Counselor at Crime (1973)
"Il consigliori" (original title)

When the godson of San Francisco's crime lord asks permission to leave "the business," Don Antonio agrees, but reluctantly. Such behavior by either one is a violation of the code, and a ... See full summary »

Director:

Alberto De Martino

Writers:

Adriano Bolzoni (screenplay), Adriano Bolzoni (story),

Stars:

Martin Balsam, Tomas Milian, Francisco Rabal

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Martin Balsam	...	Don Antonio Macaluso
Tomas Milian	...	Thomas Accardo
Francisco Rabal	...	Vincent Garofalo
Dagmar Lassander	...	Laura Murchison
Nello Pazzafini	...	Killer (in "Polizzi Generosa")
Perla Cristal	...	Dorothy
Carlo Tamberlani	...	Don Michele Villabate
Manuel Zarzo	...	Dorsiello
John Anderson	...	Don Vito Albanese
Franco Angrisano	...	Torrillo
Fortunato Arena	...	Uomo di Garofalo
Carlo Gaddi	...	Carlo
Giovanni Pallavicino
Giovanni Carbone
Carla Mancini

Storyline

When the godson of San Francisco's crime lord asks permission to leave "the business," Don Antonio agrees, but reluctantly. Such behavior by either one is a violation of the code, and a bloody mob war breaks out. It is only through the strong support of his family connections in Sicily that Don Antonio is able to survive the mêlée and come out on top. Aghast at the situation he has caused, the godson becomes his leader's "consigliere," or Counselor at Crime.

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Plot Keywords:

sicily | mob | gang war | mafia | murder | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy Spain

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

July 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Counsellor

Filming Locations:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Gross:

ESP 15,908,232 (Spain)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Capitolina Produzioni Cinematografiche, Star Films S.A.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Telecolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Edited into Lo schermo a tre punte (1995)

User Reviews

THE COUNSELLOR (Alberto De Martino, 1973) **

Third-rate GODFATHER clone is so clearly patterned after the Francis Coppola blockbuster that the end result, despite the occasional felicities, is doubly disappointing: Tomas Milian, the consigliori of the title, naturally has the Robert Duvall role; Martin Balsam steps in for Brando as the Don and also suffers an attempt on his life (while visiting his wife's grave); there is also a death scene featuring a bullet-ridden car a' la James Caan's demise in GODFATHER and another one in a restaurant (with the owner unceremoniously dumped into the furnace while still alive); a violent retribution (this time against rebellious mafioso Francisco Rabal and his renegade gang) juxtaposed with a religious ceremony (here a village procession); Balsam and Milian fleeing to their Sicilian homeland with Rabal in pursuit, etc.

The film also features Euro-Cult favorites Dagmar Lassander (wasted as Milian's girl) and Edoardo Fajardo (in a small role towards the end, as a Sicilian Mafioso whose "godfather" had been Milian's father!) but, unfortunately, they contribute next to nothing to the mix. Although the version of the film I watched was in Italian, the gangsters (particularly Balsam) have a habit of slipping into English ("Yu-unna-stan", "Well", "Busy-ness", etc.) perhaps to show that they've been living for far too long in America but, frankly, I couldn't help laughing when at the end the mortally-wounded Milian (riding away in a car after the final showdown with Rabal) has to listen to Balsam rattling away one "Damn Bastard" after another without letting the old man know that he was done for; it practically reminded me of those scenes in AIRPLANE! (1980) showing the various passengers sitting next to Robert Hays who end up doing the craziest things to themselves so long as they're spared from listening to his life story! As usual with this kind of film, the music is an asset and Riz Ortolani's lush score here is no exception.