''Roma come Chicago'' (literally "Rome like Chicago") is a 1968 Italian

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 ...

directed by

Alberto De Martino Alberto De Martino (12 June 1929 – 2 June 2015) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Born in Rome, De Martino started as a child actor and later returned to the cinema where worked as a screenwriter, director and dubbing supervis ...

. It stars

John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes ( ; December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. First known as a television and film actor, Cassavetes also helped pioneer American independent cinema, writing and dire ...

Cast

as Mario Corda *

Gabriele Ferzetti Gabriele Ferzetti (born Pasquale Ferzetti; 17 March 1925 – 2 December 2015) was an Italian actor with more than 160 credits across film, television, and stage. His career was at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s. Ferzetti's first leading role ...

as Commissioner *

Anita Sanders Anita Sanders (born 1942) is a retired Swedish actress and photomodel who was active in the Italian films of the 1960s and 1970s. Career Sanders began her film career with a minor role in '' La fuga'' in 1964, followed by a topless appearance in ...

as Lea Corda *

Nikos Kourkoulos Nikos Kourkoulos ( el, Νίκος Κούρκουλος; December 5, 1934 in Athens, Greece – January 30, 2007) was a highly respected Greek theatrical and film performer, one of the most talented and recognizable actors in Greece of modern tim ...

as Enrico *

Riccardo Cucciolla Riccardo Cucciolla (5 September 1924 – 17 September 1999) was an Italian actor and voice actor. He appeared in 60 films between 1953 and 1999. He won the Best Actor Award at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival for the film '' Sacco & Vanzetti'' ...

as Vice-Commissioner Pascuttini *

Luigi Pistilli Luigi Pistilli (19 July 192921 April 1996) was an Italian actor of stage, screen, and television. At one time Pistilli was one of Italy's most respected actors of stage, screen, and television. In theater, he was considered one of the country's ...

as Colangeli * Osvaldo Ruggieri as Inspector Sernesi *

Guido Lollobrigida Guido Lollobrigida (1927–2013) was an Italian actor and race car driver, usually credited in movies as Lee Barton or Lee Burton. He was a cousin of actress Gina Lollobrigida. Life and career Born in Rome, after graduating as a technical engin ...

as Angelo Scotese *

Piero Morgia Piero is an Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: *Piero Angela (1928–2022), Italian television host *Piero Barucci (born 1933), Italian academic and politician *Piero del Pollaiuolo (c. 1443–1496), Italian painter *Piero de ...

as Carlo Taddei *

Marc Fiorini Marc Fiorini (born 1940 or 1941) is an Italian-born Canadian actor. He is best known for his appearances in Italian films, and his roles in the television series ''Big Wolf on Campus'' and the film ''Angels & Demons''. Biography Fiorini was born ...

as Luciano Tarquini

Production

Among the films crew is cinematographer Aldo Tonto who had worked with

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...

and

Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...

. The score was composed by

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classica ...

and

Bruno Nicolai Bruno Nicolai (20 May 1926 – 16 August 1991) was an Italian film music composer, orchestra director and musical editor most active in the 1960s through the 1980s. While studying piano and composition at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, ...

. Morricone and Nicolai's score was re-worked music from the 1968 TV show '' Musica da sera''. Alberto De Martino spoke about working with

, stating that he was "the most difficult actor I have ever worked with. When we first met, his wife

Gena Rowlands Virginia Cathryn "Gena" Rowlands (born June 19, 1930) is an American retired actress, whose career in film, stage, and television has spanned seven decades. A four-time Emmy and two-time Golden Globe winner, she is known for her collaborations ...

came too. He introduced me to her as "the most intelligent director in Europe" which she responded with "Give him time!" Both De Martino and Cassavetes argued on the set but according to De Martino, the two ended production on good terms. ''Roma come Chicago'' was shot at De Laurentiis studios and on location in Rome. Director

discussed the film's location as an "Americanized Rome".

Release

''Roma come Chicago'' was released in Italy on 20 November 1968 where it was distributed by Paramount – De Laurentiis. It grossed a total of 320.84 million

lira Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current currency of Turkey and also the local name of the currencies of Lebanon and of Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, including those of Italy, Malta and Israe ...

on its theatrical run in Italy. As of 2013, the film has not been released on home video.

Reception

A review in the ''

Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...

'' stated that the film was a "fairly literal imitation of the American location thrillers of the Forties and Fifties made by Hathaway, Siodmak and others, except that it is a little more calculated in its violence."

Notes

References

External links

* 1968 films 1960s Italian-language films Films scored by Ennio Morricone Films directed by Alberto De Martino 1968 crime films Italian gangster films Films shot in Rome Films set in Rome Films produced by Dino De Laurentiis 1960s Italian films {{1960s-Italy-film-stub