Execution Squad (1972)
"La polizia ringrazia" (original title)

Director:

Steno

Writers:

Steno (story), Lucio De Caro (story),

Stars:

Enrico Maria Salerno, Mariangela Melato, Mario Adorf

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Enrico Maria Salerno	...	Commissario Bertone
Mariangela Melato	...	Sandra
Mario Adorf	...	District Attorney Ricciuti
Franco Fabrizi	...	Bettarini
Cyril Cusack	...	Stolfi
Laura Belli	...	Anna Maria Sprovieri
Jürgen Drews	...	Michele Settecamini
Corrado Gaipa	...	L'avvocato Armani
Giorgio Piazza
Ezio Sancrotti	...	Commissario Santalamenti
Piero Tiberi	...	(as Pietro Tiberi)
Diego Reggente
Ada Pometti	...	Hooker
Sergio Serafini	...	Journalist
Fortunato Cecilia

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

violence | shot to death | head bashed in | shot multiple times | drug use | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy France West Germany

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

October 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

Execution Squad

Filming Locations:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dieter Geissler Filmproduktion, P.A.C., Primex Italiana

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

Intense and complex

Director Steno (birth name: Stefano Vanzina) is best known as a director of comedy (e.g. films with Bud Spencer and Terence Hill), but this crime thriller is everything but a comedy. It tells the gripping story of an organized vigilante group that kills criminals who couldn't be convicted by the police.

Enrico Maria Salerno is brilliant as the police officer who tries to discover the big ones behind the vigilante group. Mario Adorf is convincing as ever - once more portraying a rather dubious district attorney. This Italian-German co-production is also remarkable for singer Jürgen Drews who plays one of the criminals that fall victim to the vigilantes.

All in all, "La Polizia Ringrazia" delivers impressive social comment and handles the topic with a complexity one rarely sees in a crime thriller. Highly recommended.