Dino De Laurentiis | FRAGMENTEN UIT HET SCHEMERLAND

‘The Valachi Papers. Fact not Fiction’

Directed by:
Terence Young

Written by:
Peter Maas (book ‘Le Dossier Valachi’)
Dino Maiuri (screenplay)
Massimo De Rita (screenplay)

Cast:
Charles Bronson (Joe Valachi), Lino Ventura (Vito Genovese), Jill Ireland (Maria Reina Valachi), Walter Chiari (Gap), Joseph Wiseman (Salvatore Maranzano),
Gerald O’Loughlin (Ryan), Amedeo Nazzari (Gaetano Reina), Fausto Tozzi (Albert Anastasia), Pupella Maggio (Letizia Reina), Angelo Infanti (Lucky Luciano)

Joe Valachi is not a name that is spoken of with much respect in mob circles. He was the first Mafia rat and gave up the entire hierarchical structure of the Mafia to a crime committee. He revealed the five families of New York – Gambino, Lucchese, Colombo, Bonanno and Genovese – that were named after the ruling bosses at that time. This film tells Valachi’s life story. At the height of the Castellammarese war (1929 – 1931), the bold, small time crook Joseph ‘Joe Cargo’ Valachi joins the side of Don Salvatore Maranzano, an old Mustache Pete who is fighting a bloody war with his rival Joseph ‘Joe the Boss’ Masseria.

After the deaths of the two old Don’s, Valachi’s crime family evolves. First Lucky Luciano becomes boss, and after his imprisonment Vito Genovese takes over. In a Mafia-career spanning over 30 years, Valachi is involved with New York’s most legendary Mafia figures. He steals, frauds and murders for them, until finally the FBI manages to turn Genovese against Valachi in order for him to testify. He does so, and gives up his former associates along with all other major Cosa Nostra figures he knows of.

He becomes the first mob informer who makes sure that the existence of ‘La Cosa Nostra’ is no longer a secret for the public. Based on the novel by Peter Maas, The Valachi Papers was produced by Dino De Laurentiis in Italy with many scenes dubbed in English. It was directed by Terence Young, most well-known for directing the first official Bond movies. It came out in the same year as The Godfather, and helped to popularize the Mafia as a source of entertainment.

The Valachi Papers sticks to the steady pattern of the mob film; tough guys, half Italian dialogue, shoot-outs and violence (especially a castration scene is very brutal). Also the ‘rise and fall’ type of build-up has been done countless times. This is not the head of its class though. The beginning promises a rapid-pace movie, but after about 40 minutes, all the suspense has been drained from the script. Since the characters are not that fascinating to begin with, this becomes quite a doll viewing in the second half.

Rating:

Quote:
JOE VALACHI: “Senator, I am not talking about Italians. I am talking about the Mafia.”

Trivia:
In the final credits, it is stated that Joe Valachi outlived Vito Genovese by six months. It was actually two years.

FilmDungeon.com is glad to explore the video trenches to find that oddball treasure between the piles of crap out there. Off course a treasure in this context can also be a film that’s so shockingly bad it’s worth a look, or something so bizarre that cult fans just have to see it. Join us on our quest and learn what we learn. Hopefully we’ll uncover some well-hidden cult gems.

Researched by: Jeppe Kleijngeld

The Inglorious Bastards (Italy, 1978)
OT: Quel maledetto treno blindato

Directed by: Enzo G. Castellari
Written by: Sandro Continenza, Sergio Grieco, Franco Marotta,
Romano Migliorini, Laura Toscano
Cast: Bo Svenson, Peter Hooten, Fred Williamson, Michael Pergolani

Before Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, there was this WWII exploitation flick. A group of Dirty Dozen-like US soldiers get transported through France in order to be court-martialed. After they get ambushed by Germans, they manage to escape. They take one German hostage, who is to lead them to safe Switzerland. Underway they have to battle their way through hoards of Nazi’s and the US military. This film is characterized by loads of shoot-outs, explosions and humor. And of course some naked girls; every exploitation film needs a couple of those! The ‘Bastards’ (five in total) are well cast. Williamson is excellent as a badass motherfucker. While the movie never becomes truly great, it does manage to involve the viewer in the characters’ mission, and every time the glorious WWII music plays, you can’t help but cheer for these bastards.

