Mr. Ricco

I always enjoy watching '70's movies, even when it are bad ones. '70's movies always have a certain atmosphere and are made with a great style of movie-making, that is realistic, gritty and straightforward and also always makes uses of some experimental, non-formulaic techniques when it comes down to its storytelling and cinematography, among other things. "Mr. Ricco" might not the the best '70's movies around, it still is a good example of good old film-making from the golden '70's.

The movie its story is quite messy and weak but still made look interesting at times, due to its style of film-making. It provided the movie with a couple of nice moments, including a typical '70's-like car chase trough the streets of San Fransico.

San Fransico serves as a pretty good backdrop for the entire movie, as it always does in any movie.

The storytelling makes sure that is hard to keep track on the movie, with as a result that all the movie its weaker points become less notable as well. The movie its story is actually quite unlikely and ridicules at points but due to the muddled way the entire story is told, it becomes less obvious and notable all. Lots of things don't really make sense in the movie once you start really thinking about them and to make it all the more confusing, the movie features many, unneeded, characters, that don't add enough to the movie and only provide the story with some needless and distracting subplots.

Dean Martin of course already had his best years behind him but he still puts down a pretty good main character for the movie. The character is well developed and deepened out more thanks to Dean Martin's performance, who makes the character likable, by playing him mostly in a non-likable way.

The movie on all accounts is a pretty average one. Nothing too exceptional, just another good enough movie from the golden '70's but you're just as good off watching a "Law & Order" episode, or something along those lines.

6/10

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Like most people, I reckon, I primarily know Dean Martin as the singer of numerous Christmas Carols or as the performer of many legendary soundtrack tunes like "You're nobody till somebody loves you", "That's Amore" or "Ain't that a kick in the head". Not being a fan of the Rat Pack or comedy flicks starring Jerry Lewis, the only supportive films roles I've seen Martin in were "Airport" and "The Cannonball Run", so I was quite curious to see him appear in a thriller; - let alone a raw, gritty and violent mid-70s exploitation thriller!

But "Mr. Ricco" is a very competent and unjustly obscure thriller, with a solid and convincing role for Dean Martin! Although suffering from occasional slow-pacing and plot-predictability, "Mr. Ricco" is a compelling and suspenseful story about cops and lawyers, and more particularly about the tensions that arise when thugs, after they get acquitted by their sly attorneys, immediately revert back to committing crimes. The case even becomes extra sensitive when the crime in question is homicide of police officers. One of the main themes/morals of the film is that policemen should always uphold the law rather than acting as judge, jury and executioner themselves. This was quite a heavy and courageous theme in the contemporary cinematic era, especially since the formula of unorthodox macho coppers ("Dirty Harry", "The French Connection", ...) was so popular and commercially beneficiary. There are several good action sequences in "Mr. Ricco", but still the most powerful moments remain those where Ricco's friendship with police commissioner Cronyn (Eugene Roche) is put under pressure. The relatively unknown but experienced director Paul Bogart makes good use of the San Franciscan locations, but many scenes during the middle section are dull and redundant. The supposed twist-ending is far too easy to guess, but it's nevertheless presented in a pleasingly raw and violent fashion. This film may not stand out in the crowd of 70s action-thrillers, but it's a lot more intelligent than it looks and definitely worth seeking out!

One last word of advise for Joe Ricco: when you're almost out of toothpaste, you have to roll up the tube from the bottom...

Take this movie for what it is -- an older Dean in a 1970's sleuth style San Francisco Drive In cop feature (with shades of Bullitt and Dirty Harry, altho Dean plays a lawyer) and you'll have 90+ minutes of fun. Lots of recognizable actors from 60s and 70s films, a script that at least follows the plot and has a good outcome (unlike many films of its day), and some good nostalgic shots of older cars, SF landmarks how grand life used to be before cell phones and hand held electronics invaded our lives. In short -- I loved it for what it was: A time capsule. Dean does look a little frazzled and aged, but he's still Dino -- and the relationship he has with his loyal dog is pretty sweet. Look for the scene where Martin, who in real life was a sensational, nearly champion golfer, pokes fun at himself not being able to sink a series of simple putts.

San Francisco defense attorney Joe Ricco (Dean Martin) gets his black militant client Frankie Steele (Thalmus Rasulala) free from murder charge and then Steele murders two cops. Ricco's friend's young son is the witness identifying Steele. Jamison (Cindy Williams) is his faithful assistant. His friend George Cronyn (Eugene Roche) is the police detective in charge of the case. During a raid of Steele's group, the Black Serpents, an unarmed Calvin Mapes is killed by a cop and his brother Purvis Mapes (Philip Michael Thomas) is framed with a planted drop-gun.

Who is Joe Ricco? That's the main question left hanging. Dean Martin is basically out of his elements. He's not doing much with the character and it's not asking much from him. He's in a perpetual hangover but he's never shown drunk. It reminds me of The Verdict with aging actors doing flawed aging lawyers. The comparison is not in Martin's favor. He's old and tired which fits the character but it's not terribly compelling. This has the slower 70's pacing without the action to jack up the intensity and the acting to create more depth. It's on the border and I put it slightly below grade.

Dean Martin's final lead role has somehow managed to slip under the radar of his fans and 70s crime thriller aficionados. Watching this, I expected to find some critical flaw that accounts for it, but found none. Maybe playing against genre expectations hurt the reception. To me that is not a flaw.

Like others have said, this is a very 70s movie. This time the renegade is not a cop but a defense lawyer. Cop is not the law, he's there to enforce it, is the running theme. There are delightful gags involving Ricco's dog that could be from Columbo, and Dino makes fun of his own golf playing. Cindy Williams plays a spunky aid that Ricco tries to help find a man. Philip Michael Thomas of Miami Vice fame has a memorable early performance.

Inspite of the mellow insider group, pay attention to the case. The action is on the streets. Not much happens inside a courtroom. You may think you are about to see an open and shut case, but there are twists and turns. There are clues as well. To avoid spoilers, avoid Robert Ebert's review that misses the point.