Il trucido e lo sbirro (1976)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Umberto Lenzi

Writers:

Umberto Lenzi (writer)
Dardano Sacchetti (writer)

Release Date:

27 August 1976 (Italy)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot Keywords:

Poliziottesco

Cast

Tomas Milian	...	Sergio Marazzi 'Monnezza'
Claudio Cassinelli	...	Antonio Sarti
Nicoletta Machiavelli	...	Mara
Claudio Undari	...	Mario
Henry Silva	...	Brescianelli
Biagio Pelligra	...	Calabrese
Luciano Rossi	...	Dealer
Umberto Raho	...	Lawyer
Giuseppe Castellano	...	Vallelunga
Mario Erpichini	...	Paolo Finzi
Dana Ghia	...	Clara
Tano Cimarosa	...	Cravatta
Susanna Melandri	...	Camilla
Valentino Macchi	...	Policeman
Tom Felleghy	...	Jeweller
Arturo Dominici	...	De Rita
Rosario Borelli	...	Brescianelli's Men
Antonio Casale	...	El Greco Tomati
Ernesto Colli	...	Roschetto
Giovanni Cianfriglia	...	Camini
Rita Forzano
Corrado Solari	...	Thug with Brick
Massimo Bonetti	...	Purse Snatcher
Sara Franchetti	...	Prostitute
Rosita Torosh
Renato Mori
Pietro Torrisi	...	Thug
Claudio Ruffini	...	Club Bouncer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nick Alexander	...	Sarti's Assistant (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Salvatore Billa	...	Tomati's Thug (uncredited)
Rossana Canghiari	...	Cinema cashier (uncredited)
Michael Forest	...	Calabrese (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Edward Mannix	...	Cravatta (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Fulvio Mingozzi	...	Federal Police Captain (uncredited)
Benito Pacifico	...	Tomati's Thug (uncredited)
Riccardo Petrazzi	...	Henchman (uncredited)
Ted Rusoff	...	Henchman (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Sergio Smacchi	...	Tomati's Thug (uncredited)

Directed by
Umberto Lenzi

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Umberto Lenzi		writer
Dardano Sacchetti		writer

Produced by
Claudio Mancini	....	producer
Ugo Tucci	....	producer

Original Music by
Bruno Canfora

Cinematography by
Sebastiano Celeste		(as Nino Celeste)
Luigi Kuveiller

Film Editing by
Eugenio Alabiso

Set Decoration by
Enrico Fantacci

Makeup Department
Franco Di Girolamo	....	makeup artist

Sound Department
Nick Alexander	....	dubbing editor
Roberto Petrozzi	....	sound editor

Stunts
Riccardo Petrazzi	....	stunt director

Production Companies

• S.G.M. Films
• Variety Film Production

Distributors

• e-m-s the DVD-Company (2007) (Germany) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Free Hand for a Tough Cop
Tough Cop

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Germany:16 (re-rating) (2007) (uncut) | West Germany:18 (original rating) (cut)

Company:

S.G.M. Films

Trivia:

Even though the real "Monnezza" only appeared in two films as such, the very similar cop character Nico Giraldi, also played by Tomas Milian in many other films, was to be continually identified as "Monnezza" by the public.

Quotes:

Bernabei: Hey, can't you read signs? You're not allowed in unless authorized.
Brescianelli: I can read a son of a bitch!

Movie Connections:

Followed by La banda del trucido (1977)

Another fine Polizi flick from Umberto Lenzi!

Umberto Lenzi, for my money, is the king of the Polizi films and while Free Hand for a Tough Cop might not be the best known of his genre films, or as good as the likes of The Cynic, The Rat and the Fist or Almost Human, is still a damn fine piece of cinema and is sure to please anyone with a mind to see it. This film is different from the other Polizi films I've seen from Lenzi as the urban landscape that usually makes up the setting for this sort of film has been thrown out in favour of a more rural one. This sets the film apart from most of the rest genre, and it also gives it a feel that borders on Spaghetti western, which is nice. The plot is well worked and features a police officer who teams up with a dirty criminal known to friends and otherwise as 'Garbage Can'. They've been put together to find a girl being held for ransom by vicious gangster Brescianelli. They face a race against time as the girl has kidney problems, and there's also a secondary objective, which takes the form of taking down the gangster who is hoping to gain ransom from holding her.

Free Hand for a Tough Cop benefits from a great musical score, which is amazingly catchy and also provides a nice backdrop for the movie. The film features all the shootouts and car chases that you would expect from this sort of film, and there's also a fair share of humour, which actually bodes quite well with the characters and plot line. Lenzi's direction is solid as always, and he pulls great performances out of his esteemed cast. The lead role, as you would expect, goes to Thomas Milian, who delivers a different sort of performance to the ones seen in most of Lenzi's crime films. He gets great backup from Claudio Cassinelli and Henry Silva, as well as a number of other memorable Italian crime flick faces. The characters are actually very well designed considering what you would expect from this sort of film, and that is another aspect that makes Free Hand for a Tough Cop better than your average Polizi flick. The conclusion to the story isn't difficult to guess, but Lenzi provides a nice bit of humour at the end that leaves the audience with a nice taste in their mouth.