Mister Scarface

Italian gangster film from cult director Fernando Di Leo

This film, which is well worth seeing and is also known as "I padroni della citta" or "Mister Scarface", was released in Italian cinemas on December 3rd, 1976 and in West German cinemas on December 9th, 1977. "ZWEI SUPERTYPEN RÄUMEN AUF / Two Super Guys Clean Up" is the last film from the very innovative production company Daunia 80, which, with director Fernando Di Leo, produced such classics of the Italian gangster film (poliziotteschi) as "Milano Caliber 9" (1972), "La mala ordina / The Mafia Boss - They Kill Like Jackals " (1972) - by the way, both with a magnificent and uninhibited EUROPEAN FILM AWARD nominee Mario Adorf - and of course "Il Boss / Der Teufel führt Regie" (1973) brought to the cinema.

This film is about Tony (Harry Baer), a young mafia money collector who, although he can casually cruise around Rome in his buggy, is not satisfied with his position in the mafia hierarchy. The likeable and actually rather slight rascal is such a sophisticated pugilist that he can beat any opponent to the ground, which can also be seen in detail. One day the opportunity arises to get one over on one of the big names in the underworld (delightfully nasty: the future Oscar winner Jack Palance as Manzari or Mister Scarface). Tony promptly gets caught up in the conflict between various gangs, which he tries to outsmart together with the experienced underworld agent Vincenzo Napoli (Vittorio Caprioli). They get support from another cool kid named Ric (Al Cliver), who isn't particularly into beatings, but can shoot remarkably well and still has a mysterious score to settle from the past. The beautiful Clara plays a smaller role (played by the enchanting Gisela Hahn, who also gets to sing a song herself here - probably T'amo lo stesso), who is good friends with both guys. What's worth noting is that Tony and Ric could also pass as a couple. Slight homoerotic undertones can definitely be heard. Edmund Purdom and Peter Berling, who also co-wrote the script, can also be seen in other roles.

This film is really fun! Great atmosphere, lots of action, hearty fights and a sophisticated villain! Not quite as strong as Di Leo's three masterpieces mentioned above, but definitely worth seeing!

An astonishing discovery is the German actor Harry Baer in one of the main roles, who fights his way through the underworld in a cool and charming way that you can't help but be amazed by. Born in 1947, Baer worked a lot at the beginning of his career with successful director Rainer Werner Fassbinder (e.g. "Götter der Pest" (1970) and many others), but is still present and has also appeared in "Feuchtgebiete" (2012 ) played along.

The beautiful Gisela Hahn (born 1943) is known for her appearances alongside Brad Harris (KOMMISSAR X / SIE NANNTEN IHN ZAMBO).

Peter Berling (1934-2017) could also be seen alongside the powerful Giancarlo Prete in the beating suit "Alle für einen - Prügel für alle" (1973), for which he also wrote the screenplay, and in the classics "The Marriage of Maria Braun" (1979), "The Name of the Rose" (1986) and "Homo Faber" (1991).

What went wrong here? Fernando Di Leo drops the ball in a meandering crime film that takes almost fifty minutes to get anywhere and doesn't feature any particularly interesting characters. All Jack Palance does is scowl with a cigarette in his mouth, something you've seen him do in a dozen other films.

It starts out with a kid witnessing his father being killed by Jack Palance, then we fast forward to the present (seventies Rome), where Tony works for local mob guy Luigi (played by a very pale Edmund Purdom). Tony wants to work the big leagues and ends up teaming up with Al Cliver, a guy who until recently worked for Palance. I guess the mystery is figuring out which one of them was the kid at the start of the film.

The first two thirds of the film concentrate on these two scamming Palance while also fighting with Purdom's second in command, and the main problem is neither of the leads are that interesting. The only character with any depth is the old Neopolitan pickpocket who gets caught up in the all the madness. For some reason though his character has an over the top Italian accent whilst everyone else is dubbed American.

Most of the action takes place in the last half hour of the film, where finally everyone gets their guns out. This is where Al Cliver shines as he's not the best at being emotional, but at least he looks cool gunning people down. The whole film seems a bit tired and it's as if Di Leo didn't know where to take the story, and as there's about a million Eurocrime films from 1976, this one doesn't quite cut it.

