Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Candida It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Michael Ledo Tony (Tony Lo Bianco) is a likeable lower tier criminal. When noted crime boss Frankie (Lee Van Cleef) comes to town, Tony wants to meet him. Frankie ignores Tony as he has plans on his own, i.e. get arrested so he has an alibi. Frankie accepts Tony in prison after Tony saves his life. Things go horribly wrong for Frankie as his lawyer and brother gets killed, his empire crumbles, and he is stuck in prison. He must rely on Crazy Tony for help.The film is not top notch. It has some comedic elements that border on camp. Likewise the tough guy talk is more camp than serious. Because it was foreign, it is difficult to tell what was meant to be funny and what was accidentally funny. The production is not a timeless classic, and will only have a narrow audience.Parental Guide: Edwige Fenech- shower nudity

Woodyanders Steely, powerful gangster supreme Frankie Diomede (the always terrific Lee Van Cleef in fine rugged form) has himself arrested and sent to prison so he can rub out a traitorous partner sans detection. Fawning goofball small-time hood and wiseguy wannabe Tony Breda (an amiable portrayal by Tony Lo Bianco) gets busted as well. Frank and Tony form an unlikely friendship behind bars. Tony helps Frank break out of the joint and assists him on his quest to exact revenge on a rival group of mobsters lead by the ruthless Louis Annunziata (smoothly played by Jean Rochefort). Director Michele Lupo, working from an absorbing script by Sergio Donati and Luciano Vincenzoni, relates the neat story at a constant brisk pace, sustains a suitably gritty, but occasionally lighthearted tone throughout, and stages the rousing action set pieces with considerable rip-snorting brio (a rough'n'tumble jailhouse shower brawl and a protracted mondo destructo car chase rate as the definite thrilling highlights). Van Cleef and Lo Bianco display a nice, loose and engaging on-screen chemistry; the relationship between their characters is alternately funny and touching. The ravishing Edwige Fenech alas isn't given much to do as Tony's whiny girlfriend Orchidea, but at least gets to bare her insanely gorgeous and voluptuous body in a much-appreciated gratuitous nude shower scene. Riz Ortolani's groovy, pulsating, syncopated funk/jazz score certainly hits the soulfully swingin' spot. The polished cinematography by Joe D'Amato and Aldo Tonti is likewise impressive. A really nifty and entertaining little winner.

manuel-pestalozzi This movie takes place in Italy (Genoa and the Riviera) and in France. There is no death row in those countries. And the prisoners have minestrone for dinner. There is a lot you can do with minestrone – you can even use it as a weapon and it has a real filmic potential! The story on the cover of this cheap DVD is not what you will see. But there is Lee Van Cleef all right. He is some kind of Mafia Don, and he looks meek, like some kind of a bookkeeper (which he apparently was in real life). For an escape from prison (it's a cinch!) he is given some workman's clothes, a half length blue coat and a blue peaked cap - and suddenly he looks like Lenin, and I mean the true Vladimir Illich on one of those kitschy Socialist Realism paintings. It is hilarious! The resemblance is so striking that it cannot be a coincidence.The story is not good – well, hardly existing, the editing is chaotic, the unrestored print used for the DVD occasionally badly scratched. But some scenes are really well directed, the acting, the set design and the photography are above average. As often in Italian movies of the period: interesting details, messy as a whole. The movie is principally a comedy. Tony Lo Bianco is hilarious as a small time pimp who thinks the Don is god (he plays a mixture of Roberto Benigni and Eric Roberts in Runaway Train). Van Cleef's adversary is played by Jean Rochefort, a great French character actor who more often plays roles in powdered wigs. There are elements of Film Noir, interesting interiors and lighting and a long and very funny car chase. It's the kind of movie that smart guys like Quentin Tarantino learned from, I guess. And if you like old Alfa Romeo police cars skidding through narrow alleys and Edwige Fenech bare breasted, you are really in for a treat.

floyd-27 I was very impressed with this well made Lupo vehicle from 1974. Lee Van Cleef is Frank, a mean, cold, feared and respected crime lord. While Tony Lo Bianco is Tony, a street hustler who has some respect in his neighborhood, other than that not a nada. These two meet under odd circumstances, seeing that Tony's fascination with the Boss is borderline infatuation. Well let's say that Frank does not like Tony and tony adores Frank, until Tony saves Franks life in a mafia hit. I'm not going to keep on rambling, but if you like Italo Crime, Lee Van Cleef or Joe D'Amato (photography). Then you owe it to yourself to see this movie! I give it a very sturdy 8 out of 10