''Il marchio di Kriminal'' ( The Mark of Kriminal) is a 1967 film. It is the follow-up to ''

Kriminal ''Kriminal'' is an Italian comics series featuring an eponymous fictional character, created in 1964 by Magnus and Max Bunker, the authors of '' Alan Ford'', '' Maxmagnus'' and ''Satanik''. Characters Kriminal is an English master thief, Anthon ...

'' (1966).

Plot

The bandit Kriminal accidentally discovers in an ancient porcelain statuette a fragment of a map relating to the place where a famous outlaw, before being executed, had managed to hide two precious canvases. Kriminal immediately begins the research to recover three other statuettes, similar to the one in his possession, containing the fragments necessary to complete the map. His investigations are successful. Only one statuette is now missing from Kriminal to identify the place where the paintings are hidden. However, the statuette is in the hands of two adventurers, Mara and Robson, who, in turn, try to snatch the map fragments he recovered from Kriminal. An agreement is finally reached by the three: they will join forces to bring to light the hidden paintings and share the proceeds equally. Kriminal, Mara and Robson then leave for Beirut and, in an archaeological area of the city, they find the precious paintings. Kriminal eliminates the two partners, who had tried to take over the entire booty, and sets out to return to his base. However, the unexpected arrival of Inspector Milton, who has been on his trail for some time, disrupts his plans. In an attempt to escape capture, Kriminal crashes his car into a ravine.

Production

''Il marchio di Kriminal'' is the follow-up to the film ''

'' (1966), directed by

Umberto Lenzi Umberto Lenzi (6 August 1931 – 19 October 2017) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and novelist. A fan of film since young age, Lenzi studied at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and made his first film in 1958 which went unr ...

. Roel Bos, the main actor of the film states that the film was shot in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and on a cruise between

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Baalbeck Baalbek (; ar, بَعْلَبَكّ, Baʿlabakk, Syriac-Aramaic: ܒܥܠܒܟ) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In Greek and Roman ...

Byblos Byblos ( ; gr, Βύβλος), also known as Jbeil or Jubayl ( ar, جُبَيْل, Jubayl, locally ; phn, 𐤂𐤁𐤋, , probably ), is a city in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. It is believed to have been first occupied between 880 ...

and

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. The film's credits note that Manuel Parada composed the score, but it is actually the work of

Piero Umiliani Piero Umiliani (17 July 1926 – 14 February 2001) was an Italian composer of film scores. Biography Umiliani was born in Florence, Tuscany. Like many of his Italian colleagues at that time, he composed the scores for many exploitation fil ...

Nando Cicero Fernando Cicero, better known as Nando Cicero (22 January 1931 – 30 July 1995), was an Italian film director, screenwriter and actor. Born in Asmara, Cicero debuted as an actor, working with directors such as Luchino Visconti ('' Senso'', 195 ...

is sometimes credited in aiding

Fernando Cerchio Fernando Cerchio (7 August 1914 – 19 August 1974) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed more than 30 films between 1940 and 1972. Selected filmography * '' Men of the Mountain'' (1943) * ''Mistress of the Mountains'' ...

in directing the film while Roel Bos states that to his "knowledge Cicero had nothing to do with the movie."

Release

''Il marchio di Kriminal'' was released in Italy in 1967.

Reception

In a contemporary review, Italian newspaper ''

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 ...

'' gave a brief plot summary of the film, which stated that the plot summary alone indicates the quality of the film. In a retrospective review, Italian film critic and historian Roberto Curti noted that "despite a disappointing second half, which again transforms the movie into a banal travelogue adventure ..''Il marchio di Kriminal'' is ultimately more successful than its predecessors in conveying the feeling of Magnus & Bunker's grimly ironic comic book."

References

Footnotes

Sources

External links

* Spanish superhero films Films shot in Rome Italian superhero films Films based on Italian comics Live-action films based on comics Films directed by Fernando Cerchio Films scored by Piero Umiliani Italian sequel films 1960s superhero films Supervillain films 1960s Italian films {{1960s-Italy-film-stub