Fernando Di Leo's 1974 'Rulers of the City' is a delightful find among the gems of Italian cinema. The film is fast paced. It is, in hindsight, a gentle send up of the gangster genre. Remember took his treatment of spaghetti westerns to the urban turf, and, under all the grime and grit, he brings a comic turn. The cast is international: Harry Baer (Tony)is German; Jack Palance (Mr. Scarface)American; Al Cliver a Cairo-born Italian; and Vittorio Caprioli (Napoli) Italian. All things considered, it should come as no surprise that a German should appear in an Italian film. Remember, Visconti's casting of Alain Delon and his lover Helmut Schmidt. Italy was a haven for Americans: Italian directors brought out the hidden talent of some actors rarely seen in America. Richard Basehart in Fellini's 'la Strada'or Clint Eastwood who found an exit from a dead-end career in the US in Leone's spaghetti westerns as did Lee Van Clef. De Leo used well the image of Palance's face which incarnates the evil of loan sharks, and within he got an actor who could speak Italian. Baer brings the youthful elan of wanting to make it big and quick as a 'tax collector' though his fists and his intelligence. Cliver with a face of a fallen angel seeks revenge with a natural quickness and understanding of a finely tuned intelligence. And of course in Caprioli, he well used a finely turned the finely tuned sense of comedy and the wiliness of an old fox. The film opens up with a dreamlike sequence that as the quickly paced story is the key to its denouement. There is only one thing for you to do: rush out, find a copy of 'Rulers of the City', sit back and enjoy it!

I had first watched this on the big screen as part of the Italian B-movie retrospective held during the 2004 Venice Film Festival (where 6 features by Di Leo were shown); back then, I didn't like it - rating it ** and feeling that it was rather unbalanced by the vulgar comedy relief (though typical of Italian films during this era), especially when compared to the director's other relatively more sober stuff (which had proved my first encounter with his work)!

Watching it again as part of a mini-tribute to its star, Jack Palance (who passed away recently), I found myself a lot more receptive to it; Di Leo dabbled most often in the crime genre and, as can be deduced from the title, this one falls into that category: the plot, dealing with a gang war (one faction controlled by Palance and the other by Edmund Purdom), is no great shakes but, at its centre is a revenge plan involving Palance and young misfit Al Cliver (whose identity is unknown to the 'boss'); this element gives it an undeniable edge, and the exciting climax takes place at a massive abandoned slaughterhouse - where an old betrayal and murder had taken place.

As is typical of the director, the action is pretty constant and always dynamic - aided by a fine eclectic score by Luis Enrique Bacalov; there's a discreet amount of nudity and, as I said, a slight overdose of comedy: however, as I watched more films by Di Leo (totaling nine so far), I realized that this was basically an idiosyncrasy of his (evident even in a straight melodrama such as LA SEDUZIONE [1973]) but, in any case, I generally appreciated its style of humor now - especially when delivered by Di Leo regular Vittorio Caprioli (my favorite bit occurs towards the end, when he shoots the bad guys at close range with a bunch of guns he purchased for an eventual showdown but, constantly missing the mark, reasons to himself that the weapons must be defective and, therefore, he ought to return them and file a complaint to boot!).

Palance is suitably sinister and imposing - even if he probably spends more time being had, so to speak, than dishing it out! In the end, what's missing from the film vis-a'-vis Di Leo's other genre work is a strong hero (i.e. a credible opponent to Palance) in the vein of Gastone Moschin (from THE CONTRACT [1972]), Mario Adorf (from THE Italian CONNECTION [1972]) and Henry Silva (from WIPEOUT! [1973])...

I have to admit that I collected this one because it had Fernando di Leo writing and directing, but got around to watching it because I just couldn't fathom the way the reviews are love it/hate it. I still don't get that. My best WAG is that the Italian and American releases are *very* different. I watched the original Italian release with English subtitles.

There are better ones in the genre, but only a bit so. It never failed in any important way, imho. Elements were really, really great. The location shots were divine. Sitting there with some venison bolognese and a glass of red wine, you could just *wallow* in some of the location scenery. For those with marginal Italian, it was one of the easiest to understand I've ever watched. Barely needed the subtitles. That's a good comment on it, compared with other Italian crime flicks. It's very straight ahead. Not so predictable as to be boring, but what you see is what you get and that's quite satisfying.

I thought the humor was well done, never over the top or distracting. And, unlike a lot of token crime film humor...it was funny. Every now and then you say, "Wait...how?...oh", but rather than being a continuity problem I thought that gave it a real-life kind of feel. Bits that would have been dragged out forever in most any movie, boom!, just happen, again giving it a real life effect. Other bits are drawn out. Well balanced, on balance, I thought.

So, I just don't understand the negative reviews on this one. It has to be that the American release is very different and really crap. Most the negative reviews I've seen have been in connection with the "Fernando di Leo Crime Collection" DVD. I collected all the ones on that release from the original Italian ones, so I don't know anything about it, but I'm thinking it could be a poor release of this movie. I'll stand by my opinion that there is nothing in the world wrong or not to like about the Italian release of this one. Light hearted at times, it's not lightweight by any stretch.