EUROCRIME
MAIGRET AND THE ST FIACRE AFFAIR (1959)-In French with english subs, letterboxed print.Jean Gabin returns for the final time as the titular Inspector. Inspector Maigret is traveling to the French countryside to visit his friend, the duchess of Saint-Fiacre. She has received a letter recently stating that she will die soon. A few days later she does so by an heart attack, but Maigret does not believe in this..
MAIGRET SETS A TRAP (1958)-In French with English subs. Jean Gabin stars as the French detective Maigret, Annie Giradot co-stars.. The film typifies the kind of crime thriller that was popular in France in the 1950s, with its shadowy sets and exotic characters, very evocative of the American film noir of the 1940s. Paul Misraki’s haunting Maigret theme seems to hang in the air like a venomous fog, drawing the audience inescapably into a dark and dangerous twilight world. Some parts of the film are quite disturbing, particularly the murder attempts, some scenes having a chilling resonance with Hitchcock’s Psycho.
The Falling Man (1968)-Beautiful widescreen print! This is one of the lesser-known films by Emilio P. Miraglia and deserves to be seen. Henry Silva is a police inspector. A gang of robbers killed his son and he is accused of having killed a police informer and is kicked out of the Department. He will have to do all by himself to discover the truth. Despite a rather mundane plot this film is valid, there are some nice intriguing and violent scenes and anticipates the italian wave of the bad cops of the 70s. Stars Henry Silva, Beba Loncar, Keenan Wynn, Carlo Palmucci, Pier Paolo Capponi, Luciano Rossi, Larry Dolgin, Charlene Polite, Bob Molden.
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CLOUZOT AND CO. VS BORSALINO AND CO. (1977)-In Italian with english subs, letterboxed print. Ultrarare Film really curious, in the wake of Antonio and Placido mixes noir and comic Nello Pazzafini has an unusual role(in a good part!) and Roberto Dell'Acqua play two mechanics that after having screwed Inspector Clouzot will try to sabotage the plans of Borsalino to earn a rich reward ...Richard harrison and Stelio Candelli play the titular characters. It's notable for its rarity and for being one of the few films with Pazzafini in the role of principal actor.
JEFF (1969)-Extremely rare Alain Delon gangster film co-starring Mirielle D'arc. Many people at the time thought that Delon played "Jeff" (the posters were deceptive);he actually plays Laurent ,a young gangster who, after a holdup, is searching for his boss who has left the gang and of course has taken all the dough. The runaway's lover, Eva accompanies him. This is a moderately entertaining detective film.It was not the first time Delon had worked with Jean Herman. The previous year, they had made a thriller "Adieu L'Ami" also starring Charles Bronson. Here, Delon played opposite Mireille Darc who was his girlfriend at the time .But the best is once again, François de Roubaix's tuneful delicate score.
PIZZA CONNECTION (1985)-In Italian with english subs, letterboxed print. This is the uncut 3 hour version!! Another slice of quality Eurocrime from director Damiano Damiani, Michele Placido and Mark Chase are two brothers with some rather tough decisions to make. Mario (Placido) is a Mafia hitman trying to scale the ranks while his brother, Michele (Chase) , is an honest citizen trying his hardest to do what's right. As is par for the course with any Damiani flick, the characters have depth and there's a strong element of realism in his directing.
ROME LIKE CHICAGO (1968)-Finally a nice LETTERBOXED version! After professional stickup man Mario Corda (John Cassavetes) gets sent to the slammer, his young, ambitious partner -- who covets both Corda's life and his wife -- cuts loose, leaving a trail of dead bodies in his wake. Gabriele Ferzetti, Anita Sanders and Nikos Kourkoulos also star in this brisk Italian crime thriller from director Alberto De Martino. Awesome score by Ennio Morricone.
POLICEMAN OF LITTLE IMPORTANCE (1973)-IN FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBS, LETTERBOXED PRINT.Starring Robert Hossein and Marc Porel (who also wrote the screenplay), Camille, Dov and Joëlle live on the edge of society and are involved in petty theft helping them to buy their drug doses and to survive as best they can. One day, while attempting to rob a movie theater, they activate the alarm signal and it is Pierre, Camille's brother, who is doing a heist in the same building, who is arrested red-handed. The three young people decide to kidnap a police officer and exchange him for Pierre.
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HUNTED CITY (1980)-Letterboxed print. This film seems to be some kind of sequel to "Comissario Di Ferro". There are much parallels to it. Commissario Paolo Ferro (Maurizio Merli) stars as a (typical) tough cop again. This time he returns to the city of Milan to go after a murder corporation. Acampora (Mario Merola) is believed to be the prime suspect although he later proves to be one of the mafia's targets. As if all that wasn't enough, Paolo has to face his own nephew who seems to be involved in all sorts of dirty business. This is even better than CONVOY BUSTERS, thanks to the unexpected plot twists, robberies, shootouts, car chases and explosions! HUNTED CITY benefits from excellent direction and cinematography and a funky Stelvio Cipriani score. A Stelvio Massi's violent crime masterpiece.
