Dio, sei proprio un padreterno! (1973)

Director:

Michele Lupo

Writers:

Nicola Badalucco (writer)
Sergio Donati (screenplay)

Release Date:

August 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

Crazy enough to take on the cops and the mob... Mean enough to whip 'em!

Plot:

This is a buddy film with a small-time thug (Victor Lobianco) meeting a high-profile gangster (Lee Van Cleef) while in prison. The pair team up to attempt a prison breakout.

Plot Keywords:

Grindhouse | Beautiful Woman | Female Nudity | Prison | Jail Break

Cast

Lee Van Cleef	...	Frankie Diomede
Tony Lo Bianco	...	Tony Breda
Edwige Fenech	...	Orchidea
Jean Rochefort	...	Louis Annunziata
Fausto Tozzi	...	Massara
Mario Erpichini	...	Joe Sciti
Jess Hahn	...	Jeannot
Adolfo Lastretti	...	Al
Silvano Tranquilli	...	Sylvester
Nello Pazzafini	...	Thug in Prison
Claudio Undari	...	Assassin (as Robert Hundar)
Claudio Gora	...	Director of 'Casa del Giovane'
Steffen Zacharias	...	Lawyer
Ugo Fangareggi	...	Man in Café
Romano Puppo	...	Assassin

Also Known As:

Escape from Death Row (USA) (reissue title)
Frank and Tony (USA) (video title)
Homme aux nerfs d'acier, L' (France)
Interpol in allarme
Mean Frank and Crazy Tony
Power Kill (USA)
Suo nome faceva tremare, Il

Runtime:

USA:85 min | 97 min (uncut)

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:18 (nf) | Finland:K-18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | Norway:(Banned) (1974-2003) (cinema release)

Company:

Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica

Sketchy yet interesting

This movie takes place in Italy (Genoa and the Riviera) and in France. There is no death row in those countries. And the prisoners have minestrone for dinner. There is a lot you can do with minestrone – you can even use it as a weapon and it has a real filmic potential! The story on the cover of this cheap DVD is not what you will see. But there is Lee Van Cleef all right. He is some kind of Mafia Don, and he looks meek, like some kind of a bookkeeper (which he apparently was in real life). For an escape from prison (it's a cinch!) he is given some workman's clothes, a half length blue coat and a blue peaked cap - and suddenly he looks like Lenin, and I mean the true Vladimir Illich on one of those kitschy Socialist Realism paintings. It is hilarious! The resemblance is so striking that it cannot be a coincidence.

The story is not good – well, hardly existing, the editing is chaotic, the unrestored print used for the DVD occasionally badly scratched. But some scenes are really well directed, the acting, the set design and the photography are above average. As often in Italian movies of the period: interesting details, messy as a whole. The movie is principally a comedy. Tony Lo Bianco is hilarious as a small time pimp who thinks the Don is god (he plays a mixture of Roberto Benigni and Eric Roberts in Runaway Train). Van Cleef's adversary is played by Jean Rochefort, a great French character actor who more often plays roles in powdered wigs. There are elements of Film Noir, interesting interiors and lighting and a long and very funny car chase. It's the kind of movie that smart guys like Quentin Tarantino learned from, I guess. And if you like old Alfa Romeo police cars skidding through narrow alleys and Edwige Fenech bare breasted, you are really in for a treat.