''Lucky Luciano'' is a 1973 Italian/French/US

international co-production A co-production is a joint venture between two or more different production companies for the purpose of film production, television production, video game development, and so on. In the case of an international co-production, production companies ...

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

about the Sicilian-American gangster Charles “Lucky” Luciano, played by

Gian Maria Volonté Gian Maria Volonté (9 April 1933 – 6 December 1994) was an Italian actor, including roles in four Spaghetti Western films: Ramón Rojo in Sergio Leone's ''A Fistful of Dollars'' (1964) and El Indio in Leone's '' For a Few Dollars More'' ( ...

. It is directed by

Francesco Rosi Francesco Rosi (; 15 November 1922 – 10 January 2015) was an Italian film director. His film ''The Mattei Affair'' won the Palme d'Or at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival. Rosi's films, especially those of the 1960s and 1970s, often appeared to ha ...

, and written by Rosi,

Tonino Guerra Antonio "Tonino" Guerra (16 March 1920 – 21 March 2012) was an Italian poet, writer and screenwriter who collaborated with some of the most prominent film directors in the world. Life and work Guerra was born in Santarcangelo di Romagna. Accor ...

, Lino Iannuzzi, and

Jerome Chodorov Jerome Chodorov (August 10, 1911 – September 12, 2004) was an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. He co-wrote the book with Joseph A. Fields for the original Broadway musical ''Wonderful Town'' starring Rosalind Russell. The musi ...

. The cast also stars

Rod Steiger Rodney Stephen Steiger (; April 14, 1925July 9, 2002, aged 77) was an American actor, noted for his portrayal of offbeat, often volatile and crazed characters. Cited as "one of Hollywood's most charismatic and dynamic stars," he is closely assoc ...

Vincent Gardenia Vincent Gardenia (born Vincenzo Scognamiglio; January 7, 1920 – December 9, 1992) was an Italian-American stage, film, and television actor. He was nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, first for ''Bang the Drum Slow ...

Charles Cioffi Charles M. Cioffi (born October 31, 1935) is an American film and television actor best known as Lt. Matt Reardon in ''Get Christie Love!'' opposite co-star Teresa Graves. Born in New York City, he attended Michigan State University, where he ...

, and

Edmond O'Brien Eamon Joseph O'Brien (September 10, 1915 – May 9, 1985) was an American actor and film director. His career spanned almost 40 years, and he won one Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. O'Brien w ...

. Charles Siragusa, the real-life federal narcotics agent who pursued Luciano, plays himself in the film and also served as technical consultant. The film is a French and Italian co-production, filmed on-location in Italy and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. ''Lucky Luciano'' was shown as part of the Cannes Classics section of the

2013 Cannes Film Festival The 66th Cannes Film Festival took place in Cannes, France, from 15 to 26 May 2013. Steven Spielberg was the head of the jury for the main competition. New Zealand film director Jane Campion was the head of the jury for the Cinéfondation and S ...

Plot

Born in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

as Salvatore Lucania, Charles “Lucky” Luciano rises to become “the boss of all bosses” of the

American Mafia The American Mafia, commonly referred to in North America as the Italian American Mafia, the Mafia, or the Mob, is a highly organized Italian American criminal society and organized crime group. The organization is often referred to by its membe ...

in the 1930s by eliminating his rivals for power. When eventually imprisoned, Luciano eventually secures his release by offering his services to military intelligence during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, receiving a commutation from New York Governor

Thomas E. Dewey Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer, prosecutor, and politician who served as the 47th governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican candidate for president in 1944 and 1948: although ...

and subsequently being deported to Italy. Settling in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, Luciano takes control of the underground drug trade, managing to avoid prosecution through the use of proxies, covertly running his operation out of a

race track A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also u ...

Federal Bureau of Narcotics The Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) was an agency of the United States Department of the Treasury, established in the Department of the Treasury by an act of June 14, 1930, consolidating the functions of the Federal Narcotics Control Board a ...

agent Charles Siragusa is assigned to bring down Luciano, managing to turn his associate Gene Giannini informant. Giannini tries to lure Luciano out of the country to

Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, but Luciano refuses to talk business. When Giannini fails to get Siragusa the results he wants, he allows the informant to spend a year in an Italian jail for carrying

counterfeit currency Counterfeit money is currency produced without the legal sanction of a state or government, usually in a deliberate attempt to imitate that currency and so as to deceive its recipient. Producing or using counterfeit money is a form of fraud or ...

