Mr. Ricco

It's possible that Dean Martin might have taken the title role in Mr. Ricco because every player likes doing a courtroom drama and Mr. Ricco is a high priced San Francisco defense attorney. But other than the very beginning when Judge Harry Wingreen dismisses with prejudice the charge of murder against Dino's client Thalmus Rasulala we don't see a courtroom again.

Right after that a rash of killings start breaking out and there is an attempt in fact a couple of attempts on Martin's life. Eyewitnesses identify the sniper with a rifle as Martin's own client. That doesn't make sense to Martin, why would the man he just got off be trying to kill him? But somebody is certainly using him for target practice.

Dino looks pretty bored with the whole business, he's got an air of disinterestedness throughout the film. According to Nick Tosches's fine biography of Dean Martin, his co-star Thalmus Rasulala said he never was able to connect with him on any level during the production of Mr. Ricco. At the time Martin was going through a lot financial and romantic entanglements and the film was clearly one he did for the money.

Geraldine Brooks plays a woman who Dean's friends try to fix up with and Cindy Williams plays a girl Friday assistant. Mr. Ricco has the look and feel of a television pilot and Dino had shown some spark might have been picked up as a series.

As it is he saunters through the film like it was his nightclub act in Vegas.

Anyway, starring Dean Martin in a Chandler like story, it could not be anything else than cool, without being necessarily a light hearted film or even a comedy. I have always craved for the late sixties and early seventies period, for stories, atmospheres, characters....here, as in any private eyes plots, I would not be able to summarize this confused and too complicated tale for me. But photography, music, way of filming, everything is genuinely from the seventies, entirely, totally. The director Paul Bogart was already guilty of CHANDLER, back in 1971. I was very amused to see a director named Bogart directing a move called MARLOWE. You also have understodd why....

Low key Dean Martin has to overcome toilet bowl humor, overacting character actors, and a dismal script. A lot of stereotyping makes this film stupid and unrealistic. However, if you like Dino and you are stuck inside due to the Covid 19 Pandemic, then this mess is entertaining enough to take up two hours.

Like most people, I reckon, I primarily know Dean Martin as the singer of numerous Christmas Carols or as the performer of many legendary soundtrack tunes like "You're nobody till somebody loves you", "That's Amore" or "Ain't that a kick in the head". Not being a fan of the Rat Pack or comedy flicks starring Jerry Lewis, the only supportive films roles I've seen Martin in were "Airport" and "The Cannonball Run", so I was quite curious to see him appear in a thriller; - let alone a raw, gritty and violent mid-70s exploitation thriller!

But "Mr. Ricco" is a very competent and unjustly obscure thriller, with a solid and convincing role for Dean Martin! Although suffering from occasional slow-pacing and plot-predictability, "Mr. Ricco" is a compelling and suspenseful story about cops and lawyers, and more particularly about the tensions that arise when thugs, after they get acquitted by their sly attorneys, immediately revert back to committing crimes. The case even becomes extra sensitive when the crime in question is homicide of police officers. One of the main themes/morals of the film is that policemen should always uphold the law rather than acting as judge, jury and executioner themselves. This was quite a heavy and courageous theme in the contemporary cinematic era, especially since the formula of unorthodox macho coppers ("Dirty Harry", "The French Connection", ...) was so popular and commercially beneficiary. There are several good action sequences in "Mr. Ricco", but still the most powerful moments remain those where Ricco's friendship with police commissioner Cronyn (Eugene Roche) is put under pressure. The relatively unknown but experienced director Paul Bogart makes good use of the San Franciscan locations, but many scenes during the middle section are dull and redundant. The supposed twist-ending is far too easy to guess, but it's nevertheless presented in a pleasingly raw and violent fashion. This film may not stand out in the crowd of 70s action-thrillers, but it's a lot more intelligent than it looks and definitely worth seeking out!

One last word of advise for Joe Ricco: when you're almost out of toothpaste, you have to roll up the tube from the bottom...

A real departure for Dean Martin.. usually he's singing his way through a detective story. In this one, Martin is lawyer (Joe Ricco) defending a black man in a murder charge. Things get more wack when the latest two victims are cops. Is it a frame-up, or not? Cindy Williams (Shirley!!) is in here as "Jamison", Ricco's assistant. and you'll recognize Gene Roche (was the archbishop in "Foul Play.... fun film!) Here, Roche is Cronyn, head of homicide, investigating the moidah. It's pretty good. Certainly entertaining. It was the 1970s, so lots of issues to confront.. black rights, militant groups. Proper police procedures. All the things still relevant today! This was towards the end of Martin's acting career... he only made five more appearances after this, and two of those were in TV series. Cute gag where Joe (Martin) trains his dog to go fetch his ball when he slices into the woods. A fair amount of cussing and racist language and issues, so probably not for the young ones. Some clever banter between Ricco and Roch. Only rated 5.8 as of today, but that's only 400 votes. must not show this one very often. Directed by Paul Bogart, who did some REALLY well known stuff... All in the Family, Golden Girls, and the film version of the Torch Song Trilogy. It's pretty good. Surprised at the really low rating.