La banda del gobbo (1978)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Umberto Lenzi

Writers:

Umberto Lenzi (writer)
Tomas Milian (writer)

Release Date:

18 August 1978 (Italy)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Plot Keywords:

Poliziottesco

Cast

Tomas Milian	...	Sergio Marazzi / 'Monnezza / Vincenzo Marazzi / 'Il Gobbo'
Pino Colizzi	...	Commissario Sarti
Isa Danieli	...	Maria
Sal Borgese	...	Milo Dragovic - l'Albanese
Luciano Catenacci	...	Adalberto Maria Perrone
Solvi Stubing	...	Marika Engver - embassy clerk (as Solvy Stubing)
Guido Leontini	...	Mario Di Gennaro - 'Sogliola'
Francesco D'Adda	...	The Bespectacled Psychiatrist
Fulvio Mingozzi	...	Commissioner Mingozzi
Carlo Gaddi	...	Il Faina - Gobbo's friend
Alessandra Cardini		(as Sandra Cardini)
Livio Galassi	...	Giggi - Gobbo's friend
Pierangelo Civera	...	Agente Romeo Esposito (as Angelo Civera)
Nello Pazzafini	...	Carmine Ciacci
Franco Odoardi	...	The Chief Psychiatrist
Valentino Macchi	...	Brigadiere
Roberto Caporali	...	Man with white suit at the nightclub
Rosario Borelli	...	Romolo - Gobbo's friend
Fortunato Arena	...	The Male Nurse
Tony Morgan	...	Monnezza's Stuttering Friend
Cesare Di Vito	...	The Psychiatrist with slit lamp
Mario Savini
Mario Piave	...	Commissario Valenzi
Tom Felleghy	...	Questore
Ennio Antonelli	...	Osvaldo Albanese
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Salvatore Billa	...	Hitman
Massimo Bonetti	...	Calogero Ciacci
Nestore Cavaricci	...	Policeman
Bruno Di Luia	...	Milo's friend
Jimmy il Fenomeno	...	Mentally ill man
Riccardo Petrazzi	...	The Chauffeur
Carolyn De Fonseca	...	Maria (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Michael Forest	...	Commissario Sarti (voice: English version) (uncredited)
John Gayford	...	Transvestite (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Edward Mannix	...	Mario Di Gennaro - 'Sogliola' (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Taylor Mead	...	Mentally ill Man (uncredited)
Mimmo Poli	...	Salvatore (uncredited)
Bruno Rosa	...	The Manager of the nightclub (uncredited)
Ted Rusoff	...	Commissario Valenzi (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Robert Spafford	...	Garage Owner (voice: English version) (uncredited)

Directed by
Umberto Lenzi

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Umberto Lenzi		writer
Tomas Milian		writer

Produced by
Luciano Martino	....	producer

Original Music by
Franco Micalizzi

Cinematography by
Federico Zanni

Film Editing by
Eugenio Alabiso

Production Companies

• Dania Film
• Medusa Produzione

Distributors

• VPS Film-Entertainment GmbH

Other Companies

• Digitmovies Alternative Entertainment  soundtrack

Also Known As:

Brothers Till We Die (USA) (video title)
Il gobbo di Roma (Italy) (working title)

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Certification:

Italy:VM14

Company:

Dania Film

Movie Connections:

References Roma a mano armata (1976)

BROTHERS TILL WE DIE (Umberto Lenzi, 1978) **

Tomas Milian stars in this poliziottesco and he plays a dual role as scumbag twin brothers!; given that I too have a twin brother, I could totally relate to their love/hate relationship!

The lead character is a creepy-looking hunchbacked gangster (sort of a cross between Richard III and John Barrymore's Hyde in the 1920 version of DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE!) - who, actually, had already featured in Lenzi's ROME ARMED TO THE TEETH (1976); his brother is the dim-witted and more overtly comical "Monnezza", decked out in bum's clothing and sporting a particularly ridiculous Afro-wig (for him, this was the third and last appearance)! This is the first film I've watched for either of them and all I can say is that I was a lot more intrigued by the antics of The Hunchback...

The action scenes (often involving The Hunchback alone as "Monnezza" is useless in such situations - though he gets the last laugh!) deliver the goods but, even if the latter's low brand of comedy never really takes centre-stage, the film is still unbalanced by these scenes (though one in particular is quite inspired - when he's brought in for questioning at a police station and, in his feverish state of mind, mistakes a bearded hippie who's been arrested for Christ and thinks that he has died and gone to Heaven)! With respect to The Hunchback, the disco scene where he's ridiculed by the establishment's habitual bourgeois customers - to their eventual regret - introduces an unexpected poignancy into the fray (especially with the impassioned speech he delivers to them at gunpoint!), which suggests that the film-makers' intention was perhaps more serious than the end result would indicate...

As a matter of fact, star and director allegedly fell out during the making of this film (their sixth 'collaboration' in 4 years!) and, indeed, rather than sticking to a script Milian virtually improvised all his dialogue as he went along!! Besides, The Hunchback's nemesis here - Commissioner Sarti - is mostly ineffective (making a poor substitute for Maurizio Merli or even Luc Merenda) while the finale shamelessly rips off THE WAGES OF FEAR (1953)...but, at least, it does feature a typically bouncy score by Franco Micalizzi!