FREE HAND FOR A TOUGH COP 1976- aka IL TRUCIDO E LO SBIRRO
Tomas Milian, Claudio Cassinelli, Henry Silva
Directed by Umberto Lenzi
A determined cop named Sarti (Cassinelli) partners with an eccentric and foul mouthed drug dealer named Monezza (Milian) who also goes by the name "Garbage Can" as well as three other thugs in an effort to rescue the kidnapped daughter of a public figure and nail the psychotic criminal boss Brescianelli (Silva). Not only must they get Brescianelli but Sarti is working against the clock as the abducted girl has bad kidney's.
Milian, of course, steals the show as always as the outrageous Monezza. He gets so many great lines. It's easy to see why this character was so popular in Italy. An unusual amount of expletives are spouted throughout the film and not just from Milian but Silva, too. The scene where Monezza plays a sort of Russian Roulette with one of the villains by having him choose between two glasses of milk as to which one is poisoned illicits chuckles because he kills the man anyway after he picks the right one. Another scene has Monezza pretending to be a painter on a job in a prison where one of Brescianelli's men is being held and another still where he disguises himself as a monk to get some info from a police Captain at gunpoint.
Silva, unfortunately, isn't given much opportunity to steal the film from under Milian's feet. It's a shame he isn't given more screen time. But what scenes he has are very good and amusing especially when the little girl tells him she wants to go home followed by Silva proclaiming..."Shut up...you bitch!". And his comment about the little girl "fertilizing the garden" are priceless. It's hard to tell who spews the most cuss words, Silva or Milian. All their dialog is generously peppered with obscenities that would make Tarantino proud. His last scene is a bit of a cheat and it's the only real gripe I have with this movie.
Cassinelli is no Maurizio Merli but he has screen presence and is a good actor, he just doesn't seem comfortable in the action scenes that involve fisticuffs. Cassinelli plays the role of Sarti much the same way Merli would but I can't help but think how much improved the film would be had Merli been cast instead. Knowing Milian did not get along with Merli and Merenda, it would interesting to learn whether he got on with Cassinelli or not. The last scene with the two of them is absolutely hilarious.
Lenzi delivers another solid crime movie bolstered by a great cast that are backed by many Lenzi regulars. He must have shot BROTHERS TILL WE DIE at the same time or after as the set from the finale is used here around the 50 minute mark in a gun battle when the heroes learn of the young girls whereabouts only to find out she has been moved somwhere else. The film even appears to utilize the ship set from ALMOST HUMAN. Speaking of ALMOST HUMAN, it's funny to see Milian as a good guy and Silva as a villain considering Silva was originally to have played the bad guy in the earlier film. There's also a nice nostalgic scene in which two crooks attack and rob a woman in a movie theater lobby which has some posters of other polizio's playing at the time as well as a poster for SALON KITTY on the wall next to the front door.
While it's not as sadistic as ALMOST HUMAN (1974) or ROME ARMED TO THE TEETH (1977), it contains enough satisfying moments and Milian's performance alone makes the film a must see.
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Topic: Free Hand For A Tough Cop / Il trucido e lo sbirro (Umberto Lenzi, 1976) (Read 19667 times)