''City Under Siege'' ( it, Un uomo, una città) is a 1974 Italian ''

poliziottesco Poliziotteschi (; singular ''poliziottesco'') constitute a subgenre of crime and action films that emerged in Italy in the late 1960s and reached the height of their popularity in the 1970s. They are also known as ''polizieschi all'italiana'', ' ...

'' film directed by

Romolo Guerrieri Romolo Guerrieri, aka ''Romolo Girolami'' (born 5 December 1931) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed 17 films between 1961 and 1992. Selected filmography ;Director * '' Ten Thousand Dollars for a Massacre'' (1966) * '' ...

. The film is loosely based on ''Il commissario di Torino'' by Riccardo Marcato and Ugo Novelli.

Plot

Michele Parrino (

Enrico Maria Salerno Enrico Maria Salerno (September 18, 1926 – February 28, 1994) was an Italian actor, voice actor and film director. He was also the voice of Clint Eastwood in the Italian version of Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy films, and the voice of Ch ...

) is a grouchy, solitary, sickly but legitimate police commissioner in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

. Parrino, helped by boozer journalist of ''

La Stampa ''La Stampa'' (meaning ''The Press'' in English) is an Italian daily newspaper published in Turin, Italy. It is distributed in Italy and other European nations. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Italy. History and profile The paper was fou ...

'' Paolo Ferrero (

Luciano Salce Luciano Salce (25 September 1922 – 17 December 1989) was an Italian film director, comedian, tv host, producer, actor and lyricist. His 1962 film ''Le pillole di Ercole'' was shown as part of a retrospective on Italian comedy at the 67th Ve ...

) and supported by his wealthy girlfriend Cristina (

Françoise Fabian Michèle Cortes (born 10 May 1933), known professionally as Françoise Fabian (), is a French film actress. She has appeared in more than 100 films since 1956. In 1971, Fabian signed the Manifesto of the 343 The Manifesto of the 343 (), was a F ...

), shall investigate about a murder of a young woman, daughter of a rich man. Also if his city appear like an historical and industrial center, with a lot of rich family, Parrino's investigations discover another reality: a deceiver city, when the most rich capitalists live in luxury surrounded by vices, and the common people live of illusions. At the end, Parrino succeed to foil a prostitution and narcotics ring, but in the attempt of arrest the bosses (well-known aristocrats and industrialists), Parrino is transferred to the ''

Guardia di Finanza The ''Guardia di Finanza'' (G. di F. or GdF) () (English: literal: ''Guard of Finance'', paraphrased: ''Financial Police'' or ''Financial Guard'') is an Italian law enforcement agency under the authority of the Minister of Economy and Finance. ...

'' and the Ferrero's article is blocked by his director. For revenge, Parrino and Ferrero go to Teatro Regio as guests, but with the only goal of taunt the crime lords giving to them compromising sexual photos. Finally, Parrino and Ferrero distance themselves from the theatre to a dark night.

Cast

: Michele Parrino *

: Cristina Cournier *

: Paolo Ferrero *

Bruno Zanin Bruno Zanin (born 9 April 1951 in Vigonovo, Veneto, Italy) is an Italian film, theatre and TV actor and writer. Life and career Child of farmers and the sixth of seven brothers, Zanin studied at a school run by priests up to the age of fourteen ...

: Maria's young lover *

Paola Quattrini Paola Quattrini (born 9 March 1944) is an Italian actress. Career She debuted as child actor in ''Il bacio di una morta'' (1949). From then she started a very long career between stage, film and television, starring in hundreds of productions. I ...

: Anna *

Monica Monet Monica may refer to: People *Monica (actress) (born 1987), Indian film actress * Monica (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) * Monica (singer) (born 1980), American R&B singer, songwriter, producer ...

: Luisa Grami * Francesco Ferracini: Balistrieri *

Tino Scotti Tino Scotti (16 November 1905 – 16 October 1984) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 65 films between 1940 and 1984. He was born in Milan, Italy, and died in Tarquinia, Italy. Partial filmography * ''Fanfulla da Lodi'' (1940) * ''L ...

: Cavalier Battista *

Gipo Farassino Giuseppe "Gipo" Farassino (11 March 1934 – 11 December 2013) was an Italian singer, songwriter, musician and politician. Biography As a songwriter Farassino produced more than 30 albums and virtually 50 singles. Most of his songs were in Pie ...

: Polito *

Raffaele Curi Raffaele () is an Italian given name and surname, variant of the English Raphael. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Raffaele Amato, Italian mobster * Raffaele Cutolo, Italian mobster * Raffaele Ganci, Italian mobster * Raffaele Can ...

: Franco *

Antonino Faà di Bruno Antonino Faà di Bruno (15 December 1910 – 2 May 1981) was an Italian actor and former military officer. Biography A member of the aristocratic Faà di Bruno family, Antonino Faà di Bruno was born in London, the son of Marchese Alessand ...

: Colonel Peretti *

Maria D'Incoronato Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

: Maria *

Anna Campori Anna Campori (22 September 1917 – 19 January 2018) was an Italian actress. From 1951 onwards, she appeared in 70 films. Life and career Born in Rome, Italy, after the debut on stage in a small company of prose Campori moved shortly after in ...

: Maria's lover's mother *

Attilio Dottesio Attilio Dottesio (16 July 1909 – 12 February 1989) was an Italian film character actor and singer. He appeared in 170 films between 1940 and 1985. Born in Brescia, Dottesio began his career in France, where first he obtained some success ...

: Coroner

Production

''City Under Siege'' was filmed at Icet-De Paolis in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and on location in

. Producer

Luigi Rovere Luigi Rovere (June 30, 1908 – October 20, 1996) was an Italian film producer.Kezich p.108 Selected filmography * ''How I Lost the War'' (1947) * ''Bullet for Stefano'' (1947) * ''L'eroe della strada'' (1948) * '' In the Name of the Law'' (1949 ...

gave the director who guaranteed the director the luxury of shooting the film in eleven weeks.

Release

''City Under Siege'' was distributed theatrically by

Cineriz ''Cineriz'' was an Italian media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films, founded in the early 1950s by the businessman Angelo Rizzoli. The company catalogue counts also many films directed by Federico Fellini, Gil ...

in Italy on 25 October 1974. The film grossed a total of 1,309,698,000

Italian lire The lira (; plural lire) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was first introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually f ...

domestically.

References

Footnotes

Sources

External links

* Poliziotteschi films 1974 crime films 1974 films Films directed by Romolo Guerrieri Films scored by Carlo Rustichelli 1970s Italian films {{1970s-crime-film-stub