Le Bourreau de Venise

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.

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.

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!

Costumed actioner set in the city and benefiting from being filmed in and around the canals. the plot has to do with intrigue concerning the titled character and the inquisition. Its a costumed swashbuckler of the sort they don't make any more and rarely did they ever look this good or have such a great sense of place. Its a shame that a good letterboxed version of this film doesn't seem to be out there since the pan and scan version I saw often had confrontations with invisible men (speaking characters have been chopped out of the frame). the cast headed, by Lex Barker and Guy Madison, is quite good, even when dubbed into English. Its a nice movie for a rainy afternoon, when you want to just sit and watch some adventures from a bygone time.

In Venice,during the Inquisition,Sandrigo Bembo,the son of the Doge Giovanni Bembo,is falsely accused of treason out of pure malice by the Grand Inquisitor Rodrigo Zeno.

The villain here is Guy Madison, who is really good as the villain. He schemes and schemes so he can get the fiancee of Lex Barker's character. Lex Barker is in good swashbuckling form, though most of the sword play comes in the last thirty minutes. The first hour mainly consists of court intrigue and schemes. It's a fairly standard Italian costumer but a good villain, swordplay, an interesting lost son and father twist as well as the great Venice locales makes this quite watchable.