La mala ordina (1972)

Director:

Fernando Di Leo

Writers:

Fernando Di Leo (story)
Fernando Di Leo (dialogue)

Release Date:

1 December 1972 (West Germany)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

When a shipment of heroin disappears between Italy and New York, a small-time pimp in Milan is framed for the theft...

Plot Keywords:

Pimp | Heroin | Italy | Revenge | Death Of Wife

Cast

Mario Adorf	...	Luca Canali
Henry Silva	...	Dave Catania
Woody Strode	...	Frank Webster
Adolfo Celi	...	Don Vito Tressoldi
Luciana Paluzzi	...	Eva Lalli
Franco Fabrizi	...	Enrico Moroni
Femi Benussi	...	Nana
Gianni Macchia	...	Nicolo
Peter Berling	...	Damiano
Francesca Romana Coluzzi	...	Trini
Cyril Cusack	...	Corso
Sylva Koscina	...	Lucia Canali
Jessica Dublin	...	Miss Kenneth
Omero Capanna	...	Vito's Goon
Giuseppe Castellano	...	Garagaz

Also Known As:

Black Kingpin (USA) (video title)
Der Mafia Boß - Sie töten wie Schakale (West Germany)
Der Mafiaboss - Der Eisenfresser (West Germany)
Der Tod des Paten (West Germany)
Hired to Kill (International: English title)
Hit Men (USA) (video title)
Hitmen (USA) (video title)
Man Hunt (USA) (video title)
Manhunt (USA) (video title)
Manhunt in Milan (UK)
Manhunt in the City (International: English title)
The Italian Connection (USA)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

Italy | West Germany

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Norway:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | Italy:VM18

Filming Locations:

Milan, Lombardia, Italy

Company:

Cineproduzioni Daunia 70

Trivia:

German Import DVD has a Super-8mm Version (German language only), as a special feature on the disc.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Il solitario (2008)

The kind of film Tarantino would love to gab about

This is the second film from Ferdinando Di Leo I've seen and I must say I'm as unimpressed as I was after seeing Milano Calibro 9. While Di Leo might be the kind of director Tarantino loves to gab about, and some of the directors QT loves to gab about deserve all that gabbing, Di Leo's films sure don't seem to be worth much. Which is too bad because, unlike Umberto Lenzi who made fullblown caricatures of hardboiled street violence, Di Leo seems to be a bit more ambitious with his stories. Interesting ideas that we're already vaguely familiar with from prior genre knowledge, the occasional twist to the story that is not very original or astounding but gives a more elaborate spin to things, decent action set-pieces, slightly inept but attention-holding, but constantly undermined by bad acting and lamentable directing. Di Leo was probably a better writer than he was a director and he wasn't a great writer to begin with. Unlike the gritty, hyperkinetic realism of Kinji Fukasaku, a product of conscious artistic decision deployed with conviction as part of a larger commentary on the status of bleak postwar Japan, Di Leo's gritty is a jumbled heap of jagged editing, awkward pans and zooms, needless cuts and cramped frames that show a director practically making it up as he went along. Mario Adorf chews every scenery in a 3 mile radius but he does show considerable physical skills in his action scenes. Woody Strode's strong silent type on the other hand earns points for simply being strong and silent - and staring like he means it. The story of two American hit men chasing a flamboyant pimp around Milan to plant half a dozen bullets in his head for stealing drug money is half-interesting but the execution, when it doesn't erupt in outbursts of slaps and punches, leaves a lot to be desired.