La Nuit du massacre

Spanish/Italian co-production directed by Jaime Jesus Balcazar and starring Tomas Milian and Anita Ekberg that begins very poorly. Seemingly only one guy survives a heist and starts to spend the money when another turns up after a spell in jail. Not very original and then we go on to 'just one more' and it is so incompetently dealt with it seems the whole town will know everybody's identity before the film drags to a close. Then, presto, Anita Ekberg appears, Milian comes to life and a pretty tasty and tight little drama ensues. True the two main protagonists don't do much more than glance about but its enough. Such is their respective charismatic appeal, they generate enough life for this to spark and fizzle quite happily till we reach the inevitable conclusion. Really not bad at all, just when I thought I was going to nod off, I found myself on the edge of my seat, all smiles. Hard to find though and the sound and picture suggest taken from a very ropey old video and even then kicked around a bit. So even more credit due that it still succeeds.

A subdued performance from Tomas Milian and a static plot sends this film down old 'average' lane. Even Fernando Sancho can't quite get animated enough.

In America, somewhere, a heist takes place and two robbers are killed. Of the other two, Scott ends up in a car crash and disfigured and the other, Fernando Sancho, gets away with the cash. Years later, Sancho has gone legit and owns a bar with the help of his guitar playing, quiet son Tomas Milian. Things are going okay until a scarred Scott turns up looking for his cash, and also looking to rope Sancho into one more heist. Milian is dragged along too for good measure.

The heist needs Sancho because he's a safe cracker, but the heist very quickly goes bad as he can't crack the safe, some guys wants to play hero and a gunshot alerts everybody within a ten mile radius, causing various bad guys to take people hostage all around the bank. They get the idea to draw the cashier from his home to the bank to open the safe, and everyone goes to the local bar to turn on each other while they wait. Oh, and Anita Ekberg runs the bar and Milian and Anita share a lot of meaningful glances at each other.

It takes about half an hour to even get to the bank, and after everyone settles in at the bar the plot is punctuated by the odd punch up and argument, but Milian's character seems to ask for him to be the strong silent type, which means he doesn't do much at all. Ekberg doesn't do much either except fight off an over-eager robber (although she does stab him in the gut). Although Sancho and Milian make a good father/son team, the only actor who stands out is Claudio Camaso as the main bad guy Scott, trying to pull off a heist, keep his men in check, and play mind games with Sancho and Milian.

Straight down the middle this one. Neither good or bad, and sometimes that's the worst crime of all. I see that Camaso was Gian Marie Volonte's brother, and that he killed himself in 1977 after murdering someone. Grim.

Fulgencio (Fernando Sancho in his habitual Mexican/style role from Spaghetti Westerns) and Scott (Claudio Camaso who early commited suicide and was Gian Maria Volonte's brother) flee the place where they have just committed a robbery. As Fulgencio escapes , while one gets it , Scott is captured by the police. After serving years in prison, Scott looks for his former partner, who fled to Mexico with the money and, with the money, bought a bar. Scott's plan is to force Fulgencio, under the threat of reporting him, to collaborate with him in another robbery. All of them find at a saloon run by gorgeous Bessie (Anita Ekberg) , where Scott meets Fulgencio and his son Chino (Tomas Milian).

Thrilling picture with a complex intrigue , nice character studio , suspense , a lot of killings and twisted deeds . Short on ambition "Chronicle of a robbery" with a great European cast has in its favor the suggestive North American setting that is meritorious considering that the film was filmed in Barcelona and some suggestive shots . However, this story, which at first seemed promising, does not fully engage the viewer, perhaps because of a monotonous development and a limitation of scenarios where Balcázar fails to properly coordinate the action . In some moments it is palpable that the work could have been better if the rhythm of the narration had been taken more care of and if run-of-the-mill moments had been avoided . One of the most grueling Euro-coproductions movies all done in medium budgets and middlingly shot , taking place at the ramshackle bar where most of the drama unfolds . Imitating the American thriller ; however , it has very little to do with the classic action or Noir USA films at the time . The picture has a Noir treatment though excessively stagy , but stars can quite compensate for some claustrophobic moments . This second-rate and slow-paced picture draws its tale and power from the interaction of finely drawn roles as well as drama and action . Twisted film Noir about thieves , gangsters , robbing , treason , troubled relationships and dark secrets . It is a tough and tortuous thriller that has a routine realization , an unoriginal script , sinister atmosphere , intriguing events , that's why madness and murder prevail .

The result is average within its limitations and with its ups and downs , it benefits thanks to the interesting personalities of most of the actors that make up the cast , while the actresses Anita Ekberg and Mónica Randall are wasted in roles that do not allow them to shine . Despite the clichés and the errors in the planning , the film is carried out with a certain modesty that is not bad at all and the already mentioned successes in the setting provide a relative interest to the whole that is not entirely insipid . Main stars : Toman Milian , Fernando Sancho and Claudio Camaso give functional interpretations in their ordinary styles . Being accompanied by a fine cast with plenty of familar faces in the Sixties and Seventies , such as : Anita Ekberg , Mónica Randall, Hugo Blanco , Óscar Pellicer , Osvaldo Genazzani , Tomas Torres, among others.

The motion picture was regularly directed by Jaime Jesús Balcázar, though here he falls short . Balcazar's very promising debut was ¨El filo del miedo¨, shot in 1964 but premiered three years later with little success, this movie is a good example that with a little budget but with expert skillness results can be achieved in the crime genre. Jaime Jesús Balcázar began filming with "El filo del miedo", which was a film of dazzling complexity and considerable quality, but then never reached the level of that first attempt, since his later films were characterized by having a very low level. After "The Edge of Fear" Jaime Balcazar wrote/produced/directed irrelevant subsequent products . He was author of the outrageous script for ¨Superargo contra Diabolikus¨, and he managed to make some entertaining movies , though sometimes very mediocre . Juan Jose Balcazar alongside his brothers Francisco Balcazar and Alfonso Balcázar produced and directed a lot of Tortilla or Butifarra Western , most of them starred by Jorge Martin or George Martin , Luis Davila , Daniel Martin or Robert Woods ; such as 1972 The return of Clint , 1972 Judas... ¡Toma Monedas! , 1968 Sartana no Perdone or Sonora , 1967 With Death on Your Back, 1966 Dinamita Jim , 1965 Doc , Manos De Plata , 1965 Viva Carrancho , 1965 Five Thousand Dollars on One Ace . But J. J Balcazar also made other genres such as : Action as 1968 Crónica de un atraco , 1967 El hombre del puño de oro , 1967 El filo del miedo and Erotic as : Catherine Chérie , 1982 , Playa azul , 1979 Inés de Villalonga 1870 and 1970 El misterio de la vida and hisonly Musical : Españolear . Rating 4.5 /10 . Average though some brief moments fun . If you like traditional Spanish/Italian thrillers remains watchable.