Sergio Fuentes is a poor Mexican fisherman who decides to make the perilous journey across the border into the USA to start a new life in the promised land. Unfortunately, his hopes and dreams are soon shattered as he witnesses the brutal injustices inflicted upon his fellow countrymen as they try to survive in the … Continue reading The Violent Side of New York/La Faccia Violenta di New York (1973)

Set during the prohibition era, small-time gangster Frank Mannata travels from his native Sicily to Chicago to join his brother and sister who run a massage parlor catering to a number of prominent establishment figures. Seizing the opportunity to expand their business by blackmailing their wealthy clients, the Mannata siblings soon begin building up a … Continue reading The True Story of Frank Mannata/La Vera Storia di Frank Mannata (1969)

A U.S. army deserter is blackmailed into assassinating a businessman but runs afoul of his employers and ends up on the run. With the Italian film industry on its last legs, Maurizio Merli plays against type and shrugs off his hard-boiled police inspector persona to play a softly spoken killer-for-hire. Unfortunately for Merli audiences were … Continue reading Seagulls Fly Low/I Gabbiani Volano Basso (1978)

'Serie Nera' was a series of French television films produced primarily in co-production with other European countries. In total there were 32 films and the series ran from 1984 to 1991 with most films based on novels by famous crime authors, in particular what the French dub 'polar' - or the more familiar 'poliziesco' in … Continue reading Death Insurance/Assicurazione Sulla Morte (1987)