Rulers of the City (1976)
"I padroni della città" (original title)

Tony, a mob loan collector, is dissatisfied with his station in life. Though he dreams of one day being rich, he is stuck with the dead-end job of beating up borrowers who fall behind in ... See full summary »

Director:

Fernando Di Leo

Writers:

Peter Berling (screenplay), Fernando Di Leo (screenplay),

Stars:

Jack Palance, Al Cliver, Harry Baer

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jack Palance	...	'Scarface' Manzari
Al Cliver	...	Rick
Harry Baer	...	Tony
Gisela Hahn	...	Clara
Enzo Pulcrano	...	Peppi
Roberto Reale	...	Luca
Edmund Purdom	...	Luigi Cherico
Vittorio Caprioli	...	Vinchenzo Napoli
Rosario Borelli	...	Office Manager
Pietro Ceccarelli	...	Luigi's Bagman
Salvatore Billa	...	Luigi's Bagman
Peter Berling	...	Valentino
Raul Lovecchio	...	Scarface Goon (as Raul Lo Vecchio)
Giulio Baraghini	...	Scarface Goon
Enrico Palombini	...	Captain Beri (Actor)

Storyline

Tony, a mob loan collector, is dissatisfied with his station in life. Though he dreams of one day being rich, he is stuck with the dead-end job of beating up borrowers who fall behind in their payments. After meeting up with Napoli, another mob enforcer who's just been fired from his job, the two hatch a plan. Together, they will con mob boss Manzari out of a fortune, after which they can retire and live in luxury. Manzari, however, is not about to let them go so easily.

---

Plot Keywords:

mob boss | shot in the chest | bare chested male | chase | revenge | 

---

Taglines:

Revenge................................................................Italian Style!!!!!!!

---

Genres:

Crime | Thriller

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy West Germany

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

September 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mr. Scarface

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cineproduzioni Daunia 70, Divina-Film, Seven Star Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Kingdom of the Vampire (2007)

User Reviews

Mister Scarface is no Tony Montana

Energised to some degree by some inspired acting, this violent little crime caper has a young, carefree protection collector (Baer) swindling a big-time hood (Palance) out of 10 million Lira only to discover that his "good deed" has deadly consequences for all concerned. His alliance with a former gang member of the hood (Cliver) may be the only chance he has to clear his debts, and survive, but there's another motivation for Cliver's expert assistance.

Palance is wasted talking out the corner of his mouth while he incessantly chews on a durry filter, while poor old Edmund Purdom really has things tough in this film. His character is publicly emasculated and betrayed by his own favoured son. The role isn't especially prominent, nor key to the plot, so Purdom's appearance in it is both unusual (for such a distinguished actor) and ultimately frivolous. Baer is likable as the charismatic "enforcer", who attracts as much attention from the ladies as he does from those attempting to kill him. Rotund funny-man Caprioli as the wily old Purdom gang member over-indulges in the humour, becoming a parody. Overall, it's very hit and miss.

There's not much to recommend; lots of fisticuffs, gun-fights, car-chases and the like, but the tongue-in-cheek element is never consistently applied, and consequently, the tone is confusing, the film itself a dull experience.