THE BURNING BARN (1973)-In french with english subs, letterboxed print. Cast:Alain Delon - Le juge Pierre Larcher , Simone Signoret - Rose, Miou-Miou - Monique. In an isolated, snow-covered region of France, Rose lives with her family on a remote farm. When the body of a young woman is found nearby, suspicion falls on Rose’s two sons, Paul and Louis, who were away from home at the time of the murder. Pierre Larcher investigates the murder, but as he does so he uncovers some secrets about Rose’s family which were best left untouched…
SOUNDS OF THE SHOTGUN (1968)-In Italian with english subs, letterboxed print. Director: Luigi Petrini, Actors: Lang Jeffries, Annabella Incontrera,and Femi Benussi. Lang Jeffries is a tough Mafia thug who uses a shotgun to settle his differences. Incontrera and Benussi are his women in this early Eurocrime obscurity!
SMILING MANIACS (1975)-Letterboxed print. 3 minutes longer than the US release. Franco Nero, Fernando Rey, Gabriele Ferzetti, and Martin Balsalm co-star. During an inquest, an ambitious judge finds out that a lot of high-rank politicians are corrupt to the core. Very much in the vein of HOW TO KILL A JUDGE and ILLUSTRIOUS CORPSES. Nero soon learns he can trust no one!
STOP! IT'S A ROBBERY (1975)-IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBS, LETTERBOXED PRINT. Director: Enzo Battaglia, Stars: Fred Williams, Robert Woods, Rosario Borelli. WITHOUT A DOUBT, ONE OF THE RAREST EUROCRIMES FILM!! In a luxury hotel in Rome jewelry worth $ 8 million is put on display. At the orders of a fake waiter, the orchestras put all the guests to sleep and flee with the huge booty.
ROCCO'S FISTS (1972)-IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBS, LETTERBOXED PRINT. Director: Lorenzo Artale, Stars: Fausto Di Bella, Rosita Torosh, Franco Fragala. ANOTHER RARE EUROCRIME FILM IN ENGLISH FOR THE FIRST TIME! After three years in prison for having beaten up a debtor who had tried to settle his bill with a knife, the young farmer Rocco Colantini was repudiated by his father, an enemy of violence and forced to leave the house. In the area dominate the cattle market the three Marzacchi brothers who act with mafia methods on behalf of the "American", an unsuspecting character that is held in the shadows. Hired by a wealthy landowner, Don Andrea Pappalardo, who with the Marzacchi has a credit of 5 million, Rocco manages to collect from him by wildly beating the oldest of the three brothers, so much so as to jeopardize his intellectual faculties forever. In revenge, the second of the Marzacchi, Giuseppe, kills Don Andrea. Following his death Rocco becomes the administrator of all the property of the deceased and the lover of his widow.
THE BANDIT (1968)-IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBS FOR THE FIRST TIME! Director: Carlo Lizzani, Stars: Gian Maria Volontè, Stefania Sandrelli, Ivo Garrani. Gramigna and his father are robbed of their field by Baron Nardò. The Baron let the field to Assunta and Gemma that is secretly beloved of Gramigna. Gemma succeeded to escape with Gramigna the day of her marriage with Ramarro. Love, violence, murder, revenge will follow all the protagonists till the desperate end of their existences. Powerful performance by Volonte make this one of Lizzani's best Eurocrime films!
TRAFFICKERS OF PLEASURE (1974)-IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBS FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME! VERY RARE EUROCRIME/ SLEAZY MASTERPIECE! Director: Stelvio Massi, Stars: Angelo Infanti, Sophia Kammara, Leonard Mann. A high-class prostitute called Magdalena befriends the leader of a group of hippies. The two fall in love and start a new life together but Magdalena's pimp kidnaps her in an attempt to stop her from leaving.
GANGSTERS 70 (1968)-IN GERMAN WITH ENGLISH SUBS FOR THE FIRST TIME! LETTERBOXED PRINT. ONE OF THE RAREST EUROCRIME FILMS! Director: Mino Guerrini, Stars: Joseph Cotten, Franca Polesello, Giampiero Albertini, Bruno Corazzari, Franco Ressel. Gangster'70 takes elements from John Hustons The Asphalt Jungle and Stanley Kubrick's The Killing and combines them into a brutal and at times sadistic heist story. It is mainly watchable for the wardrobe, the set design, the quirky camera angles and the new age editing. The heist is interesting as the gangsters force a passenger plane to make an unscheduled stop in Rome by the means of a fake bomb. In the airport terminal they snatch precious stones from some couriers. Joseph Cotten is the Doc Erwin Riedenschneider of the picture, in the first few minutes his frizzy hair glows in the evening sun and surrounds his head like a halo (never seen anything similar before on an adult).
THE EXECUTIONERS (1977)-IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBS. Director: Fabrizio Taglioni, Stars: Isarco Ravaioli, Geneviève Audry, Rino Bolognesi, Beba Loncar, and Gordon Mitchell. This giallo/Mondo/eurocrime hybrid has never appeared in english before. A young man, accused of murder and theft, escapes to Venezuela. His fiancée and her brother join him, only to find he had the loot with him. But was he guilty? Loncar is called to show thighs and breasts in an attempted rape.
