The Valachi Papers (1972)

When Joe Valachi (Charles Bronson) has a price put on his head by Don Vito Genovese (Lino Ventura), he must take desperate steps to protect himself while in prison. An unsuccessful attempt ... See full summary »

Director:

Terence Young

Writers:

Stephen Geller (screenplay), Peter Maas (novel),

Stars:

Charles Bronson, Lino Ventura, Jill Ireland

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charles Bronson	...	Joe Valachi
Lino Ventura	...	Vito Genovese
Jill Ireland	...	Maria Reina Valachi
Walter Chiari	...	Gap
Joseph Wiseman	...	Salvatore Maranzano
Gerald S. O'Loughlin	...	Ryan (as Gerald O'Loughlin)
Amedeo Nazzari	...	Gaetano Reina
Fausto Tozzi	...	Albert Anastasia
Pupella Maggio	...	Letizia Reina
Angelo Infanti	...	Lucky Luciano
Guido Leontini	...	Tony Bender
María Baxa	...	Donna
Mario Pilar	...	Salierno
Franco Borelli	...	Buster
Alessandro Sperli	...	Giuseppe 'Joe the Boss' Masseria (as Alessandro Sperlì)

Storyline

When Joe Valachi (Charles Bronson) has a price put on his head by Don Vito Genovese (Lino Ventura), he must take desperate steps to protect himself while in prison. An unsuccessful attempt to slit his throat puts him over the edge to break the sacred code of silence.

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Plot Keywords:

informant | prison | 1930s | mob boss | gangster | 

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Taglines:

The syndicate. Genovese. Anastasia. Luciano. Masseria. Lucchese. Maranzano. The way they lived - The way they died.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

6 January 1972 (France)

Also Known As:

Cosa Nostra

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

De Laurentiis Intermarco S.p.A., Euro-France Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

During a car chase scene, the cameras back out too far from the antique cars, and you can see modern (circa late 60's - early 70's)cars in the street with them.

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Connections

Referenced in The Bob Newhart Show: Old Man Rivers (1973)

User Reviews

Best Polish mafia film I've seen

I give this a 7 stars because it was made the same year as Godfather I, so it didn't benefit from all the film-industry wisdom that followed that production. Rather, this is a character study of one mafioso, which is a separate issue from the operatic, all-systems-GO no-holds-barred approach Coppola was able to employ in The Godfather. it's a smaller film, and should be compared to, say, Mobsters (1991), which deals with the same period and some of the same characters as V.P. Charles Bronson's Valachi is adequate. He's a workaday, uneducated, down- home mob guy, and Bronson plays him as if he were Polish, with a job that he goes to every day, where everyone talks Italian. Because it is through his eyes that we see his world, some of the other characters become more vivid, e.g., Joseph Wiseman as Salvatore Maranzano. When I compare the casting of the incomparable Joseph Wiseman in this role as opposed to, say, Michael Gambon in the same role in Mobsters, or Anthony Quinn as an equally old-school rival in the same film, I wonder: None of these actors are Italian -American or even simply Italian; why do some of them work, and the others don't? Granted that Wiseman, Quinn and Gambon are all consummate professionals and true craftsmen as actors, if anyone mentions Salvatore Maranzano and the Castellammarese gang war of 1929, the face that will come to my mind is that of Joseph Wiseman. He and Charles Bronson make this film worth seeing.