. Giannini attempts to contact Siragusa by sending letters through his mistress, but she has begun an affair with Luciano who reads their contents and learns of his friend's double-dealing. Siragusa sends Giannini back to the United States to testify against Luciano, but he's assassinated on Luciano's orders before he can do so. Siragusa's superiors order him to halt his investigation. He accuses them of trying to cover for Dewey, claiming that he only commuted Luciano after the mobster bribed him, though they deny it. By 1962, dozens of Luciano's associates in the drug trade have been arrested. The Italian authorities detain him and reveal they have discovered his smuggling scheme. Under immense stress, Luciano falls ill but seemingly recovers. Police tail him to the airport where he is to meet with a filmmaker writing a screenplay about his life, but he suffers a fatal heart attack and dies.

Style

Like Rosi's previous film ''

The Mattei Affair ''The Mattei Affair'' ( it, Il Caso Mattei) is a 1972 film directed by Francesco Rosi. It depicts the life and mysterious death of Enrico Mattei, an Italian businessman who in the aftermath of World War II managed to avoid the sale of the nascent ...

'', the film is presented in a

docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event". Docudramas typic ...

style representing Rosi's notion of ''cine-inchieste'' (film investigation), avoiding the personal aspects of the biopic or gangster genre and focusing on the researched facts of Luciano's life and activities, and their broader implications.

Cast

as Charles “Lucky” Luciano * Charles Siragusa as himself, a U.S. narcotics agent *

as Gene Giannini *

Harry J. Anslinger Harry Jacob Anslinger (May 20, 1892 – November 14, 1975) was a United States government official who served as the first commissioner of the U.S. Treasury Department's Federal Bureau of Narcotics during the presidencies of Herbert Hoover, ...

as Colonel Poletti *

Silverio Blasi Silverio Blasi (17 November 1921 – 27 April 1995) was an Italian television and stage director, actor and screenwriter. Born in Rome, Blasi was co-founder, together with Giorgio De Lullo, Goliarda Sapienza and Mario Landi, of the avant ...

as Italian Commissario *

Larry Gates Lawrence Wheaton Gates (September 24, 1915December 12, 1996) was an American actor. His notable roles include H.B. Lewis on daytime's ''Guiding Light'' and Doc Baugh in the film version of ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' (1958). He played the role o ...

as Judge Herlands *

Magda Konopka Magda Konopka (born March 15, 1943) is a Polish model and actress. She was born in Warsaw. In December 1967, she married Franco-Canadian billionaire Jean-Louis Dessy in Chelsea, London. They separated after three months of marriage. She is rep ...

as Contessa *Dino Curcio as Don Ciccio *Karin Petersen as Igea Lissoni *Jacques Monod as French Commissioner *

Luigi Infantino Luigi Infantino (; 24 April 1921 – 22 June 1991) was an Italian operatic tenor, particularly associated with the lyric Italian and French repertories. Luigi Infantino was born in Racalmuto, and studied at the Parma Conservatory with Italo Bran ...

as opera singer *

Carlo Mazzarella Carlo Mazzarella (30 July 1919 – 7 March 1993) was an Italian actor and journalist. Life and career Born in Genoa, Mazzarella enrolled in the Silvio d’Amico Academy of Dramatic Arts, graduating in 1942. Almost immediately he debuted on st ...

as radio journalist *

John Francis Lane John Francis Lane (1 December 1928 – 15 January 2018) was an English journalist, critic and actor. He was known for being a small-part actor in many Italian films, and as a contributor to ''The Guardian'' writing obituaries for Italian cultura ...

as reporter in

* P. M. Pasinetti as the narrator Source:

References

External links

* {{Francesco Rosi 1973 films 1973 crime drama films Italian crime drama films Italian biographical films French crime drama films French biographical films 1970s Italian-language films English-language French films English-language Italian films French multilingual films Italian multilingual films Biographical films about gangsters Cultural depictions of Lucky Luciano Cultural depictions of Vito Genovese Films directed by Francesco Rosi Films set in 1962 Films set in Naples Films set in Palermo Films set in the 1950s Films set in New York City Films about the American Mafia Films with screenplays by Tonino Guerra Embassy Pictures films Films scored by Piero Piccioni Italian docudrama films French docudrama films American docudrama films 1970s American films 1970s Italian films 1970s French films Italian gangster films American gangster films French gangster films

Plot

Style

Cast

See also

References

External links