Der Henker von Venedig

Set during the Grand Inquisition, this is actually quite an entertaining little bit of Peplum. The Doge of Venice (Feodor Chaliapin Jr) has a handsome young son "Sandrigo" (Lex Barker) who has managed to irritate the Inquisitor "Zeno" (Guy Madison). The latter decides to frame the former for treason, and now it falls to Barker to save both himself and his father, whilst still keeping hold of his lady love "Leonora" (Alessandra Panaro). Luigi Capuano has packed quite a lot into ninety minutes here. The production standards are actually quite high, there is bundles of intrigue and swordplay, a soupçon of romance and Madison plays well as the baddie. The plot is pretty processional, the ending is never in doubt - but this is still quite a watchable action adventure that looks good and flows well.

Exciting story of love and adventure , the complete romance and the historical events about the Venetian council of Dux . It is packed with derring-do , intrigue , a love story , action , drama and moving swordplay . This is a fast moving, colorful adventure which benefits from its Venetian setting . As an evil grand inquisitor called Rodrigo Zeno (Guy Madison) attempts to condemn his enemy, the main Doge of Venice named Giovanni Bembo (Feodor Chaliapin Jr.) and his son Sandrigo Bembo (Lex Barker) . The evil Inquisitor unites forces with a traitor called Michele Arcà (Alberto Farnese). Meanwhile , our hero Sandrigo attempts to marry his bride named Leonora Danin (Alessandra Panaro) . Leonora is a golden-haired beauty entangled in a web of treachery and intrigue . The picture was partially based on historical ¨Dux¨ derived from Latin dūx, "military leader" , sometimes translated as Duke . Doges were the chief magistrates and leaders of the Most Serene Republic of Venice for over a thousand years. Doges of Venice were elected for life by the city-state's aristocracy. Commonly the man selected as Doge was the shrewdest elder in the city. The doge was not a duke in the modern sense, nor was a doge the equivalent of a hereditary duke. The "doge" was the senior-most elected official of Venice and Genoa; both cities were republics and elected doges .

This is an entertaining swashbuckling, full of action, thrills ,romance , double-crosses and of course , a lot of fence . It is something quite diverse from the ordinary adventure scenery : hardly open sea , different boats , the gondolieri , the spectacular designs palaces and bridges . It's Lex Barker against Guy Madison and a strange pirate posing as an executioner well played by Mario Petri . In this set in the end of middle ages , next to the Italian Rennaisance period. Lavish production by Octavio Poggi with excellent gowns , evocative sets , right cinematography and powerful score . Lots of court intrigue , treason, twists and turns . The picture contains rousing action, intrigue , romantic adventure , mayhem and a fine cast doing a fine job . Sympathetic performances by main star cast and enjoyable secondary cast , as the marvelous main actors are completed by stellar cast full of classical and veteran players as Mario Petri as Boia Guarnieri , Alberto Farnese as Michele Arcà, Giulio Marchetti as Bartolo , Feodor Chaliapin Jr. as Doge Giovanni Bembo , Franco Fantasia as Pietro and Raf Baldassarre as Messere Grimani . Splendid color from 16mm by Sandro Mancori and imaginative as well as thrilling soundtrack by Carlo Rustichelli . Lush production design is well showed on the luxurious interiors and exteriors filmed on location in Venice .

The motion picture was professionally directed by Luigi Capuano . He was a good craftsman who directed all kind of genres , and especially adventure movie . Capuano directed Spaghetti Western such as "Il Magnifico Texano" , Peplum as ¨Revenge of Ursus¨ ,"Revenge of the Gladiators" , "Hercules and the Black Pirates" and of course Adventures such as "Zorro in the Court of Spain" , "Zorro, Rider of Vengeance" , ¨Zorro and three musketeers¨ ,"Tiger of the Seven Seas" , ¨leopard of Sarawak¨ , ¨Vengeance of Sandokan¨ , "Terror of the Red Mask" also starred by Lex Barker and "The Lion of St. Mark" also set in Venice and similar period .

