When his sister stops writing to him, Stefano travels to Rome to investigate. Soon after his arrival he befriends Erica, a young woman who claims to know his sister and can explain her disappearance. However, it's not long before Stefano is dragged into the seedy Rome nightlife and gets mixed up with a gang … Continue reading White Menace/Lebbra Bianca (1951)
Crime
Redemption/Riscatto (1953)
Folco Lulli plays the troubled Maremmano (lit. 'sheep dog' which actually has some 'bite' in Italian but sounds thoroughly flat in English), a seemingly petty criminal who has spent most of his life in and out of jail. Stubborn to the last, his crisis of conscience finally comes when he's placed in a cell with two … Continue reading Redemption/Riscatto (1953)
Francois the Smuggler/Francois il Contrabbandiere (1953)
An early crime thriller from 1953 starring Roberto Mauri, a veteran director who appears to have started his career as a modestly successful actor. Here he plays the title character, Francois, a smuggler who returns to his home port after a long spell in hiding with his faithful sidekick Johnny. Due Fogli Poster
Jailbirds/Avanzi di Galera (1955)
Released in 1955, director Vittorio Cottafavi's tales of life after prison is structured as an anthology with three self-contained stories, each one describing the trials and tribulations of a recently discharged prisoner - the jailbirds of the title. The second episode is probably most notable for its plot which bears some similarity to Fernando Di … Continue reading Jailbirds/Avanzi di Galera (1955)
Trapped in Tangiers/Agguato a Tangeri (1957)
John Milwood has been dating Mary for some time but her father, the wealthy Henry Bovelasco, manages to separate them. John start hanging out Gonzales' bar, in reality a drug dealer who is forced to ask for his help disposing of the body of an American agent. In reality John is also a federal agent … Continue reading Trapped in Tangiers/Agguato a Tangeri (1957)
Lost Souls/Vite Perdute (1959)
WIP
The Mafiosi/I Mafiosi (1959)
Robbery in the West District/Rapina al Quartiere Ovest (1960)
Two criminals rob a bank but one of them gets stuck trying to climb a security gate during the getaway and is killed by his partner to prevent him from talking to the police. Hiding out in a house owned by the girlfriend of the deceased accomplice, the criminal tries to escape with the haul … Continue reading Robbery in the West District/Rapina al Quartiere Ovest (1960)
Call 22-22, Call Lieutenant Sheridan/Chiamate 22-22, Chiamate Tenente Sheridan (1960)
Broadcast as part of the hugely popular television series Giallo Club which debuted the year before in 1959. The stories centred around Lieutenant Sheridan from the San Francisco homicide squad, played by theatre and television actor Ubaldo Lay. Due to the overwhelming success of the series, Inspector Sheridan went on to become a major television … Continue reading Call 22-22, Call Lieutenant Sheridan/Chiamate 22-22, Chiamate Tenente Sheridan (1960)
A Child of the Times/Un Figlio D’Oggi (1961)
Buried deep in between some comedies (and yet more comedies) in Marino Girolami's extensive filmography is this downbeat crime-thriller, thinly masquerading as a morality tale, not too dissimilar to the American juvenile delinquency movies which were enjoying a modest success at around the same time. The bleak tone of the film, with murder and blackmail … Continue reading A Child of the Times/Un Figlio D’Oggi (1961)
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