''Convoy Buddies'' (, , also known as ''Kid Stuff'') is a 1975 Italian-Spanish adventure-comedy film directed by

Giuliano Carnimeo Giuliano Carnimeo (born Carmineo; 4 July 1932 – 10 September 2016) was an Italian director and screenwriter, sometimes credited as Anthony Ascott or Antony Ascot. Life and career Born in Bari, Carmineo started his career as assistant direct ...

and starring Michael Coby and Paul L. Smith, a couple formed with the purpose of copying the successful films of the duo

Terence Hill and Bud Spencer Terence Hill (born Mario Girotti in 1939) and Bud Spencer (born Carlo Pedersoli, 1929–2016) are Italian actors who made numerous action-comedy and spaghetti Western films together. They "garnered world acclaim and attracted millions to theater ...

. It was followed by The Diamond Peddlers The film was selected for American release by

Film Ventures International Film Ventures International (FVI) was an independent film production and distribution company originally located in Atlanta, Georgia, during the 1970s. FVI garnered a notorious reputation within the industry for producing films that were highly ...

, and producer Edward L. Montoro changed Smith's name to Bob Spencer and Cantafora's name to Terrence Hall. Smith sued, successfully arguing that an actor's name recognition is vital to his career. The judicial system agreed and ruled against FVI, which paid Smith damages and court costs.

Plot

Toby and Butch are a couple of incompetent crooks who get a truck hauling job bringing insecticide from Italy to France. Unbeknownst to the bumbling duo, they are really smuggling guns. A group of equally inept mobsters try to steal the guns to no avail.

Cast

* Michael Coby as Butch (Matteo) * Paul L. Smith as Toby (Simone) * Dominic Barto as Lucky *

Giuliana Calandra Giuliana Calandra (10 February 1936 – 25 November 2018) was an Italian film, television and stage actress, journalist and television hostess. Life and career Born in Moncalieri, Giuliana Calandra debuted in 1963 Pier Paolo Pasolini's '' La ...

as Rosy *

Eduardo Fajardo Eduardo Martínez Fajardo (14 August 1924 – 4 July 2019) was a Spanish film actor. He appeared in 183 films, 75 plays and made 2,000 television appearances between 1947 and 2002. Biography He was born in Meis, Pontevedra on 14 August 19 ...

as Le Renard *

Ángel del Pozo Ángel del Pozo Merino (14 July 1934 – 29 March 2025) was a Spanish actor who appeared in more than seventy films since 1960. His daughter is the journalist Almudena del Pozo. Pozo retired in 1980, and from 1990 to 2008, he worked as an exec ...

as Navy Official *

Mario Brega Mario Brega (25 March 1923 – 23 July 1994) was an Italian character actor. His heavy build meant that he regularly portrayed a thug in his films, particularly earlier in his career in westerns. Later in his career, however, he featured in n ...

as Le Renard's Henchman * Riccardo Petrazzi as Paul * Emilio Messina as Jean *

Nello Pazzafini Giovanni "Nello" Pazzafini (15 May 1933 – 9 January 1996) was an Italian actor who appeared in a very large number of Peplum film genre, Peplum movies, Spaghetti Westerns and Poliziotteschi. Life and career Born in Rome from parents originall ...

as French Sailor * Tony Norton as Frou-Frou * Francisco Merino as Organizer

Reception

Preston McLaurin from ''

The Sun News ''The Sun News'' is a daily newspaper published in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in the United States. It serves the Grand Strand region of South Carolina. History The ''Myrtle Beach News'' was founded as a weekly in 1935 by brothers-in-law ...

'' said the movie "might be a loose rambling film, but it never lets down the comedy or the pace it sets in the beginning, and it also "lumps its whole cast into a likable bunch and even gets some boyish charm out of Hall and Spencer". Richard Labonté of ''

The Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris, it was renamed the ''Citizen'' in 1851. The newspap ...

'' wrote in his review that the film reminded him of

The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short-subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical, farce, and slapstick comedy. Six total ...

, in that the virtue of the film is that "though the humor is rooted in violence, it's a cartoon violence in which nothing suffers". He was quick to point out that "much of the action consists of heads being hit by balled fists, bodies being tossed through panes of glass, inanimate objects – doors, hammers, beds, bottles, – rendering animate objects – people – inanimate". In her review for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', Linda Gross said that director

"is very adept at slapstick and at action and demolition sequences, but unfortunately, screenwriter

Tulio Demicheli Tulio Demicheli (born August 15, 1914, Buenos Aires, Argentina - d. May 25, 1992, Madrid, Spain) was an Argentine born Spanish film director, screenwriter and film producer notable for his work during the classical era of Argentine cinema. ...

doesn't give him very much to work with". She complained that "every car crash, every joke, every encounter with a woman is milked beyond the limits of entertainment, and the story line is fairly predictably too". She did note that Spencer and Hall "work well together" and Karen Blake is "amusing".

References

Bibliography

External links