trade those beers for other treats. It was interesting to observe the Native guys ragging on each other. They would "dis" one another over their perceived (real or not) "whiteness." Once, on the bus back to Toronto after a day on the set, one of the guys called me "White Man," with some hostility. He was not perceptively any more dark- skinned than myself, so I shot back: "Who you calling "white?" His own insecurities regarding his own bloodlines must have kicked in because he backed off rather sheepishly. My first name and prominent cheekbones must have helped. The Native guys had names like Peter and Robert; some had reddish hair. Go figure. Good times. Peace and Love, Wolf Krakowski, Kame'a Media: www.kamea.com
Fukkatsu no hi (1980)
Worked on this film as an actor
I played a Russian army officer. I remember the director chewing me out in Japanese and with animated gestures, because I was not standing with as rigid and military a posture as was expected of an army officer. I was on set with many of the lead actors: Chuck Connors, well past his "Rifleman" days, quipped between takes: "Not bad for fourteen grand a day." Bo Svenson: He carried a whoopie cushion and sidled up to people, making fart sounds, which he thought was hilarious. He also took a lot of pride in showing us his underwater demolition license. George Kennedy: Self-absorbed, sullen and forbidding, spoke with no one. Those three were all really big, tall men. Edward J. Olmos: Nice guy, friendly, engaging. Cec LInder: Liked to play poker between scenes. A very elegant gentleman, exuded mentshlekhkayt. Olivia Hussey: Stayed in her dressing room most of the time, listening to Bob Dylan on a cassette-player. One time, she made her way to the set to watch a scene being filmed and said "hello." She was a breathtakingly beautiful woman, famous for being in Zefirelli's "Romeo and Juliet."
This, I'll never forget ( and no disrespect intended): Local Toronto actor Ara Hovanessian was cast in a small part. He had a dressing room with his name written on a piece of paper tacked to the door. Figuring it would be a positive career move -???- he tore off the "essian," and re-named himself there and then. I can still that crudely ripped piece of paper in my mind. Ah, show-business . . .
Wolf Krakowski Kame'a Media: www.kamea.com
Power Play (1978)
Worked on this film as an actor
I am the uncredited (Secret Police) Sound Technician, Moritz Asch in the scene with Secret Policeman Blair (Donald Pleasance) trying to decipher the words on a reel of audiotape. I remember the set for this scene, way over-dressed with a ton of sound equipment. I appear bullet- ridden and quite dead at the end of a long shot; the camera moves from room to room, bodies everywhere. My mom did not care to see these stills . . My scenes were filmed at a local police station on College Street, near Spadina Avenue in the neighborhood I was living in (in Toronto) at the time. Donald Pleasance was very pleasant (forgive me). I recall that he introduced himself to me. Being the international and legendary star that he was, this impressed me very much at the time.
Peace and Love,
Wolf Krakowski www.kamea.com
Hank Williams: The Show He Never Gave (1980)
Worked on this film
I am the guy in the doorway, bar patron Lonnie Jewks, having a cigarette in the opening shot and patting Hank on the back as he enters the bar. I had a great view of Hank's performance as the director positioned me directly behind the bandstand. Say what you will about his lack of resemblance to Williams, Sneezy was channelling Hank. The director allowed us to improvise our movements. My buddies, actors John Corbett (Pee-Wee Hupple) and John Novak (Soldier) scuffled and I attempted to intervene and break them up. They handed out unfiltered Camels and the beer was real, folks. I also appear, with my back to the camera, coming out of the bathroom and getting in the way of my dear, departed friend, singer-actor Tex Konig, O"H. Most of us were hired for the entire shoot, which not only helped pay the rent, but made for some memorable after-parties at John Corbett and John Novak's place on Oxford Street (affectionately known as The Baths) in Kensington Market ( Toronto, Canada). The director and Sneezy were professional and friendly; no "star" nonsense. I was there when the shoot wrapped and the producers presented Sneezy with his costume as a gift; he accepted it with sincere gratitude and humility. (The janitor) Jackie Washington's guitar-playing, beautifully recorded in a studio and over-dubbed, sparkles and forges a true-to-life link between Williams and his childhood teacher, Montgomery street- musician, Tee-Tot. Peace and Love, Wolf Krakowski www.kamea.com
@ lechuguilla: Williams was on his way to Canton, Ohio.