Le Salopard

An offbeat entry in the Italian crime genre that features elaborate flourishes of brilliance here and there but becomes increasingly disappointing as the story progresses. I love polizia movies and there's every reason to love this one too, from the reliable cast members to Silvio Narizzano's confident direction, but the story seems to lose focus as the running time increases and come the end there's a whimper rather than a bang.

It's a pity, because things kick off with a robbery followed by a blistering car chase which is one of the best I've seen in a long time. Once the robbers have become unwitting kidnappers, however, things really start to lose their way. The presence of the hostage would, you think, add to increased suspense and ransom demands, but none of this ever takes place and the police barely register. Instead, the plot meanders its way across the Italian countryside as Telly Savalas chews the scenery and Franco Nero contributes an oddly subdued turn.

The film's attempts to become a psychological drama fail thanks to the distractingly over the top cast members. Mark Lester's plummy British accent is an irritant to even this British viewer, while Savalas adopts a grating Southern accent (hence the title) which is truly irritating to listen to. In fact, I refuse to believe Savalas put this excruciating voice on himself and I prefer to think he's been dubbed. Nero, who gave such good value throughout his career as a leading man, is miscast as a clumsy robber and scenes like the one where he accidentally drops his gun are never believable for an instant.

An inexplicable interlude, set at night with no lighting, means that a full twenty minutes of the plot takes place in almost complete darkness and by this stage I was starting to lose my patience. Things do pick up occasionally when Savalas commits further depravities – the interlude with the German campers is a highlight – but his antics pale in comparison to the likes of Tomas Milian in ALMOST HUMAN and ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY WEAPON, where the scriptwriters and director knew how to play up their star to his full potential. In the case of REDNECK, it feels like a missed opportunity.

I actually went into this film with some expectations, not because I thought the film sounded particularly good, but because I'm a fan of Italian exploitation flicks and with a cast that sees Franco Nero and Telly Savalas starring alongside Oliver Twist, I figured it had to be interesting at least. Well...RedNeck does have one or two positive things going on, but for the most part; it's a dull, lifeless film that is as ridiculous as it is pointless. The plot simply focuses on two criminals (Nero and Savalas) who kidnap a young kid (Oliver). The twist in the tale is that the kid realises that he'd have more fun if he gets accepted into the 'gang'. Telly Savalas and Franco Nero are two actors that have proved they can carry a film on their own on numerous occasions, and they do have some memorable moments in this film - although really for all the wrong reasons. Savalas in particular gives a silly portrayal of the 'bad' criminal. The plot doesn't flow badly, but since nothing interesting happens, that's not really a positive point and doesn't save from the film from being mediocre. Overall, I can't recommend this film; it may appeal to some for its cult value but it didn't do anything for me.

A pair of thieves called Mosquito (Franco Nero) and Memphis (an extreme Tour-De-Force by Telly Savalas) pull off a heist into a jewelry but it goes wrong . Both of them along with their accomplice called Maria (Ely Galleani) escape and take a car where is hidden a little boy (Mark Lester , also producer) . They are pursued and attempt to cross the border into France . Memphis thinks his colleagues may have double-crossed him , so he goes on the lam with the boy in tow and he carries out a criminal spree .

This is a thrilling tale with a twisted screenplay by D'Amico and Wells based on a story by Rafael Sanchez Campoy ; it contains psychological characterization , grisly killings , tense situations , excitement , though resulting to be a mediocre flick dealing with a failed theft and the thieves take it on the lam after the heist goes awry . This thriller has some delirious components, most notably the interpretation and the quirky roles , but is low on real emotions and high on scenery chewing and strangeness . It's atmospheric and slickly developed ; however extremely nasty characters and dark disturbing scenes create an inappropriate film . There are moments worth highlighting though like the violent theft and escape , a great sequence where Memphis terrorises a family of German tourists with unexpected and tragic results . This is an offbeat as well as far-fetched picture realized in unlikely style portraying lurid events . Telly Savalas steals the show as a wacko with ominous purports , though sometimes hands the role overblown and overacting way , as filmmaker Silvio Narizzano proved unable to control him . Average cinematography by Giorgio Tonti , being necessary a right remastering because of the copy of the film is washed-out . Atmosheric musical score by Maurizio Catalano and John Cavacas .

