La belva col mitra

He's mean! He's profane! He's armed and extremely dangerous! His name is Nanni Vitali (Helmut Berger), and he's a one-man hit squad! Boiling over with bitterness and vengeance over his time in prison, Vitali sets out on a mission to destroy those whom he deems responsible.

Anyone in his way will be raped, murdered, or both.

BEAST WITH A GUN is a nasty bit of crime-drama cinema in keeping with similar Italian films of the period. Berger plays his vicious role with gusto. He's pretty scary!

Co-stars the breathtakingly gorgeous Marisa Mell...

This is surprisingly a decent crime thriller... really better than I was anticipating it to be. The film is a graphic violent crime-thriller - scary to watch.

Richard Harrison is the tough police inspector Giulio Santini. He's out to get a prison escapee named Vitali (Helmut Berger) and his gang. Vitali and gang goes on a spree of rape, rob and murder. The gang is very much afraid of Vitali and will do whatever he says - even things they do not care to do for they fear Vitali's violence against them.

I got this movie in the 50-pack Drive-in collection. It's one of the better films in the pack. I'm glad they added it, the film is good.

7/10

Helmut Berger gives a gritty performance as a sadistic killer. Unfortunately there are two kinds of punishment being dished out, Helmut's and that which the audience must suffer. The police work in "Beast With a Gun" is mortally laughable, and the stilted dialog in the dubbed version rivals that in the worst "Godzilla" movie. Berger's deranged killer, and a nice Morricone-like score save this from being just another Italian crime flick. So, if you can throw logic out the window, cringe a bit with each spoken word, and suspend disbelief, you might be ready to watch this gloriously sleazy tale of robbery, rape, and revenge. - MERK

Known as Mad Dog Killer and Beast With A Gun, my print comes up with the title, Furious Mad Dog Killer and I have to say all titles are appropriate. This is not sophisticated film making by any means but does, as they say, what it says on the can. Little story, just an angry young man determined to do with his gun what he is going to do and even rape the co-star along the way. Helmut Berger is excellent in the lead and fully convinces as the near lunatic, Mad Dog or Killer of the titles. Marisa Mell is also effective and not quite as dumb as the females often seem to have to be in these Italian crime movies. The police are as dumb as usual, even if led by the charismatic, Richard Harrison. Tough. Mean and fast moving.

I'm not sure which title I like more but this film does indeed have a certain special charm to it. No, it is not outstanding or anything superlative like that, but it is rather enjoyable to watch as a crook/killer gets out of prison to wreak havoc and revenge on those responsible for putting him there in the first place. Helmut Berger is the best thing about this film as he plays a violent, sadistic psychopath with the best of them. He has no heart whatsoever and is quite something to see. His scenes in the abandoned warehouse and with newly acquired "moll" the beautiful Marisa Mell particularly stand out. Muscle-bound Richard Harrison, who you might remember from some older sword and sandal movies, plays the cop out to protect himself and his family. Like another reviewer noted, the script and plot have some obvious problems, but the pace and delivery more than offset those inadequacies. If you want some good, old-fashioned Italiam crime atmosphere then Mad Dog or Beast with a Gun is for you.