Calling All Police Cars (1975)

Story about a young girl, the daughter a prominent doctor. When the girl goes missing her father gets the police to jump into action because of his class status and wealth.

Director:

Mario Caiano

Writers:

Massimo Felisatti (novel), Massimo Felisatti

Stars:

Antonio Sabato, Luciana Paluzzi, Enrico Maria Salerno

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Antonio Sabato	...	Commissario Fernando Solmi
Luciana Paluzzi	...	Ispettrice Giovanna Nunziante
Enrico Maria Salerno	...	Police Chief Carraro
Gabriele Ferzetti	...	Professore Andrea Icardi
Elio Zamuto	...	Professore Giacometti
Ettore Manni	...	Enrico Tummoli
Marino Masé	...	Franz Hekker - 'Francesco Pagano'
Bedy Moratti	...	Emilia Icardi
Adriana Fiore	...	Stripper
Franco Ressel	...	Gynaecologist
Margherita Horowitz	...	Antonietta - Icardi's maid
Tino Bianchi	...	Police Commissioner
Valentino Macchi	...	Petrol Station Attendant
Andrea Lala	...	Marshall Attardi
Benedetto Benedetti

Storyline

Story about a young girl, the daughter a prominent doctor. When the girl goes missing her father gets the police to jump into action because of his class status and wealth.

---

Plot Keywords:

vagina | female nudity | nudity | full frontal nudity | full frontal female nudity | 

---

Genres:

Crime | Horror | Thriller

---

Did You Know?

Trivia

(at around 0h 21 mins) Police Chief Carraro (Enrico Maria Salerno) stands in front of a map of Rome and points at the place where Fiorella Icardi (Adriana Falco) has been seen refueling her motorcycle. If you compare the movie frame with an actual map of Rome you can tell that he points exactly at Cinecittà (a large film studio that was once considered the hub of Italian cinema).

User Reviews

Excellent blending of Giallo and Polizi styles

The Giallo was one of the more popular genres in Italy during the early seventies, and as the decade moved on (and Dirty Harry was released), the Polizi flick pushed the Giallo out a little. Mario Caiano's Calling All Police cars is a sort of mixture of the two; for the first half of the film, it plays out like a Polizi flick and then as we move into the final third, the film transforms into a Giallo. Rather than feel like two movies stuck together, however, the film actually does feel like a complete whole and the two blend well with each other. The plot takes obvious influence from Massimo Dallamano's unofficial 'Schoolgirls in Peril' trilogy and puts its focus on corruption inside a school. The film begins by focusing on Fiorella Icardi, the daughter of a rich surgeon. She lies to her parents about where she's going and promptly goes missing. Due to her father's standing in the community, the police mount a big search for the girl; who promptly turns up in the river with a bullet in her brain. Commissioner Fernando Solmi investigates and he is lead to a schoolgirl prostitution ring.

The first two thirds of the film are rather short on action and put more focus on building up the situation and characters as well as showing us some police procedure. It's all very well done and that is thanks mostly to director MMario Caiano who gives the film a great style that suits the film perfectly, as well as pulling great performances from his cast, which includes Antonio Sabato in the lead role. Despite taking obvious influence from Massimo Dallamano's films, this one is not nearly as sleazy and that is down to the fact that we focus more on the police investigation and characters than the actual schoolgirls. This may not please some movie fans; but for me, Calling All Police Cars is a better film for it as the director keeps the focus on things integral to the plot. The film really takes off in the final third when many Giallo themes start being incorporated and we are treated to three murder scenes; the final one of which is particularly bloodthirsty and a scene that the great Dario Argento would be proud of! The mystery itself comes to a satisfying, if not particularly inventive, conclusion at the close and overall; I would not hesitate to recommend this film to fans of Italian thrillers.

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

28 August 1975 (Italy)

Also Known As:

The Maniac Responsible

Filming Locations:

Nemi Lake, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Capitol International, Jarama Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min 100 min (full)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)