D:
Steno [Stefano Vanzina]. P. Sergio Bonotti. W: Nicola Badalucco, Lucio De Caro,
Luciano Vincenzoni. Ph: Silvano Ippoliti. M: Guido and Maurizio De Angelis. St:
Bud Spencer (Inspector ‘Flatfoot’ Rizzo), Adalberto Maria Merli (Commissioner
Tabassi), Raymond Pellegrin (De Ribbis), Juliette Mayniel (Maria), Mario Pilar
(Antonio Percuoco, ‘Manomozza’)
“In Naples sometimes it’s easier to bend the
law a little bit”
Prepare
for comedy as broad as Bud Spencer’s considerable shoulders. The sight of a goon
slapping himself in the face rather than suffering a blow from Inspector Rizzo’s
anvil-sized fist is a taste of the direction Steno’s comic quadrilogy about the
titular ‘Flatfoot’ would take. For the most part, however, the original instalment
qualifies as a measured, well-performed antidote to the mean-spirited leanings of
the poliziotteschi that Steno helped
to pioneer. It showcases the charisma and blue-collar appeal of its star while
also allowing Spencer to walk the beat in his birth town, the notorious
Mediterranean port of
Naples
Rizzo’s even-handedness and identification with the populace colour his duties as a cop. He advises contraband sellers to hide their cigarettes when customs men prowl the backstreets, and he knows all of Naples’ hookers by name, making it his business to protect rather than exploit them. Salty informers and helpers orbit Rizzo’s life adding a little Neapolitan colour. Gennarino (Enzo Maggio) is an escaped con who hides out in Maria’s apartment, much to Rizzo’s disgruntlement. Rather than turn him in, though, Rizzo later recruits him to protect Maria and Salvatore when the villains close in. Peppino (Salvatore Morra) is a diminutive hunchback who points Rizzo towards the drugs shipment. He is later found dead, but the plucky informer’s frozen hand signal gives Rizzo the biggest clue as to who is really behind the trade.
Squaring up against Rizzo’s ursine frame and his oddball sidekicks is the new commissioner, Tabassi, who is aghast that Rizzo never employs his gun. Steno flirts with the common poliziotteschi trope of the man against the system, but gives the genre’s nihilistic anger a wide berth. In Rizzo’s dogged pursuit of the pushers punch-ups ensue. Much to the delight of the audience, these even involve Tabassi, who makes the fateful mistake of tapping Rizzo on the shoulder after the big man has dispatched a room full of the Baron’s heavies. In the edgiest action sequence, Rizzo, enraged after finding Salvatore stealing money for dope, is set upon by chain-brandishing pushers on motorcycles in a brilliant night-time dockside confrontation, but uses his herculean strength to club his assailants to the ground.
One good turn deserves another. Once Rizzo knows which vessel is bringing in the drugs from Marseilles, he joins forces with Jho and two of his navy buddies – brawny Claudio Ruffini and acrobatic Roberto Dell’Acqua – for a prolonged and inventive fight aboard ship until the stash is found; it’s a mix of gravity-defying leaps, physical comedy and plain idiocy.
Compared
with the director’s Execution Squad, it’s a lesser work, but there’s plenty for fans of the genre to
revel in. Ippoliti makes great use of Naples at night, painting it as a warren
of decaying edifices and ascending slum neighbourhoods, populated by low-rent
chancers and grafters in a community overlooked by Italy’s ruling elite. However,
don’t expect political discourse. Steno and Spencer are content to offer a
flavour of Naples’ energy and solidarity, with a local hero to root for. Later
Flatfoot adventures would find the detective in Hong Kong, Africa and on the
Nile, but none of these entries carry the impact of the character’s heartfelt battle
to clean up the streets of his home town.
Clark Hodgkiss
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