In the Name of the Law

In the Name of the Law - Italian Crime Films from 1945 to 1969

It’s a bit later than expected, but finally In the Name of the Law is available! This is the new WildEye book, the third in the series after Fantastikal Diabolikal Supermen (which is now sold out I’m afraid) and Giorgio Ardisson: The Italian James Bond. It is an in depth examination of Italian crime films – or to be more precise, Italian films in which crime is a major component – made between 1945 and 1969. Here’s the blurb:

During the 1970s Italian cinema discovered crime. Inspired by the likes of Dirty Harry and The French Connection, numerous producers and directors rushed their own cop and gangster movies (or poliziotteschi, as they became known) into production. But it wasn’t a phenomenon that emerged out of nowhere and it wasn’t solely a case of Italian filmmakers ripping off American product. Indeed, crime (or criminality) had already been an important feature of hundreds of Italian films, from the neo-realist classics of the 1940s to psychedelic noirs made two decades later.

This book is an exploration of this fascinating but murky area; featuring in depth reviews and artwork from numerous productions either respected or forgotten which can authentically claim to be antecedents of the poliziotteschi. Titles range from Bitter Rice and Big Deal of Madonna Street to the more obscure Passport for A Corpse and Night Train to Milan, from Bandits of Orgosolo to Sardinia Kidnapped.

In examining these films it charts the progress of the Italian crime film while it was still in the process of discovering its ideal form. So buckle up your seat-belts, pour yourself a J&B and get ready to meet the assorted delinquents, bandits and Mafiosi who were to be found in Italian films between 1945 and 1969.

It’s 223 pages, four of which are in colour, royal size (234mm x 156mm) and with a nice glossy cover. As always, it’s packed with behind the scenes info, stills and posters (most of which are from my private collection).

So, how to get it? Well, I will be listing it on Amazon imminently, but if you’re not already aware of this Amazon charge about 50%-60% of the cover price (and you have to pay to post the books to them as well!) So basically speaking please don’t buy it from there except as a last resort.

Instead, please buy it either from my online shop for the very reasonable price of £9.99 plus postage. It’s fully secure and you can use it as long as you have a Paypal account. You can also both it and Giorgio Ardisson: The Italian James Bond for £17.99 plus postage. Alternatively you can buy it from eBay for £10.99

In the Name of the Law

In the Name of the Law

In the Name of the Law

About Matt Blake 890 Articles
The WildEye is a blog dedicated to the wild world of Italian cinema (and, ok, sometimes I digress into discussing films from other countries as well). Peplums, comedies, dramas, spaghetti westerns... they're all covered here.

1 Comment

  1. Clint Eastwood and his Dirty Harry series was an extremely powerful influence on Italian cinema leading to Magnum-loaded cop flicks with Maurizio Merli and Tomas Milian as well as US television (Hunter, Starksy & Hutch and the spoof Sledge Hammer).

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