L'uomo della strada fa giustizia

Italian vigilante thriller starring Henry Silva and Luciana Paluzzi

A year after the sensational success of "Ein Mann schlägt zurück / A Man Strikes Back" (1974) with Franco Nero and Giancarlo Prete, successful director Umberto Lenzi brought this alternative to Enzo G. Castellari's film to Italian cinemas (May 8, 1975). Lenzi's film, which in English should actually be called "A man from the street ensures justice", is a tough vigilante police film that was shot in Milan and distributed by the renowned Titanus film distributor.

At the beginning it's pretty tough! During a robbery at a jewelry store, Vera (Luciana Paluzzi) and Davide Vannucchi's (Henry Silva) sweet little daughter (Susanna Melandri) is brutally shot. The completely desperate parents become more and more dissatisfied with the police investigation, so Vennucchi and his publisher friend (Silvano Tranquilli) do their own research. The architect increasingly develops vigilante intentions and comes into contact with a group of self-proclaimed crime fighters (Claudio Gora, Luciano Catenacci). His frightened wife and the level-headed police inspector (Raymond Pellegrin) try to stop Davide from the worst...

A very exciting film that doesn't skimp on the brutality you'd expect from Italian genre films and also offers a few other surprises. Umberto Lenzi, who has already appeared in many genres (historical film with Hildegard Knef in "Catherine of Russia" (1963) / adventure film with Steve Reeves as "Sandokan" (1963) and various gialli with the fabulous Carroll Baker (So sweet...so perverse , Knife of Ice)) was on the way, Here too, he does a remarkable job. Above all, he knows how to direct his excellent cast.

Henry Silva, who also knew how to impress in the Mario Adorf classic "LA mala ordina / The Mafia Boss - They Kill Like Jackals", "Il Boss / Der Teufel führt Regie / The Devil Is Directing" and "Poliziotti violenti / Blutiger Schweiß / Bloody Sweat" with Antonio Sabato, is not quite as good as a grieving father, but He's fantastic as a killing vigilante.

The Roman Luciana Paluzzi, born in 1937, who was married to the American actor Brett Halsey before he married German EUROVISION star Heidi Brühl (1942-1991), is best known as the best and most beautiful Bond villain of all time in "Thunderball" (1965). She was also in "La mala ordina / The Mafia Boss - They Kill Like Jackals" and alongside Antonio Sabato in "Calling All Police Cars" (1975). Here she impresses as a grieving and desperate mother.

Luciano Catenacci (1933-1990), who was once "promoted" to an actor as director Mario Bava's production manager, is only represented in a small role, but his face has been known since his appearances as "Chefchen" in "Zwei außer Rand und Band / Two Out of Order " (1976) and "Zwei sind nicht zu bremsen / Two Can't Be Stopped" (1978), when he was so impressively beaten by Bud Spencer and Terence Hill, are unforgettable.

A typical poliziottesco! A typical 70s film! Definitely a must see for fans of the genre!

It's not often Umberto Lenzi shows restraint, but I'm really glad that he cut away right before those mobsters shoved a huge candle up that transvestite's arse.

This poor transgender person wouldn't have suffered such a fate if it wasn't for Henry Silva, but then how was Henry supposed to know that his endless search for the guy who killed his daughter would have negative consequences? His kid gets shot during an armed robbery (for no reason either - the robbers just let a couple of bullets fly while heading out the door), and now Henry has a single clue to go on, and no faith in the Italian police.

I thought it was a bit harsh that Henry got fired from his job while grieving for his kid, but that just left Henry more time to get madder and madder while watching the country go to pot as he's harassed by bikers, sees men drool over his wife, and sees a guy stealing stuff from a street market. To be fair, he does give that guy a right good kicking. How can Henry (eventually) get to the people who killed his kid?

Turns out he has a few allies - his friend is newspaper editor Silvano Tranquilli is one, and although the cops aren't too good at finding the killers, the chief inspector tries to be as sympathetic as possible. There's also the semi-sinister vigilante group who like to smash people's hands with sledgehammers. Lenzi doesn't pull away from that so consider yourself warned.

This film is kind of like Enzo Castellari's Street Law, but not quite as good. Henry Silva always makes a great killing machine, but lacks a little of emotion as a grieving father. Plus, he isn't really let off the leash until the end of the film. I can see that Lenzi was aiming for something with a bit more characterization here, but both his and Silva's strengths lie in all out action.

