Killer Cop – Raro Video

Director: Luciano Ercoli
Screenplay: Gianfranco Calligarich
Based on a Story by: Mario Bregni
Starring: Claudio Cassinelli, Arthur Kennedy, Franco Fabrizi, Sara Sperati, Bruno Zanin, Francesco D’Adda, Paolo Poiret
Country: Italy
Running Time: 97 min (Italian cut) 95 min (English cut)
Year: 1975
BBFC Certificate: TBC

Luciano Ercoli worked more frequently as a producer than a director, but he did helm eight films during the 70s. His first three as a director were gialli, The Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion, Death Walks on High Heels and Death Walks at Midnight. Whilst Ercoli is not a big name in Italian genre cinema, all three of those titles have been given the royal treatment by Arrow in the past. Now Raro Video, via Radiance, are releasing his penultimate feature, the poliziottesco/Euro crime Killer Cop (a.k.a. La polizia ha le mani legate) on Blu-ray.

Being a fan of poliziotteschi, I got hold of a copy and will share my thoughts on the film below.

In Killer Cop, Claudio Cassinelli plays Commissario Matteo Rolandi, a young policeman working in the narcotics division. During an investigation, the lobby to the hotel he’s searching is blown up. With an important international conference going on there at the time, it’s presumed to be a political matter and a highly regarded, tough senior officer, Armando Di Federico (Arthur Kennedy), is brought in to handle the case.

After his partner Luigi Balsamo (Franco Fabrizi) gets personally involved in the investigation, however, Rolandi finds himself doing his own detective work, despite it not being in his field.

As Rolandi gets closer to the truth, the danger escalates. He faces resistance from both the criminals involved and potentially corrupt elements within the police force.

Killer Cop has fewer of the bombastic flourishes you expect in a poliziottesco, like car chases and punch-ups. There is some action, including an impactful if rather unconvincing bombing, but the film aims for a more grounded story and character-focused approach.

Because of this, the film perhaps struggles to stand out among the genre, but it remains one of the more consistent titles due to its lower-key style.

Claudio Cassinelli is also a slightly unconventional lead for a film like this. Despite the title, Rolandi isn’t your typical tough-guy cop. He’s got long hair more akin to a counter culture figure, he reads Moby Dick all the time and doesn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the force. This makes for a more interesting character and Cassinelli does a good job with it. Tragically, he died only ten years later, during the production of Hands of Steel.

Also, setting Killer Cop apart from many of its contemporaries is a surprisingly light touch, particularly in the first half, with a fair amount of humour dotted through that portion of the film. Most of the humour comes from the banter between characters and this adds life and authenticity to the film. Franco Fabrizi’s character, Balsamo, is a key proponent of much of this, boasting about having a threesome and such during talks with his friend and partner, Rolandi.

The lighter touch fades towards the end though, as the film reaches its typically downbeat conclusion.

Though the handling of politics in Killer Cop is rather simplistic, it does blatantly reference the Piazza Fontana bombing, which happened in Milan in 1969 and was one of the major events that kickstarted Italy’s ‘Years of Lead’ (I’ve written about this more extensively in earlier reviews of Silent Action, Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion and Arrow’s Years of Lead boxset). There’s a disclaimer at the beginning of the film to help cover the makers’ backs but those with even a passing knowledge of the politics of the time will know this statement is questionable.

From technical and stylistic standpoints, whilst this isn’t the most eye-popping of Italian genre films, it is handsomely shot by Marcello Gatti. It also boasts an infectious score by Stelvio Cipriani, which effectively blends funky rhythms with dramatic strings.

Overall then, Killer Cop is a solid, well-paced poliziottesco that might be low on thrills but makes up for this with character and a splash of humour.

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