Le Bourreau de Venise

If you do not like low-budget, early 60s dubbed Italian costumed historical adventures, you won't like this one either. However, for fans of the genre, THE EXECUTIONER OF VENICE is top-notch entertainment with nice Venetian settings, lots of court intrigue and duplicity, and two of the finest American expatriate actors in 60s eurocinema--Lex Barker as the hero, Sandrigo Bembo, adopted son of the Doge of Venice, and Guy Madison as the tracherous grand inquisitor, Rodrigo Zeno. Director Luigi Capuano specialized in this sort of adventure in the early 60s, working with Barker in 1960s TERROR OF THE RED MASK, and after this film, making four films with Guy Madison. Just prior to this one, he made two with Gordon Scott--MASK OF THE MUSKETEERS and LION OF ST. MARK--that I recommend to fans of the genre. No great analysis is needed of THE EXECUTIONER OF VENICE. It's just a well-mounted but economical historical swashbuckler and the only European film where Barker and Madison are paired as equals. Regrettably, this copy is pan & scan, so some dramatic scenes between Madison and Barker feature Madison talking to an offscreen presence and the interesting set design is not as easy to appreciate as it should be, but until someone releases this in widescreen, it's worth searching out. The climax and ending are quite satisfying, the supporting cast is memorable (Mario Petri as the executioner whose story is quite complex, and Feodor Chaliapin Jr. as the aging, infirm, but sympathetic Doge of Venice), and it's great to see Madison as a pure manipulative villian with no redeeming values or tragic backstory. Barker looks great and must have been complimented that the role he is playing is that of a man at least a decade younger than Barker himself!

This is a great intrigue like from some of the great 19th century operas by the Italian masters, like Verdi and Ponchielli. The first scene introduces the two protagonists, father and son, without their knowing it, in a contest of force, where they have to axe a log, - who cuts the deepest is the winner. The father (Mario Petri) is the official executioner of Venice, a former pirate, and his son has been brought up by the doge (Feodor Chaliapin Jr!) as his own princely son, never suspecting his adoption. The crook of the play is the grand inquisitor (Guy Madison, slightly too handsome for the credibility of a grand inquisitor,) who is jealous of the doge's son who has won the heart of the beauty they both desire, Alessandra Panaro, and he finds out that he is actually the executioner's son. His intrigue amounts to the desired effect to have the executioner execute his own son to let the grand inquisitor acquire the bride, but you can't conceal the truth forever. An important supporting character is Giulio Marchetti as Sandrigo Bembo's (Lex Barker) blind mentor, who sees more than everyone else. To all this luxury of great action, dazzling adventure, flamboyant romanticism and all the magnificent beauty of Venice in a nutshell, is the splendid score by Carlo Rustichelli added, which aptly illustrates everything.

Costumed actioner set in the city and benefiting from being filmed in and around the canals. the plot has to do with intrigue concerning the titled character and the inquisition. Its a costumed swashbuckler of the sort they don't make any more and rarely did they ever look this good or have such a great sense of place. Its a shame that a good letterboxed version of this film doesn't seem to be out there since the pan and scan version I saw often had confrontations with invisible men (speaking characters have been chopped out of the frame). the cast headed, by Lex Barker and Guy Madison, is quite good, even when dubbed into English. Its a nice movie for a rainy afternoon, when you want to just sit and watch some adventures from a bygone time.

This movie tries to buckle the swash of the type of action costume drama that Errol Flynn, Burt Lancaster or Tyrone Power would headline for a Hollywood studio. For a product of the Spaghetti Western factories and their relatively limited budgets, the spectacle here is exceptional for sets, costumes and cast size. The big group clashes are well-staged, with clanging swords aplenty. And the whole thing comes in a tight 90-minute package, resisting the temptation to drag things out just because of how much they spent to create a lush Venice of yesteryear.

The bad is that Lex is a charisma-impaired hero compared to the aforementioned stars. He looks handsome and hunky enough, but his panache is pallid. Also, the script is about as paint-by-numbers as they come, including the seminal moment that turns the tide for the good guys. Don't watch this for a new experience. It can only satisfy as another bit of time spent in pleasantly familiar territory.

The weird - Anyone who grew up with Guy Madison as Wild Bill Hickock, or saw him as a hero in most of his other films will have some emotional whiplash watching him play this Machiavellian weasel. Even more unsettling in the English dubbed version is the wimpy, reedy voice used for him. Madison's voice was rich and resonant, making the dissonance even more distracting than the anti-type casting. If'n that don't bother you none, you might like this one more than I could.

Set during the Grand Inquisition, this is actually quite an entertaining little bit of Peplum. The Doge of Venice (Feodor Chaliapin Jr) has a handsome young son "Sandrigo" (Lex Barker) who has managed to irritate the Inquisitor "Zeno" (Guy Madison). The latter decides to frame the former for treason, and now it falls to Barker to save both himself and his father, whilst still keeping hold of his lady love "Leonora" (Alessandra Panaro). Luigi Capuano has packed quite a lot into ninety minutes here. The production standards are actually quite high, there is bundles of intrigue and swordplay, a soupçon of romance and Madison plays well as the baddie. The plot is pretty processional, the ending is never in doubt - but this is still quite a watchable action adventure that looks good and flows well.