Syndicate Sadists (1975)
"Il giustiziere sfida la città" (original title)

A biker's brother is killed while investigating the kidnapping of a young boy, the byproduct of a war between two crime families. The biker vows to get revenge by finding the kidnapped boy and destroying the two families.

Director:

Umberto Lenzi

Writers:

Vincenzo Mannino (screenplay), Vincenzo Mannino (story)

Stars:

Tomas Milian, Joseph Cotten, Maria Fiore

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tomas Milian	...	Rambo
Joseph Cotten	...	Paternò
Maria Fiore	...	Maria Scalia
Mario Piave	...	Pino Scalia
Luciano Catenacci	...	Conti
Guido Alberti	...	Owner of Billiard Salon
Femi Benussi	...	Flora
Silvano Tranquilli	...	Dr. Marco Marsili
Shirley Corrigan	...	Conti's mistress
Antonio Casale	...	Philip Duval
Rosario Borelli	...	One of Paterno's men
Luciano Pigozzi	...	One of Conti's men
Mario Novelli	...	Franco
Bruno Di Luia	...	One of Conti's men
Giuseppe Castellano	...	One of Conti's men

Storyline

A biker's brother is killed while investigating the kidnapping of a young boy, the byproduct of a war between two crime families. The biker vows to get revenge by finding the kidnapped boy and destroying the two families.

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Plot Keywords:

kidnapping | shot to death | main character shot | child kidnapping | arms deal | 

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Genres:

Crime | Action | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

April 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rambo's Revenge

Filming Locations:

Cologno Monzese, Milan, Lombardia, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dania Cinematografica, Medusa Produzione

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape (2010)

User Reviews

SYNDICATE SADISTS (Umberto Lenzi, 1975) **1/2

One of the myriad "poliziotteschi" to emerge from Italy during the 1970s, to which both director Lenzi and star Tomas Milian contributed a good deal; in fact, their previous collaboration – ALMOST HUMAN (1974) – is considered among the genre high-points. This, however, is fairly indistinguishable – apart from the fact that the surname of Milian's character is Rambo!; it does include plenty of typical action, not to mention a funky score by Franco Micalizzi. Rambo is a reformed gangster who now supplies iconoclastic help to the Police; predictably, his best pal in the force (actually a special vigilante squad) ends up murdered before long – which sets Rambo on exacting private revenge. This sees him coming face to face once again with his former boss, a now-blind Joseph Cotten (who, like Milian, followed a certain code of ethics in spite of the nature of the work involved) whose 'empire' is being unscrupulously run by the old man's son, Alfredo Lastretti. A smaller rival band of criminals – among whose members is the ubiquitous Luciano Pigozzi – also gets into our disheveled hero's hair by kidnapping an eminent citizen (Silvano Tranquilli)'s son. Incidentally, this incongruous sentimental emphasis on kids – since Milian also dotes on his cop friend's idolizing offspring – does the film the biggest harm; at the same time, while keeping an affectionate (but platonic) eye on the latter boy's mum, he is romantically involved with a prostitute (Femi Benussi) – who, unsurprisingly, is eventually victimized by the baddies for it. Though consistently offering reasonable gratification of various sorts, most examples of the poliziottesco genre suffered from a shallowness that made them instantly forgettable – and this one, alas, proved no exception despite the involvement of two of its major exponents.