Director: Franco Prosperi
Writers: Dario Argento, Raimondo Del Balzo, Franco Prosperi, Giovanni Simonelli
Composer: Piero Piccioni
Starring: Robert Webber, Elsa Martinelli, Jean Servais, Marina Berti, Pierre Zimmer, Franco Giornelli, Emilio Messina, Ennio Balbo, Umberto Raho, Giovanni Ivan Scratuglia, Pierry Marty
More info: IMDb
Plot: When a heist goes wrong, Tony Costa (Webber) must find out those responsible and kill them.
My rating? 6.5/10
Will I watch it again? No.
I don't mean to be snarky but the big crime with this film is that it wasn't made by better filmmakers. Robert Webber owns this role. He's fantastic. The story isn't bad but it's not nearly as tight as it should be. There's far too much time spent on Tony's budding romance. He tells one of his partners in crime that after all these years he thinks he's ready to settle down. OK, that's fine but the film drags so much when the romance scenes pop up. The only thing we learn from these bits is just a little about himself and what motivates him but it's all stuff that could've been told to someone else in another way that would've been a more efficient and effective use of the dialogue. There's more time than what you'd usually get spent on the heist itself which was nice. It's also nice that the dialogue and music is less than usual, too. And the ending? Very, very good. I loved it. Piero Piccioni's score is often poor. It feels cheap and rushed and the cheapness pays a price thanks to the over use of the organ. Watch the opening credits above (which is the only clip online I can find for this picture) and you'll see what I mean. Maybe he was working too much and he just didn't put much into this one. He score 7 films in '67 and 10 the following year. This has the makings of a great crime thriller but in these hands, it's got enough greatness to want to watch it but with that brings frustration for what could've been.
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