Scacco alla mafia

Known in its English language version as DEFEAT OF THE MAFIA, this quirky Italian crime film is overly talky and inconsistent in tone, but has many distinctive touches about it, fine location photography, and an amazing performance by Victor Spinetti as the nervous, Milquetoast relative of an American girl who dies of a drug overdose in Italy...or so it seems. Actually, Spinetti's performance--as he evolves throughout the film and finally reveals his true identity--is a tour-de-force. Anthony Perkins is the only other actor I could imagine taking on a role like this in 1969. The "hero" of this film is a harried police inspector played by Pier Paolo Capponi (and voiced in English by someone who has voiced MANY Italo crime films and westerns), but Spinetti earns his top billing, and he makes what could have been a routine film a very interesting film. The film also uses multiple voiceovers by various characters, which is an odd technique that doesn't truly work (and is often the sign of an amateur screentwriter), but gives the film a far different feel most similar films which feature stoic, hard-boiled dialog. Overall, an interesting film...and a fine performance by Spinetti. Very difficult to find, however.