Gone with the Pope

USA, 1976/2010.  Director: Duke Mitchell. Cast: Duke Mitchell, Jim LoBianco, Peter Milo, Lorenzo Dardado, Jeanne Hibbard. Executive Producers: Sage Stallone and Bob Murawski. 83 Mins.

Lost for over 30 years, GONE WITH THE POPE stars famed nightclub performer Duke Mitchell as Paul, a paroled gangster with an unholy scheme: to kidnap the Pope and ‚charge a dollar from every Catholic in the world‘ as the ransom“. Shot in 1975, GONE WITH THE POPE was unfinished at the time of Duke Mitchell’s death in 1981.

Sage Stallone and Bob Murawski of Grindhouse Releasing rediscovered GONE WITH THE POPE in 1995 and vowed to save it from obscurity. Academy Award-winning film editor Murawski (THE HURT LOCKER, ARMY OF DARKNESS) spent 15 years completing GONE WITH THE POPE from the surviving film elements. Grindhouse Releasing proudly presents the Holy Grail of exploitation cinema!

“Of all the films I have been involved with, the one that I am most proud of is GONE WITH THE POPE. Duke Mitchell didn’t live to see this masterpiece finished. I am honored to be the person to finish it for him. Completing this movie was a 15-year labor of love. No expense or effort was spared in rescuing this classic from cinematic oblivion and finishing it with the utmost quality. Our beautiful new 35mm print stands as a testament to Duke Mitchell’s unique and explosively entertaining vision.”

– Bob Murawski, Grindhouse Releasing