How does this Alfonso Brescia directed, Mario Merola starring, Naples based gangster involving cigarette smuggling, kid sidekicks and blue Mercedes driving film differ from the other hundred or so Alfonso Brescia directed, Mario Merola starring, Naples based gangster involving cigarette smuggling, kid sidekicks and blue Mercedes driving films made in 1979? Well, Mario doesn't sing a song in this one. Other than that, business as usual.
Mario plays a cigarette smuggling, blue Mercedes driving Guappo with a heart of gold, keeping an eye on the downtrodden working class while also being a proud father to his soon to be married daughter. This involves a lot of shouting and eating, being a film based in Naples There's also a slight glitch in the subtitles which made me think that the groom had a gay lover and was interested in seeing where that was heading, but it turned out to be a badly translated joke of some kind.
Like all of these Merola films, drama takes precedence over action and Merola has to try and educate the street urchins that the way of the Guappo is not a stable future. Needless to say it's the same kid that appears in all these films who has the same jealous girlfriend. He also has to deal with a guy trying to muscle in on his cigarette racket and another guy who is a money lender bleeding the people dry. I nearly forgot to mention the clan of gypsies Mario batters with a huge stick because they stole a crown from the Madonna in a church. I think they made him a saint after that.
What you don't do to Mario Merola in these films is kill one of his family - he hates that! It also drives the plot along a bit I guess, with a finale taking place in (what else?) a restaurant as people partake of (again- what else?) spaghetti and clams. This also involves dozens of people dressed like Pulcinella, which is a personal nightmare of mine made flesh.
Lucio Montanaro turns up as a tourist that gets suckered in by a game of three card monte. This was in 1979. I was there in 2006 or thereabouts and they were still trying to sucker people in with that one. Luckily I'm a tight-arsed Scottish person and trying to part me with my money is like trying to prise a barnacle off of one those boats they use for smuggling.
Inexplicably, I get a lot of enjoyment out of these films. Hopefully I'll uncover another dozen or so from the same year. I do still have the Mafia Triangle to watch - let's hope Mario sings a song about the Mafia in that one! And a song about triangles too.