A man's daughter is killed by thieves during a bank robbery. Due to the incompetence of the corrupt authorities, he decides to take to law into his own hands and track down the killers, who seem to be a gang who sport a scorpion insignia.

This Umberto Lenzi directed poliziotteschi stars Henry Silva. Like several other Italian crime-thrillers from the mid 70's this one shows the influence of Death Wish. In it, a stony faced Silva is the equivalent of Charles Bronson. He makes his way through the entire picture in a seriously bad mood. The movie itself is extremely cynical in its view of the Italian law enforcement authorities, who are shown to be utterly useless. There is even a vigilante group who try to get Silva to go along with their way of thinking but they seem to have a somewhat heavy handed set of methods in dealing with undesirables and even Silva thinks they are a bunch of nutters that are best avoided.

Manhunt in the City is a pretty standard crime-thriller. It's mostly unremarkable but competently made nevertheless. For fans of poliziotteschi flicks it will no doubt entertain because it is essentially more of the same. Of additional note is the alternately smooth and urgent score from the reliable Bruno Nicolai, which adds some extra quality.

Revenge, vigilante squads, police brutality, excessively violent heists going awry … These are all very popular and frequently used themes in the wonderful universe of exploitation cinema from the '70s! All these badass themes may have featured in Hollywood classics first (like "Dirty Harry", "The French Connection" or "Death Wish") but it were the genius producers & directors from Italy that capitalized on the audiences' hunger for blood and violence the most! Throughout the gloriously decadent 70s decade, Italy spawned literally more than hundred so-called "Poliziotteschi" movies and (almost) every single one of them is worth tracking down. One of the directors who reigned over this sub-genre was Umberto Lenzi. Even though this "Manhunt in the City" cannot really compete with the best titles he has directed (those would be "Almost Human", "Rome Armed to the Teeth" and "Violent Naples"), it's nevertheless another mature, harsh and exciting thriller. The born in New York actor Henry Silva starred in so many of these films that most people probably think he's an actual Italian! Here, Silva impressively depicts the tormented and heart-broken father David Vannucchi whose innocent 8-year-old daughter relentlessly got killed by gangsters during a jewelry heist. Like all citizens of Milan, Vannucchi thinks that the police don't make enough efforts to reduce crime and capture criminals, so he starts his own private investigation to find his daughter's killers. His search leads to dubious vigilante organizations, sleazy night clubs and drug traffickers, but also brings him in mortal danger. His ex-wife Vera and the tolerant Police Inspector beg him to stop, but Vannucchi's urge for justice is unstoppable. In comparison to the vast majority of Poliziotteschi movies, "Manhunt in the City" features relatively few virulent car chases, brutish shootouts and general perversion. Instead of all that, Lenzi comes up with an intelligent script that touches upon several sensitive but socially relevant themes and a truly unexpected and perplexing end-twist. Seriously, the ending of "Manhunt in the City" can be used as evidence to state that Italian exploitation cinema is a lot cleverer than people (especially surly critics) think! Lenzi's direction is tight, the performances are excellent and Bruno Nicolai hits the exact right tone with a powerful score.

This film begins with a young girl helping to guide a blind man into a jewelry store in downtown Milan, Italy. Once they go inside, however, he immediately produces a gun and along with a few other accomplices proceeds to rob the store. Upon leaving the jewelry store he shoots the young girl and she dies just minutes later. Needless to say, her parents "Davide Vannucchi" (Henry Silva) and "Vera Vannucchi" (Luciana Paluzzi) are overcome with grief and cannot understand how something like this could happen to their little girl. Yet, even though they both want those responsible to be held accountable, Davide is not nearly as patient as his wife and insists on an aggressive investigation by the police. That said, when he realizes how incompetent and inept the police are, has to choose whether to join a local vigilante group or hire a private detective instead. However, when the private investigator gets too close to these criminals and is killed for his efforts, Davide decides to take matters into his own hands. What he doesn't count on, however, is the cost he and his wife will have to pay as a result. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was a decent Italian crime-drama which benefited from solid acting on the part of both Henry Silva and Luciana Paluzzi along with some good action and suspense as well. Admittedly, there are better "revenge movies" movies out there and Henry Silva isn't quite as good as someone like Charles Bronson or Clint Eastwood. But all things considered, he performed well enough for this particular film and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.