The Salamander

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)

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.

This film felt more like a made for t.v movie. It does pace slow for about the first 30 min or so. You see the funeral of a general, intro to all the big players. Nero goes around interviewing them, some of it is too talky and drags out, a couple more deaths occur and he goes into hiding with the help of Anthony Quinn to continue his investigation, it leads up to a really good climax. One of the best bits of dialogue comes from Martin Balsam talking to Nero about a story of wanting cigars and what happened when he went home. Quinn character is great too as your never really sure who's side he's on. Great performances by Martin Balsam, Anthony Quinn, Eli Wallach, Christopher Lee,Franco Nero, Claudine Cardinale, and the sadistic "sergeon". John Steiner performance is not as top notch, and Sybil Danning I felt kinda phoned it in. Over all decent watch.

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.

THE SALAMANDER had so much potential, especially with an all star cast of supporting actors like Anthony Quinn, Martin Balsam, Eli Wallach, Christopher Lee, Cleavon Little, Paul Smith, and Claudia Cardinale. The leads were Franco Nero, who had such a strong Italian accent that his English was hard to understand and Sybil Danning, who played her character with the personality of a roof shingle who was always dressed like a nun or the wife of the Quaker Oats guy so she was playing against type and her persona. She was suppose to be a spy and the mistress of the assassinated General but the conservative and bland way she was dressed indicated to me that he might just have committed suicide.......On the DVD extra's one of the men associated with the film referred to Sybil with this disrespectful comment, " " which I found shocking because there was no cleavage displayed at all with that Puritan wardrobe in the movie. There is very little action in the film, basically one car chase and then the torture scene which turned out more like comedy then anything else where Paul Smith was to torture Franco Nero to get information and what made it funny is it turned out to look like Franco Nero was torturing Paul Smith by sexually assaulting him hanging on his back with Paul Smith screaming and Nero with his bare arse hanging out of his jock strap. The scene was so absurd and ludicrous that it came off as comical rather then scary. The best acting was done by Martin Balsam who played Nero's father figure like partner, who gets killed midway so you lose the most interesting character in the film. Anthony Quinn was 2nd to Balsam in performance and he made the most of the material he worked with. Cleavon Little has a small part and did a great job but you wonder why he was not given more and the most disappointing part of the film were the two villains, Eli Wallach and Christopher Lee who barely had any screen time and just a few lines. They just weren't utilized and neither was Claudia Cardinale who was so stunning in ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST but had the same wardrobe designer as Sybil so she looked like an Amish farmer or Quaker Oats girl with maybe two lines of dialog. It was not the worst film, it just did not live up to its potential