EXTRA’S: As entertaining as the movie, is the excellent 38 minute discussion between Tarantino and director Enzo Castellari about their influences (Peckinpah) and the art of filmmaking.

The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle (Germany, 1963)
OT: Der würger von schloß Blackmoor

Directed by: Harald Fodor
Written by: Ladislas Fodor, Gustav Kampendonk, Bryan Edgar Wallace
Cast: Karin Dor, Harry Riebauer, Rudolt Fernau, Hans Nielsen

A hooded figure invades Blackmoor Castle, during a party held by the castle’s tenant Lucius Clark. The ‘Strangler’ threatens him and demands the diamonds back that Clark supposedly stole. He also leaves one man dead with a ‘M’ marked on his forehead. A Scotland Yard inspector comes over to the estate to investigate the murder. He discovers a plot around the diamonds and a confrontation with the killer ensues. This detective movie uses the build-up of a horror. This makes the beginning quite suspenseful, but it becomes a bit dull halfway through, when it turns out to be just another mediocre whodunit. Still, it is not totally without a sense of style and humor. The electronic soundtrack is made by Oskar ‘The Birds’ Sala.

Planet of Dinosaurs (USA, 1978)

Directed by: James K. Shea
Written by: Jim Aupperle, Ralph Lucas
Cast: James Whitworth, Pamela Bottaro, Louie Lawless, Harvey Shain

The DVD cover of Planet of Dinosaurs is a true masterpiece, but does the movie live up to it? That depends on your taste for campy stop-motion creature features. The story: a spaceship crash lands on a seemingly deserted planet. There are initially nine survivors that start to scout the area. Within two minutes, there are eight survivors left. They have landed on the planet of the apes with dinosaurs!! Some observations:
– Space effects in the beginning, ships and stuff, are very funny.
– The crew has ‘four lasers’. Hmmm…[cynical]cool.[/cynical]
– One of the last stop motion creature flicks. It’s not Harryhausen, but there is quite a lot of variety in prehistoric monsters. Only too bad they are somewhat static.
– The actors are as convincing as the dinosaurs.
– Lame dialogues and synthesizer score.

Worth watching? Yes, if you find this type of thing hilarious. Otherwise avoid.

Diabolik (Italy / France, 1968)

Directed by: Mario Bava
Written by: Mario Bava, Brian Degas, Tudor Gates, Arduino Maiuri
Cast: John Phillip Law, Marisa Mell, Michel Piccoli, Adolfo Celi

Adaptation from the Italian comic book series, produced by Dino De Laurentiis and directed by horror author Mario Bava, doing a wonderful job outside of his usual territory. John Phillip Law plays anti hero Diabolik, a masked super thief who steals riches from both the government and the Mafia. His partner is the beautiful and voluptuous Eva (Marisa Mell). Together they fulfill the male fantasy: driving black and white jaguars, making love between 10 million dollars in a rotating bed and getting away with the most daring robberies. Their opponents are inspector Ginco and mob boss Valmont, who team up in an attempt to lure Diabolik and Eva into a trap. Bava directs this superhero movie with great style, while showing respect for the source material. He delivers one amazing set-piece after another, accompanied by a brilliant musical score from master Ennio Morricone. Camp was never before or after this spectacular. Diabolik = must see movie.

Mister Scarface (Italy / Germany, 1976)
OT: I padroni della città

Directed by: Fernando Di Leo
Written by: Peter Berling, Fernando Di Leo
Cast: Harry Baer, Al Cliver, Jack Palance, Gisela Hahn

Tony (Harry Baer) collects accounts receivable for gangster Luigi. His crime family gets involved in a power struggle with local bigshot ‘Scarface’ Manzari (Palance). Tony teams up with fellow collector Rick (Al Cliver). Together they plan to scheme Scarface out of a fortune and retire afterwards. This leads to an inevitable bloody confrontation with Scarface and his crew. The fuzzy plot and often inaudible dialogues (due to deteriorated picture quality) make this movie hard to follow at times. The good things are Palance’s demonic performance and the well crafted Napels underworld atmosphere. Lot’s of action and violence during the second half especially, make this worth a look for gangster film enthusiasts.

John Phillip Law and Marisa Mell in Diabolik.