This is a great intrigue like from some of the great 19th century operas by the Italian masters, like Verdi and Ponchielli. The first scene introduces the two protagonists, father and son, without their knowing it, in a contest of force, where they have to axe a log, - who cuts the deepest is the winner. The father (Mario Petri) is the official executioner of Venice, a former pirate, and his son has been brought up by the doge (Feodor Chaliapin Jr!) as his own princely son, never suspecting his adoption. The crook of the play is the grand inquisitor (Guy Madison, slightly too handsome for the credibility of a grand inquisitor,) who is jealous of the doge's son who has won the heart of the beauty they both desire, Alessandra Panaro, and he finds out that he is actually the executioner's son. His intrigue amounts to the desired effect to have the executioner execute his own son to let the grand inquisitor acquire the bride, but you can't conceal the truth forever. An important supporting character is Giulio Marchetti as Sandrigo Bembo's (Lex Barker) blind mentor, who sees more than everyone else. To all this luxury of great action, dazzling adventure, flamboyant romanticism and all the magnificent beauty of Venice in a nutshell, is the splendid score by Carlo Rustichelli added, which aptly illustrates everything.

This movie tries to buckle the swash of the type of action costume drama that Errol Flynn, Burt Lancaster or Tyrone Power would headline for a Hollywood studio. For a product of the Spaghetti Western factories and their relatively limited budgets, the spectacle here is exceptional for sets, costumes and cast size. The big group clashes are well-staged, with clanging swords aplenty. And the whole thing comes in a tight 90-minute package, resisting the temptation to drag things out just because of how much they spent to create a lush Venice of yesteryear.

The bad is that Lex is a charisma-impaired hero compared to the aforementioned stars. He looks handsome and hunky enough, but his panache is pallid. Also, the script is about as paint-by-numbers as they come, including the seminal moment that turns the tide for the good guys. Don't watch this for a new experience. It can only satisfy as another bit of time spent in pleasantly familiar territory.

The weird - Anyone who grew up with Guy Madison as Wild Bill Hickock, or saw him as a hero in most of his other films will have some emotional whiplash watching him play this Machiavellian weasel. Even more unsettling in the English dubbed version is the wimpy, reedy voice used for him. Madison's voice was rich and resonant, making the dissonance even more distracting than the anti-type casting. If'n that don't bother you none, you might like this one more than I could.

If you do not like low-budget, early 60s dubbed Italian costumed historical adventures, you won't like this one either. However, for fans of the genre, THE EXECUTIONER OF VENICE is top-notch entertainment with nice Venetian settings, lots of court intrigue and duplicity, and two of the finest American expatriate actors in 60s eurocinema--Lex Barker as the hero, Sandrigo Bembo, adopted son of the Doge of Venice, and Guy Madison as the tracherous grand inquisitor, Rodrigo Zeno. Director Luigi Capuano specialized in this sort of adventure in the early 60s, working with Barker in 1960s TERROR OF THE RED MASK, and after this film, making four films with Guy Madison. Just prior to this one, he made two with Gordon Scott--MASK OF THE MUSKETEERS and LION OF ST. MARK--that I recommend to fans of the genre. No great analysis is needed of THE EXECUTIONER OF VENICE. It's just a well-mounted but economical historical swashbuckler and the only European film where Barker and Madison are paired as equals. Regrettably, this copy is pan & scan, so some dramatic scenes between Madison and Barker feature Madison talking to an offscreen presence and the interesting set design is not as easy to appreciate as it should be, but until someone releases this in widescreen, it's worth searching out. The climax and ending are quite satisfying, the supporting cast is memorable (Mario Petri as the executioner whose story is quite complex, and Feodor Chaliapin Jr. as the aging, infirm, but sympathetic Doge of Venice), and it's great to see Madison as a pure manipulative villian with no redeeming values or tragic backstory. Barker looks great and must have been complimented that the role he is playing is that of a man at least a decade younger than Barker himself!