NUMBER ONE (1973)-IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBS, LETTERBOXED PRINT. My long winded review from facebook: Director:Gianni Buffardi, Cast:Renzo Montagnini (Vinci), Luigi Pistilli (Commander), Claude Jade (Sylvie), Chris Avram (Benny), Massimo Serato Newspaper editor), Rita Calderoni (raped woman), Howard Ross (Dino), Venantino Venantini (Rudy), Paolo Malco (Teddy). Score:Giancarlo Chiaramello. The Number One club is an infamous hangout for both celebrities and the lowlifes of Rome. Paparazzi make sure they photograph everyone who enters the club just in case they are a “somebody”. Inside the club the song Superstition, made famous by Stevie Wonder, blares on the soundtrack as the club’s rhythmless patrons dance away. When the wife of Teddy Garner appears to die of an overdose, a group of men (including her husband), seem to be quite happy. Teddy will inherit a large fortune. A couple arrive at their apartment building where they are greeted by some of the same thugs that were present at Ms Garner’s ”suicide”. They proceed to rape the man’s wife (all four of them) until she becomes catatonic, all because the husband paid their employer with a bounced check. Next the group rob an apartment of its paintings while its owner is hanging out at Number One. Into all this comes Sylvie, a french hooker working for Benny (both a pimp and nude photographer), decides to look into the suicide of her friend Ms Garner. In her investigation she not only learns the details of her death, but also the location of the stolen paintings. Inspector Vinci is convinced Ms Garner was murdered and his investigation is making many of the patrons at the Number One club nervous. They all seem to answer to a mysterious ”Boss” who is a ruthless as they come. Anyone who threatens him, is soon terminated. Sylvie goes to the military police and soon reveals to the Commander the location of the stolen paintings at a nearby Monastery. Before she can reveal any incriminating details about the murder of Ms Garner, she is abducted off the streets of Rome and later turns up in the morgue. Inspector Vinci and the Commander teamup to try and discover what these crimes have in common and why is the nexus of this corrupt universe centered at the Number One club?
THE LAST TRIP (1974)-IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBS. Directed by José Antonio de la Loma, Cast: Julián Mateos, Simon Andreu, Pauline Chlalloner, Agata Lys. Commissioner Mendoza must join forces with the honorable civil guard, to stop the activities of a network of drug traffickers with international contacts that intend to act in Spain. Vicious Eurocrime film with Agata Lys providing the skin.
WHEN THE CITY WAKES (1977)-IN FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBS, LETTERBOXED HD PRINT. Pierre Grasset, Cast: Raymond Pellegrin, Marc Porel, Neda Almeric. Excellent French Eurocrime film! It is obvious that this feature is a tribute to John Huston's ASPHALT JUNGLE, especially in the last image of the movie; exactly the same as the Huston's masterpiece. Pierre grasset - director and main character - was also a Jean-Pierre Melville's sidekick - LE DEUXIEME SOUFFLE and DEUX HOMMES DANS MANHATTAN - and this is also a kind of tribute to the fabulous French director whom even Quentin Tarantino takes inspiration from. But this is not a masterpiece, just a solid crime film. Two journalists are witness of a daring armored truck heist and so they begin to be the preys for the gangsters. Raymond Pellegrin is excellent here with his co star Grasset, whom he also was involved in an armored truck heist in LE DEUXIEME SOUFFLE. A professional gangster, armed robber, with a good burgess looking face, except his eyes so tough, so fierce: remember him in LE DEUXIEME SOUFFLE and BRIGADE ANTI GANGS; he played in those two movies characters close to this one. A mastermind criminal with family and his own night club, restaurant or truck company. I love this movie, and the way the gangsters are described.
EXPLOSION (1976)-IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBS, LETTERBOXED PRINT. Director: Bruno Paolinelli, Cast: Al Cliver, Carole André, Claudine Auger, William Berger, Tony Di Mitri, Mariangela Giordano, Edmund Purdom, Gabriele Tinti, Fausto Tozzi. What an amazing cast for this Eurocrime rarity!! The year is 1971. A gang of robbers takes possession of a load of diamonds.. Only one of them, Mark Lemmon, is arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. But before being captured, the gangster had managed to hide the loot in a sewer. Five years later, Mackenzie, an insurer, pretending to be a mafia boss, assigns three petty criminals to arrange his escape. Once free, Lemmon finds the booty but now he has to deal with his new “partners”.
TRAP FOR CINDERELLA (1965)-IN FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBS, LETTERBOXED PRINT. Director: André Cayatte, Stars: Dany Carrel, Madeleine Robinson, Hubert Noël. A young woman (Dany Carrel) is suffering from amnesia after surviving a near fatal fire. During her recuperation she learns that she is a rich heiress and her guardian (Madeleine Robinson) tries to help her regain her memory. The mystery unfolds in a series of flashbacks in which the girl finally realizes who she is. This psychological thriller is based on the bestselling (and some say virtually unfilmable) novel by Sébastien Japrisot. Renowned for subverting the rules of the crime genre, Japrisot also wrote the novels on which the films The Sleeping Car Murders, The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun, One Deadly Summer and A Very Long Engagement are based.