''The Death Collector'' (also known as ''The Family Enforcer'') is a 1976

low-budget A low-budget film or low-budget movie is a motion picture shot with little to no funding from a major film studio or private investor. Many independent films are made on low budgets, but films made on the mainstream circuit with inexperienced or ...

crime film directed by Ralph De Vito and starring

Joseph Cortese Joseph Cortese (born February 22, 1948) is an American actor who had major roles in films such as ''Windows'' (1980), '' Evilspeak'' (1981) and ''Monsignor'' (1982). Early life Cortese was born on February 22, 1948 in Paterson, New Jersey. He ...

Joe Pesci Joseph Frank Pesci ( , ; born February 9, 1943) is an American actor and musician. He is known for portraying tough, volatile characters in a variety of genres and for his collaborations with Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese in the films ''Rag ...

and

Frank Vincent Frank Vincent Gattuso Jr. (April 15, 1937 – September 13, 2017) was an American actor. During a five-decade career, Vincent often portrayed mobsters. He was a frequent collaborator of filmmaker Martin Scorsese, appearing as Salvy in ''Raging B ...

. It was Ralph De Vito's only film as a director, and Joe Pesci's first billed appearance in a movie. Pesci and Vincent's performances in the film were met with high critical acclaim. Actor Robert De Niro saw the film and recommended them to director

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, inclu ...

for ''

Raging Bull ''Raging Bull'' is a 1980 American biographical sports drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, produced by Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler and adapted by Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin from Jake LaMotta's 1970 memoir '' Raging Bull: My ...

'', which was the start of De Niro's numerous collaborations with Pesci and Vincent.

Background

The film follows the progress of Jerry Bolanti, a small-time, short tempered crook who becomes a debt collector for an organized crime leader. It has the tagline, "If You Liked "The Godfather" & "Dog Day Afternoon," Then This Is Your Kind of Motion Picture." The film was originally released in 1975 and became a cult favorite. For around a year it was screened in the Los Angeles area.

Plot

Jerry Bolanti, a

Mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...

-connected hoodlum, is released from jail and is looking for a job. During this very uncertain and stressful transitional period, he plays the field to help stay relaxed. He discovers almost by accident that he has a talent for debt collecting and intimidation. He then decides to pay a visit to a mid-level wiseguy acquaintance and offer up his services. His first task is to collect from a certain Bernie Feldshuh. Before he can deliver the swag to his capo, he is intercepted by Bernie's henchmen, who take back the money and leave him for dead. Jerry returns to Bernie's home while still healing from his gunshot wounds and extracts a moderate amount of retribution. Bernie's response is to hire a top-notch assassin named Marley to take down Jerry as well as the lawyer named Herb Greene who commissioned him to collect on the debt in the first place. An unfortunate secretary becomes collateral damage. Jerry's boss Anthony learns of the deed and sends a man of his own to even the score. An unfortunate bodyguard becomes collateral damage, and Jerry never does recover the $28,000. His next assignment is to team up with enforcers Joe and Serge to conduct a raid on a shop manager for $40,000 that he may or may not have "owed" to somebody. But Bernie's newly hired hitman Marley is watching and waiting for an opportunity to take Jerry down. This proves disastrous for the entire operation. After the heist, the trio of gangsters heads over to a hotel room to count out the profits and celebrate a little. While Jerry is downstairs in the hotel restaurant, their secret adversary, Marley, assassinates both Serge and Joe. He makes off with the money as well. At this point, Jerry's handler Tony begins accusing him of keeping the loot for himself. He refuses to believe that Jerry could make off with so much money, only to immediately lose it all again. Nobody could possibly be that incompetent. Jerry manages to tease out the contractor's identity from a restaurateur named Spinoza. He hunts Marley down and terminates his career in a field of tall grass. Later, he receives a call from Gus at the local junk yard. Gus says that a camper has come in and that Jerry might be able to salvage it for himself and his live-in girlfriend Paula. Just as things begin looking rosy for Jerry and Paula, he is bushwhacked right in front of the battered red camper by three gun-toting villains. He dies as a result. The movie ends exactly the same way it began by showing the same two hoodlums in the same automobile dumping yet another body into the same ravine. Only this time, instead of an anonymous corpse, it's young Jerry Bolanti. The mastermind behind this particular hit is then shown to be none other than his former boss, Tony.

Cast

as Jerry Bolanti * Lou Criscuolo as Anthony Iadavia (billed as Lou Criscuola) *

as Joe *

Bobby Alto Robert Altomare (October 30, 1938 – April 28, 2012), known professionally as Bobby Alto, was an American actor, comedian and performer. He and Buddy Mantia made up the Brooklyn-based comedy team ''Alto & Mantia''. They performed on both ''The T ...

as Serge *

as Bernie Feldshuh * Keith Davis as Marley * Jack Ramage as Herb Greene * Anne Johns as Paula * Bob D'Andrea as Ned * Victoria Hale as Sally * Frank Ammirati as Spinoza * Gino Gennaro as Chuck *

Floyd Levine Floyd Levine (born February 23, 1932) is an American film and television actor. He played Dr. Ralph Harris in the 1978 film '' Bloodbrothers''. He also played Gen. Duncan in the 1988 film '' Braddock: Missing in Action III'' and Lt. Mellin in ...

as Kruger * Sal La Pera as Gus * Richard Ward as Gunsmith * Frank Piazza as "Butchy" * Anthony Manufo as Frank Benino

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

The Death Collector, Full Cast & Crew
/ref> * Lorenzo Philip Gonnella as Craps Dealer * Philip Gonnella as Craps Player

References

External links

*

* * ttp://www.grindhousedatabase.com/index.php/Death_Collector Death Collector@ THE DEUCE: Grindhouse Cinema Database * {{DEFAULTSORT:Death Collector, The 1976 films 1976 crime drama films American crime drama films Films about the American Mafia Films produced by William N. Panzer 1976 directorial debut films Films set in New Jersey Films shot in New Jersey 1970s English-language films 1970s American films English-language crime drama films