Some 1970s films are interesting for the simple reason of providing future generations with insight into the popular culture of that era. An example can be found in The Gang That Sold America, a 1979 Italian comedy directed by Bruno Corbucci and the fifth instalment in the series about the streetwise undercover policeman Nico Giraldi.
In this film, Tomas Milian again plays the main character, and the plot is directly connected with the previous instalment, Little Italy. It begins after Sergeant Nico Giraldi has apparently left the police. Now he wanders the streets of New York, trying to make ends meet with his hustling skills. During an incident in a strip bar, he shows that he knows how to brawl, which catches the attention of one of the patrons, a loan shark who immediately offers him a job. Nico soon learns that one of the people he is supposed to collect a debt from is his old friend Salvatore Esposito (played by Enzo Cannavale), a pizzeria owner who has fallen on hard times. Nico decides to help him by seeking assistance from Maria Sole Giarra (played by Margherita Fumero), the daughter of a recently deceased Mafia don who happens to be madly in love with him. It turns out that Maria Sole can’t inherit the money until she marries the Mafia don Vito Sartieri (played by Leo Gavaro). Nico is disappointed but also discovers that Vito wants to assassinate the Mafia superboss Don Gitto Cardone (played by Gianni Mussy). Nico and Salvatore decide to prevent the assassination, hoping to get a financial reward, and take the identities of Vito’s hired killers and travel to Miami.
Despite the success of the four previous films, it appears that director Bruno Corbucci wasn’t sure that Milian could carry this film by himself. So, Enzo Cannavale and Margherita Fumero are brought back to repeat their roles and back Milian up. The general result isn’t that impressive, mostly because of a poor script that makes the characters of Salvatore and Maria Sole sometimes too obnoxious. Corbucci tries to compensate for the lacking humour with plenty of action, which includes not only brawls but also car and boat chases. Locations in Miami, a city that would become “cool” due to a certain 1980s TV series, are also put to good use. But the most interesting elements of The Gang That Sold America are the fashion and music. The former includes both Giraldi, who wears an outrageous parody of Serpico’s outfit, and the chequered jackets worn in “cool” night clubs. The latter includes a soundtrack by the famous Italian progressive rock band Goblin, which is accompanied by the disco tune “The Whip”, performed by Indian singer and disco star Asha Puthli, who also appears in the role of Don Gitto’s mistress and Nico’s love interest. Whether you would like this film or not depends in large part on whether you like the song, which is performed during one of the action scenes. If you accept it, you are likely to enjoy the rest of the silliness and view The Gang That Sold America as a guilty pleasure.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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