''Double Game'', also known as ''Violent Turin'' (in original Italian, ''Torino violenta''), is a 1977 ''
poliziotteschi
Poliziotteschi (; singular ''poliziottesco'') constitute a subgenre of crime film, 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'i ...
'' film. The film is directed by
Carlo Ausino and stars
George Hilton.
[NoShame DVD Case, 2005. Last accessed: September 2008.]
Plot
The fatal stabbing of a wealthy doctor, the rape and strangulation of a seventeen-year-old girl, and a series of destructive smash-and-grabs keep police inspectors Danieli (Emanuel Cannarsa) and Moretti (
George Hilton) working overtime. In addition there is a growing gang war between the established local dons and an invading French crime syndicate that threatens the city. To keep the Turin from becoming the most violent city in Italy, Moretti patrols the streets at night to fight crime as a vigilante.
Production
Double Game was made because director
Carlo Ausino was unable to find a distribution deal for his previous film "Prima che il sole tramonti" (1976) and so he asked the producers for advice.
Poliziotteschi
Poliziotteschi (; singular ''poliziottesco'') constitute a subgenre of crime film, 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'i ...
films about violent cities were popular at the time (
Violent Rome
''Violent Rome'' ( it, Roma violenta) is an Italian 1975 ''poliziottesco'' film directed by Marino Girolami It obtained a great commercial success and launched the career of Maurizio Merli. The film has two sequels, '' Violent Naples'' and '' A Spe ...
,
Violent Naples
''Violent Naples'' ( it, Napoli violenta) is a 1976 ''poliziottesco'' film directed by Umberto Lenzi. It starred Maurizio Merli, John Saxon and Barry Sullivan, and was the first sequel to ''Violent Rome''. Saxon appeared in several such movies.
Pl ...
) and the producers were aware that Carlo lived 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 ...
so they asked him to make a crime film called "Torino violenta" to recoup the lost money. Carlo agreed provided the producers arranged the film's distribution. Needing a star to promote the film the lead role was offered to popular genre actor
George Hilton. The rest of the cast and crew were made up of natives of Turin. Turin native Emanuel Cannarsa was cast as Hilton's partner because the director thought that Emanuel looked American and
Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his "granite features and brawny physique," he gained international fame for his starring roles in action, Western, and war ...
-like (Emanuel would return to play the lead role in this film's sequel
Tony: Another Double Game). When shooting began George Hilton questioned the ability of the crew and director because they were shooting much faster in Turin than crews in Rome. However, Hilton eventually came to accept this.
[''Double Game, One Player'' Documentary, 2005. Last accessed: September 2008.]
The production had some difficulties along the way. The first major problem was locating the cars to be used as police cars in the film. The crew had to use cars from a wrecking yard that were unable to go very fast and director Carlo Ausino used camera tricks to make them appear to be going much faster. Ausino also took one of the prop cars home to paint in order to make it look like a police car for the film and the police received an anonymous tip that a suspicious person was painting a car to look like a police car. As there were terrorist incidents in Italy at that time the police visited the director's home to find out what he was doing.
Releases
''Double Game'' was released in Italy on 13 October 1977 where it was distributed by Lark. It grossed 1,279,000,000 billion
Italian lira
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 ...
.
It was released in the Netherlands on VHS as ''Geweld in TURYN''. The film was released on Region 1 DVD by
NoShame
NoShame, or NoShame Films, was an Italian-American company specializing in releasing authoritative editions of cult Italian movies on DVD.
History
NoShame Films started its office in Italy and opened an office in Los Angeles, California the follo ...
films in 2005, with its rare sequel
Tony: Another Double Game as a bonus feature. The DVD subsequently went out of print.
References
Footnotes
Sources
*
External links
*{{IMDb title, id=0078408
1977 films
1970s Italian-language films
1970s crime action films
1970s crime thriller films
1970s action thriller films
1970s vigilante films
Poliziotteschi films
Italian vigilante films
Italian crime action films
Films set in Turin
Films scored by Stelvio Cipriani
1970s Italian films