Italia a mano armata (1976)

Director:

Marino Girolami

Writers:

Leila Buongiorno (screenplay), Gianfranco Clerici (screenplay),

Stars:

Maurizio Merli, Raymond Pellegrin, John Saxon

Cast

Credited cast:
Maurizio Merli	...	Commissario Betti
Raymond Pellegrin	...	Commissario Arpino
John Saxon	...	Albertelli
Mirella D'Angelo	...	Luisa
Toni Ucci	...	Raffaele Cacace
Daniele Dublino	...	Luzzi - kidnapper
Sergio Fiorentini	...	Salvatore Mancuso - kidnapper
Franco Borelli	...	Bertoli
Dino Mattielli	...	Attardi
Rocco Oppedisano
Carlo Valli	...	Rocchi - kidnapper
Marcello Monti	...	Torri - kidnapper
Massimo Vanni	...	Massimo Fabbri - Special Agent
Fortunato Arena	...	Carlo Morel
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Enzo Andronico	...	Antonio Boretti

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

brawl | violence | shot in the chest | police officer killed | cut arm | 

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Genres:

Thriller | Action | Crime

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Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

November 1987 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

A Special Cop in Action

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Film Production S.r.l.

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Final part of police commissioner Betti's trilogy, also including Violent City and Violent Naples.

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Connections

Referenced in Grindhouse (2007)

User Reviews

Maurizio Merli delivers again in an action packed Polizi flick!

Maurizio Merli may have come to fame as a Franco Nero impersonator; but after that he really came into his own and if his name is on the cast list (particularly if it's at the top of the cast list), you're pretty much guaranteed a good film. This one was the final outing for Merli's Commissario Betti character, and he ensures the ace crime fighter goes out with a bang as Marino Girolami's film is packed to breaking point with car chases, shootouts and fist fights and certainly delivers on the promise of being an action packed thriller! The plot focuses on Commissario Betti. Once again, he's aggravated at the amount of crime going on in the city and his attention is focused mainly on two big crimes; a bank robbery and a kidnap plot. The Commissioner battles bravely to ensure the crooks are brought to justice but soon realises that there's no point in merely sorting out the henchmen and decides to go after the man he believes is heading the criminal operations; slimy businessman Albertelli, although bringing justice on the head criminal may not be so easy...

This film is very easy to watch and getting lost in the numerous action scenes is a lot of fun. The plot flows very smoothly and there really is very little time when something isn't happening, which is really exactly what you want from a film like this. The action scenes do take over the plot at times; but it's not really important because entertainment is the main thing. The plot itself is certainly interesting, however; with the main focus being on the police matching wits with a very sly and intelligent criminal. You can always count on Maurizio Merli for a great performance and he doesn't disappoint here. He does look just a little bit silly at times admittedly, but he actually does convince us that he is a man who would give everything to stop crime in the city (although by this point, he had a lot of practise!). The film is not exactly heavy and although certain scenes are quite nasty; the atmosphere is usually quite light. Franco Micalizzi's score is very good too, and Merli receives very good support from cult supremo John Saxon. The ending is a bit of downer, but I can't complain given how entertaining the rest of the film is. Highly recommended!