This is truly a marmite film - people love it for the madness that's contained within, and other people hate it and dismiss it as a foul piece of exploitation. It's a Euro-crime film but only barely, as it's really a twisted road trip film with a bunch of weird characters.
Franco Nero plays dumb robber Mosquito, who hooks up with insane robber Memphis (Telly Savalas) in order to rob a jewellery store. After being in the store about ten seconds, Memphis loses his rag and shoots the owner multiple times, setting off the alarm and causing the robbers to grab the nearest cases and run. Things go from bad to worse when dumb getaway driver Ely Galleani crashes the car straight into a hearse, causing a coffin to smash through the window. After further crashing in a market, the trio finally grab another car from a rich lady and set off into the countryside, making for the border.
This isn't as easy as it first seems, as it turns out that they have unwittingly taken the rich lady's son with them as he was hiding in the back of the car. After a strangely slapstick scene of the trio chasing Mark Lester around a field (where he kicks Telly Savalas in the balls) we see why people might hate this film. When he finds out he's being watched by a young Shepherd boy, Telly Savalas coldly murders him - then blames the Shepherd boy for running away!
Yep, this is grim stuff alright. We also find out that Lester's parents are so removed from their child that they cannot agree on what age he is, so he's not exactly the most stable child either. The mother however does identify both Memphis and Mousqito, and a huge manhunt ensues. After the discovery that they have stolen a load of useless cutlery, things become even more strained, and Memphis becomes even more unhinged as everyone heads for the border...
Although Telly Savalas' southern accent comes and goes, his performance as a nutcase is really quite good. He often sings to himself, refers to things his mother told him, and constantly blames other people when he murders folks, including the dead people themselves. He also spends the last third of the film with his scrotum ripped open for some reason.
Nero's character is less insane but still as strange. I guess most people will be wondering why his character shaves naked in front of Mark Lester, and to be honest it is a head scratcher, but I guess the best answer is 'It was the Seventies'. Ely Galleani has a larger role than usual too, and when she is murdered by Savalas (spoilers), Nero ends up wearing her fur coat for the rest of the film. Also - check out the guy on the IMDB who is offended by the nude scene but goes into minute detail about the whole thing, while also constantly referring to actor Franco Nero as actor Fabio Testi - maybe if they spent more time looking at the actor and not the actor's arse they might have noticed that. Methinks the lady doth protest too much.
Anyway - strange film, strange decade, I enjoyed it. Stimmerung!
