Milano rovente (1973)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Umberto Lenzi

Writers:

Franco Enna (screenplay)
Ombretta Lanza (story)
(more)

Release Date:

21 February 1973 (Italy)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

A Milan produce vendor, whom moonlights as a pimp, faces off against a ruthless and greedy French gangster whom wants to unite the organized crime ring of Italy.

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | Italy | Pimp | Shooting | Poliziottesco

Cast

Antonio Sabato	...	Salvatore "Toto" Cangemi
Philippe Leroy	...	Roger Daverty
Antonio Casagrande	...	Lino Caruso
Carla Romanelli	...	Virginia
Alessandro Sperli	...	Billy Barone
Franco Fantasia	...	Chief Inspector Contalvi
Tano Cimarosa	...	Nino Balsamo
Marisa Mell	...	Jasmina Sanders
Piero Corbetta	...	Doctor
Vittorio Pinelli	...	Orso
Tony Raccosta	...	Lupo (as Domenico Raccosta)
Claudio Sforzini	...	Ricciolino
Carla Mancini	...	Gabriella
Luigi Antonio Guerra	...	Policeman
Vittorio Sancisi	...	Daverty Henchman
Vittorio Joderi	...	Giorgio
Naiba Pedersoli	...	Carmela, Salvatore's houskeeper
Lucio Como	...	Martin
Riccardo De Stefanis
Ottavio Fanfani	...	Avv. Samperi
Idris Josuf
Marta Fabiani	...	Vicky - la studentessa
Elsa Boni	...	Francesca
Giancarlo Busi
Ugo Bologna	...	Judge
Filippo La Neve	...	Gangster
Elena Pantano	...	Salvatore's Mother
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Achille Grioni	...	Policeman lieutenant (uncredited)
Gabriella Lepori	...	Vanessa (uncredited)

Directed by
Umberto Lenzi

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Franco Enna		screenplay
Ombretta Lanza		story
Umberto Lenzi		screenplay

Produced by
Giuseppe Tortorella	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Carlo Rustichelli

Cinematography by
Lamberto Caimi

Film Editing by
Jolanda Benvenuti

Art Direction by
Sergio Palmieri

Costume Design by
Silvio Laurenzi

Makeup Department
Sergio Angeloni	....	makeup artist
Wanda Belini	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Gino Soldi	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Franco Fantasia	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Renato Marinelli	....	sound effects editor
Domenico Pasquadibisceglie	....	sound (as Dino Pasquadibisceglie)

Special Effects by
Celeste Battistelli	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Taddeo Bontempelli	....	still photographer
Sergio Martinelli	....	camera operator
Roberto Seveso	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Adriana Manici	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Elisa Nardelli	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Carmine Del Monaco	....	production assistant
Lucia Grazzi	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Telemondial

Also Known As:

Burning City (Europe: English title)
Gang War in Milan (International: English title)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:R | Italy:VM18 | France:-16

Filming Locations:

Milan, Lombardia, Italy

Company:

Telemondial

Not among Lenzi's best, but certainly a very good little crime thriller

Umberto Lenzi made some of the best Italian crime films with films like The Cynic, The Rat and The Fist and Almost Human, and part of the reason why these films were so successful was due to the presence of one of Italy's finest actors - the great Tomas Milian. This film doesn't feature the immense talents of Mr Milian, although it's not all bad news as Lenzi has still managed to put together a pretty damn good little crime thriller. As most of these films take a lot of influence from the masterpiece Dirty Harry, many of them focus on police officers - but this one puts its focus on criminals. The main character is a fruit vendor who makes most of his money through pimping prostitutes. His lucrative racket is interrupted one day when a French drug dealer decides that he wants to go into business with the pimp, using the whores to push his drugs. However, our pimp isn't happy with that, which is a problem as the French drug dealer isn't happy with people saying no to him, and so sets about trying to find ways to force the pimp to work with him.

It has to be said that Milano Rovente is not a spectacular crime flick; especially when compared to Lenzi's other works. However, the film is notable for the way that it doesn't strictly adhere to the rules of the genre, and also for the fact that the interesting story is carried off with panache by a team of decent actors. Antonio Sabato is no Tomas Milian, but he carries the lead role off well in his authoritative role. Lenzi's crime flicks tend to be more violent than the rest of the pack, and this one doesn't disappoint in that respect as it features plenty of brutal scenes. There isn't a lot in the way of car chases, and it has to be said that the tone of the film is largely downtrodden throughout; unlike the majority of these types of films which tend to be largely quite fun to watch. It all boils down to a nice, and rather fitting, conclusion and while I can't say that Milano Rovente is one of the best films of its type - it certainly isn't a bad one, and fans of this sort of film are likely to enjoy it.