bkoganbing Although described as a comedy I found few laughs in Mean Frank And Crazy Tony. This continental production boasts a cast of Lee Van Cleef and Tony Lo Bianco and a bunch of players that most Americans will never have heard of.Van Cleef is a Mafia don on the order of Don Corleone and Lo Bianco is a young kid looking to make his bones in organized crime and tries way too hard to curry favor with Van Cleef. But when he saves his life after another family organizes a hit on him, Van Cleef and Lo Bianco become a team as Van Cleef looks for some payback.Highlight of the film is a car chase from Milan to Marseilles with the guys making fools of the cops of two nations. Lo Bianco overacts outrageously, Van Cleef is subdued and menacing. When is Lee Van Cleef not menacing.One these two definitely did for the money.

Michael Ledo Tony (Tony Lo Bianco) is a likeable lower tier criminal. When noted crime boss Frankie (Lee Van Cleef) comes to town, Tony wants to meet him. Frankie ignores Tony as he has plans on his own, i.e. get arrested so he has an alibi. Frankie accepts Tony in prison after Tony saves his life. Things go horribly wrong for Frankie as his lawyer and brother gets killed, his empire crumbles, and he is stuck in prison. He must rely on Crazy Tony for help.The film is not top notch. It has some comedic elements that border on camp. Likewise the tough guy talk is more camp than serious. Because it was foreign, it is difficult to tell what was meant to be funny and what was accidentally funny. The production is not a timeless classic, and will only have a narrow audience.Parental Guide: Edwige Fenech- shower nudity

Leofwine_draca MEAN FRANK AND CRAZY TONY is a mixed-up Italian crime movie with various disparate elements. One of the best of these is Lee Van Cleef, taking a break from the spaghetti western movie genre to play a big-shot gangster. Van Cleef plays in support while the main role is a wiseguy newcomer determined to meet his idol. The story mixes traditional Italian polizia thriller elements and has some arresting murder scenes at the outset, including a bit where a masseuse uses an electric drill on one of his clients! Later, there are some prison drama moments, and a surprising amount of comedy. It's something of a mixed bag as a film but still fun, and a naked Edwige Fenech is thrown into the mix to boot.

Woodyanders Steely, powerful gangster supreme Frankie Diomede (the always terrific Lee Van Cleef in fine rugged form) has himself arrested and sent to prison so he can rub out a traitorous partner sans detection. Fawning goofball small-time hood and wiseguy wannabe Tony Breda (an amiable portrayal by Tony Lo Bianco) gets busted as well. Frank and Tony form an unlikely friendship behind bars. Tony helps Frank break out of the joint and assists him on his quest to exact revenge on a rival group of mobsters lead by the ruthless Louis Annunziata (smoothly played by Jean Rochefort). Director Michele Lupo, working from an absorbing script by Sergio Donati and Luciano Vincenzoni, relates the neat story at a constant brisk pace, sustains a suitably gritty, but occasionally lighthearted tone throughout, and stages the rousing action set pieces with considerable rip-snorting brio (a rough'n'tumble jailhouse shower brawl and a protracted mondo destructo car chase rate as the definite thrilling highlights). Van Cleef and Lo Bianco display a nice, loose and engaging on-screen chemistry; the relationship between their characters is alternately funny and touching. The ravishing Edwige Fenech alas isn't given much to do as Tony's whiny girlfriend Orchidea, but at least gets to bare her insanely gorgeous and voluptuous body in a much-appreciated gratuitous nude shower scene. Riz Ortolani's groovy, pulsating, syncopated funk/jazz score certainly hits the soulfully swingin' spot. The polished cinematography by Joe D'Amato and Aldo Tonti is likewise impressive. A really nifty and entertaining little winner.