Old school crime film with hard case armed robber John Cassavetes at its centre. John plays Hank, once part of a Bonnie and Clyde type duo who's spent twelve years in the joint. His son, who's basically a stranger to him, springs him from the clink to take part in another heist - this one being the robbery of a classy casino in Vegas. This casino is the centre of a complicated business involving newly appointed mob boss Peter Falk, who has taken over mafia duties on the West coast from a guy who was killed in front of his kids. His New York mob superiors have told Peter not to touch anything in Vegas, and they are enraged that he's muscling in on a casino he doesn't know they own. Worse still, Peter seems unaware that his young wife (a big-haired Florinda Bolkan) seems to have a past with one of the New York mob bosses...In between not trusting his son, really not trusting the two goons his son is hanging about with, and preparing for the heist, John somehow still manages the time to romance Britt Ekland, who really is the only innocent person in the film. Nevertheless, she also gets caught up in all the double crossing and (in one case literal) back stabbing as the cast is whittled down.Apart from The Dirty Dozen (a film that spawned several thousand Italian rip-offs) I don't know much about John Cassavetes, but he makes a pretty convincing gangster, and who doesn't want to see Colombo in an Italian crime film? I'd pretty much watch Peter Falk in anything, so seeing him on screen with Italian genre regulars Luigi Pistilli and Florinda Bolkan just ticks all the boxes for me. Tony Kendall usually shows up in Spaghetti Westerns, but manages to stand out here as a suave button-man hunting down Cassavetes.This film has two other things going for it - the nice cinematography that captures the Californian atmosphere (as well as the harsh sunlight invading interior scenes) and Ennio Morricone's melancholy soundtrack. Keep in mind this an old school Eurocrime film that is a bit more classy than the trashy, over the top ones of the seventies. I prefer those, for the record.

Tough criminal Hank McCain (superbly essayed with simmering hard-boiled intensity by John Cassavetes) gets released from prison after serving twelve years for armed robbery. Hank hooks up with his wormy small-time son Jack (an effectively sniveling turn by Pierluigi Apra), who has devised a daring plan to rob a Las Vegas casino. Unbeknownst to Hank, Jack is also involved with volatile and ambitious mob capo Charlie Adamo (a fine performance by Peter Falk), who uses Hank as a pawn so he can gain control of Vegas territory that's currently being run by the formidable Don Franceso De Marco (smoothly played by Gabriele Ferzetti). Director Giuliano Montaldo, who also co-wrote the absorbing and intricate script with Mino Roli, does a bang-up job of creating and maintaining a serious take-no-prisoners tone throughout, stages the tense and gripping big heist with considerable flair and skill, and punctuates the picture with jolting moments of sudden brutal violence. Cassavetes' edgy presence keeps the movie humming throughout; he receives excellent support from the lovely Britt Ekland as Hank's sweet and loyal girlfriend Irene Tucker, Florinda Bolkan as the shrewd Joni Adamo, Tony Kendall as sly hit-man Peter Zacari, and, in a rather small, but bravura part, Gena Rowlands as Hank's helpful two-fisted old flame Rosemary Scott. The last third with the gangsters organizing a massive manhunt for McCain totally smokes, with a stirring car chase set piece and a startling bummer ending that packs a bitterly powerful punch. Erico Menczer's handsome widescreen cinematography gives the film an attractive glossy look. Ennio Morricone's funky syncopated score hits the right-on rousing spot (the ending credits ballad is a real beaut!). Well worth seeing.

It's not a masterpiece by any mean, but Giuliano Montaldo's crime thriller is still terrific. John Cassavetes is sprung from jail by his son (working for mafioso Peter Falk) to rob a Las Vegas casino. When the job is canceled, everyone complies but Cassavetes. Mayhem ensues. Cassavetes is great and Falk is too (though they have no scenes together). Britt Ekland plays a waif recruited by Cassavetes and she's stunning. A great score by Ennio Morricone helps and the supporting cast, including Gabrielle Ferzetti, Tony Kendall and bitchy Florinda Balkin, is very colorful. Gena Rowlands, in an extended cameo, plays a tough as nails Cassavetes crony.

This is a stylish, complex and exciting gangster melodrama (which Leonard Maltin in "Movies & Video Guide" calls "junk" and awards a mere **!) bolstered by an infectious Ennio Morricone score (especially the title ballad). Amazingly, it was shown on Italian TV at the time of the Cannes Film Festival as part of a series of past nominees; unfortunately, however, the print was of the choppy 94-minute U.S. version (bearing the Columbia logo upfront) and panned-and-scanned to boot (making the Techniscope compositions pretty claustrophobic)!! I've been unable to determine the film's original length, but I've seen running-times as long as 119 minutes! The film is well-served by a great cast: an intense and fearless John Cassavetes as the title character, a delectable Britt Ekland as a girl he meets and marries on being sprung from jail (who becomes an accomplice in his criminal schemes without batting an eyelid, at least in this version!), Peter Falk as a bad-tempered small-time hood whose ambitions see him clash with his ruthless superiors, Florinda Bolkan as his even more avaricious wife, Gabriele Ferzetti as the crossed Don who goes to teach Falk a lesson (and who seems to be having an affair with Bolkan!), Luigi Pistilli (rather under-used as Falk's right-hand man), Salvo Randone (as the No. 1 Mafia Boss who keeps track of the situation from his New York office), Tony Kendall (as the hit-man dispatched to eliminate both Falk and Cassavetes) and "Special Guest Star" Gena Rowlands (as McCain's tough old flame - together they were a legendary criminal double-act, and the real-life couple demonstrate undeniable chemistry in their one scene together! - who, still having feelings for him, aids in his escape from the Mob and suffers the consequences for her actions). It's an interesting mix of 'styles': the Italians give it authenticity, the women a touch of class and the two male stars (who, regrettably, don't share any screen-time but were eventually re-teamed in a gangland milieu in MIKEY AND NICKY [1976] - which I recently watched - and where they were practically inseparable!) an aura of intelligence. Some sources credit The Doors' frontman Jim Morrison in the role of a lackey, but it certainly didn't seem like him to me! The best sequence is the ingenious heist from a Las Vegas casino (indeed, the glitzy and often sleazy locations are a definite asset) and, in the cynical fashion of cinema in the late 60s, the film ends - rather abruptly - with a downbeat 'curtain'. Montaldo didn't make that many films but from the three I've watched - the others being the enjoyable light-hearted caper GRAND SLAM (1967) and the excellent IL GIOCATTOLO (1979), a Death Wish-type drama with a remarkable leading performance from Nino Manfredi - he certainly knew his business.