The motion picture was middlingly produced and directed by Canadian-born director Silvio Narizzano . He gained high reputation for his shooting of human dramas , as from the mid-1950's, worked in British television in a variety of genres ranging from thrillers and horror to serious dramatic works . Silvio subsequently filmed a Hammer film titled ¨Fanatic¨ with Tallulah Bankhead and his best picture was ¨Georgy Girl¨ with Lynn Redgrave . He also had successes with ¨Why shoot the teacher ?¨ and ¨The class of Miss MacMichael¨ ; however failed directing a Western titled ¨Blue¨ with Terence Stamp . The rest of career has been uneven to say the least and it often seems that he has followed over-heating his movies to fever level such as ¨Rednecks¨ also titled ¨Senza Ragione¨.

...I'll take this almost intolerably nasty 1972 Italian drive-in movie, which features Mark Lester (of OLIVER! fame) as a kidnap victim who gets into scrapes that, in their uncut version, would probably get this movie in Federal chickenhawk-busting trouble today. Franco Nero and Telly Savalas are the two conscienceless galoots who are the movie's anti-heroes; Savalas re-ups his giggling hillbilly cretin from THE DIRTY DOZEN, here caricatured to beyond a fare-thee-well. Savalas is the cherry on the cake of what may be the most remarkable set piece in all seventies Italian exploitation: calming a tourist family, packing them in their mobile home, then untethering the trailer and singing a gospel hymn as the terrified Germans plunge into the drink. If I'm not misremembering, there may be a little jig involved here as well.

In the mid-1970s, my NYC apt. building was finally wired for cable-TV and since Showtime (instead of HBO) was the only premium channel offered showing recent movies, I signed up for it. Being a writer and night-owl by nature, I soon discovered the channel was showing movies late at night and until the wee hours of the morning I'd never even heard of--most of them American independent films and foreign films that had never been given a U.S. theatrical release. Many of them had recognizable "star" casts and respectable directors, and thanks to Showtime, I discovered many first-rate films I (and other Showtime subscribers) would never else have had the opportunity to see. Most of these cinematic mongrels were indeed "dogs" but often so bad they were unintentionally hilarious. One night, Showtime unveiled a little Italian-made gem called "Redneck" (filmed in 1972, given a limited European release in 1973). Even though the movie had never been released in the U.S., the MPAA rating was listed as an 'R'. Since the director was one Sylvio Narizzano (the director who made his name with the glorious "Georgy Girl"), and the three leads were Mark ("Oliver") Lester, Fabio Testi and Telly Savalas, I decided to give it a try. And found myself nailed to my TV screen in disbelief for 89 minutes. As I recall, Savalas and Testi played two criminals, the former a raging maniac who, in one stomach-churning scene, casually sent a German family to their deaths by nudging their trailer off a cliff, thereby plunging to the wilderness depths below. So far, so bad. Then, out of nowhere, Testi (as the "nice" psycho) and Lester (all of 14 when the movie was made) are seen, both nude, in a men's room, Testi sneaking peeks at the kid's body while shaving, and poor confused Lester fixated on close-ups of Testi's naked butt. As a not-yet-jaded member of the movie industry, and a card-carrying liberal (I was as much against censorship then as I am today), the entire movie made me queasy (and, being the early '70s when I thoughtI'd seen everything in the anything-goes movies of that liberated era--including the uncut version of Altman's "That Cold Day in the Park", a real jaw-dropper until it was trimmed for an 'R' rating and would have spelled The End for Altman's career had he not next come up with something called "M*A*S*H"), I still wonder if anyone else except me ever saw "Redneck" and was appalled as I was. Trashing the actors and movie-going audiences is joy maladjusted filmmakers have been merrily indulging in since the beginning of time. But leeringly exploiting a highly respected and talented child actor (Mr. Lester) at a time when he was beginning to make the difficult transaction from child to adult actor (and I'm sure his film offers had thereby dwindled to meretricious junk like "Redneck")...Mr. Narizzano, you should be hanging your head in shame. (Incidentally, I was soon to make friends with actors who had appeared in Narizzano's future, undistinguished efforts. They both despised him. Surprise?)