La salamandre

How did it go so wrong? How can a film with such an impressive cast (Franco Nero, Christopher Lee, Eli Wallach, Sybil Danning, Claudia Cardinale, Martin Balsam, Paul Smith - the torturer in "Midnight Express" - as, you guessed it, a torturer, etc.) and such colorful location filming around Italy (Rome, Milan, Venice, etc.) be such a bore? Probably because the story is slow-moving and unengaging, and has no real climax. Another obstacle for the viewer is the difficulty to buy people like Lee and Balsam as Italians. Nero is always likable, and Danning is stunning (even if she's in completely "unrevealing" mode here), but these two are barely enough to keep you focused on what was excellently described by another reviewer as "a political thriller without thrills". (*1/2)

A Police Inspector : Franco Nero tries to find the assassination of antifascist leaders and follows clues that lead back to WWII , a partisan organization called The Salamander .You Are Cordially Invited to Rome, Milan and Venice...To Join in the Successful Investigation of a Most Bizarre Murder. With Every Clue the Conspiracy Deepens...The Danger Grows...The Suspense Mounts...

Thrilling and twisted movie about a detective attempts to uncover a strange underground movement linked to a plot to seize control of the Italian government . A disappointing and overwrought adapation based on Morris West novel depicting a neo-fascist conspiracy to carry out a coup de'etat in Italy and lead the country on the right track . So the main issue is the investigation of surprising killings , being carried out by a police colonel , as at each murder scene is left behind a drawing of a salamander and throughout the tumultuous procedure he is involved in conspiracy , persecution and also in a love story between Franco Nero and Sybil Danning . The intrigue is devilishly labyrinthine, and there are times when you no longer know who is who , or what new event to happen . It is a complex and twisted movie that complicates more and more until the surprising final outcome . Of course, we travel a lot and we wander through some gorgeous cities : Rome , Milan , Venice ...between murder and murder , while the great composer American Jerry Goldsmith struggles to put out a beautiful score that deserved a better picture. The cast is frankly impressive , starring Franco Nero giving an acceptable acting in his usual style as an Italian policeman investigates a series of murders involving people in prominent positions, Martin Balsam , Eli Wallach , extremely wasted Claudia Cardinale , Sybil Danning , Cleavon Little , Christopher Lee as an Italian Prince and Paul Smith repeating a similar role to Midnight Express . Along with brief interpretations from B-European actors ordinary in co-productions, such as : John Steiner , Renzo Palmer , Anita Strindberg , Nello Pazzafini , Attilio Dottesio , Tom Felleghy, Marino Masé , Fortunato Arena , Jacques Herlin.

The motion picture was middlingly directed by Peter Zinner in his only one , failing at the international boxoffice . He was an important editor who frequently edited Richard Brooks, Frank Pierson and Francis Ford Coppola movies. He contributed with the editing of three films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: The Godfather (1972), The Godfather : Part II (1974) and The Deer Hunter (1978). All three are winners in the category. Other notorious movies he edited were the following ones : An Officer and a Gentleman , Gladiator , Saving Grace , Omega Code, The Red Tent , a Star is Born and Darling Lili.

Peter Zinner won an Oscar for editing THE DEER HUNTER (1978); for his only directorial effort, he chose this adaptation of the Morris West best-seller which was shown on local TV back in the day (actually, that is how I first heard of it). He did manage to assemble an impressive all-star cast: Franco Nero plays the hero carabiniere in a throwback to some of the political thrillers he had made in his native country – such as DAY OF THE OWL (1968), in which he co-starred with Claudia Cardinale, and CONFESSIONS OF A POLICE CAPTAIN (1971), also featuring Martin Balsam; both actors also appear here, the latter as Nero's closest collaborator who eventually falls in the line of duty. Anthony Quinn is the titular figure (a wealthy industrialist and ex-legendary WWII partisan), Sybil Danning the mistress of a dead army officer (whose apparent suicide sets events in motion) but also serving as Nero's unconvincing love interest, Eli Wallach the General leading a proposed coup d'etat, Christopher Lee as Nero's superior (actually a prince[!] who is unsurprisingly inextricably related with the Government takeover plot – interestingly, his on-screen wife was played by Lee's own real-life spouse in an infrequent appearance), Cleavon Little as a Black American ex-colleague of Nero's (whom the latter calls upon when he is in a fix) and Paul Smith (as a sadistic "surgeon"). There are, however, also a number of Euro-Cult regulars: John Steiner in the role of Wallach's aide as well as lover of his neglected wife Cardinale, Renzo Palmer, Marino Mase' – unenviably playing a corpse! – and Nello Pazzafini. While tolerable as entertainment (though there is less action than I had anticipated) and featuring a decent score by the great Ennio Morricone, the film is ultimately too superficial and uneven to make a ripple in the circles it professes to denounce; nevertheless, the clever climax is surprisingly (but effectively) handled in the style of the "Thin Man" movies! Besides, one particular scene nearly turns this into a camp classic i.e. when the hero, caught and about to be tortured by Smith, attacks the latter clad only in a harness along his waist (which gives unwarranted prominence to Nero's groin while leaving his buttocks completely exposed!) but ends up slammed against the wall hanging upside-down instead!!

The ingredients are here for a passable political-thriller but the approach used to tell the story is numbingly routine. Investigator Franco Nero pursues his case simply through a series of interviews, thus allowing the movie to present its roster of marquee-names -- Christopher Lee, Eli Wallach, Claudia Cardinale, etc. -- in a succession of talky, static scenes that lack interest and vitality. (Though these interviews provide an opportunity to show off a series of impressively furnished and decorated rooms.) And then, when it comes time for Nero to present his solution to the case, he does so by showing to a group of people a movie which simply re-caps information gleaned from his interviews!

Attempts to liven up the proceedings with spurts of action merely serve to emphasize the overall dullness of the movie. For example, when Nero falls into the clutches of a villain known as "the Surgeon" who is determined to torture information from him, we only see Nero -- stripped to a jockstrap and strapped to a chair -- being given an injection with a hypodermic needle. Surely this is one of the most boring forms of torture ever shown on the screen.

When the Chief of the Italian Defence Staff is found dead, it is put down to an heart attack and the nation mourns. Colonel "Dante Mattuci" (Franco Nero) is drafted in to handle what ought to have been a peremptory investigation, but it is soon clear to him that there is much more going on here than meets the eye. Pretty quickly, he is enveloped in a conspiracy to take over the state - but who might be behind it? His boss "Prince Baldasar" (Christoher Lee); the General who succeeded him "Leporello" (Eli Wallach) or perhaps the wealthy kingmaker "Manzini" (Anthony Quinn). The production is a bit all over the place, here, but the cast work well on this quite well paced story of internecine politics. Nero is efficient, as are Wallach and Quinn, and the story moves along quickly amongst some beautiful surroundings. The ending lets it down a bit - it is just too implausible given what has gone on before, but though flawed it is still a decent thriller that pulls together some good supporting stars - Claudia Cardinale and Anita Strindberg provide the glamour, if not a great deal else - and is still worth watching on the telly on a wet Tuesday afternoon.