Bezenby What went wrong here? Fernando Di Leo drops the ball in a meandering crime film that takes almost fifty minutes to get anywhere and doesn't feature any particularly interesting characters. All Jack Palance does is scowl with a cigarette in his mouth, something you've seen him do in a dozen other films.It starts out with a kid witnessing his father being killed by Jack Palance, then we fast forward to the present (seventies Rome), where Tony works for local mob guy Luigi (played by a very pale Edmund Purdom). Tony wants to work the big leagues and ends up teaming up with Al Cliver, a guy who until recently worked for Palance. I guess the mystery is figuring out which one of them was the kid at the start of the film.The first two thirds of the film concentrate on these two scamming Palance while also fighting with Purdom's second in command, and the main problem is neither of the leads are that interesting. The only character with any depth is the old Neopolitan pickpocket who gets caught up in the all the madness. For some reason though his character has an over the top Italian accent whilst everyone else is dubbed American.Most of the action takes place in the last half hour of the film, where finally everyone gets their guns out. This is where Al Cliver shines as he's not the best at being emotional, but at least he looks cool gunning people down. The whole film seems a bit tired and it's as if Di Leo didn't know where to take the story, and as there's about a million Eurocrime films from 1976, this one doesn't quite cut it.

jakob13 Fernando Di Leo's 1974 'Rulers of the City' is a delightful find among the gems of Italian cinema. The film is fast paced. It is, in hindsight, a gentle send up of the gangster genre. Remember took his treatment of spaghetti westerns to the urban turf, and, under all the grime and grit, he brings a comic turn. The cast is international: Harry Baer (Tony)is German; Jack Palance (Mr. Scarface)American; Al Cliver a Cairo-born Italian; and Vittorio Caprioli (Napoli) Italian. All things considered, it should come as no surprise that a German should appear in an Italian film. Remember, Visconti's casting of Alain Delon and his lover Helmut Schmidt. Italy was a haven for Americans: Italian directors brought out the hidden talent of some actors rarely seen in America. Richard Basehart in Fellini's 'la Strada'or Clint Eastwood who found an exit from a dead-end career in the US in Leone's spaghetti westerns as did Lee Van Clef. De Leo used well the image of Palance's face which incarnates the evil of loan sharks, and within he got an actor who could speak Italian. Baer brings the youthful elan of wanting to make it big and quick as a 'tax collector' though his fists and his intelligence. Cliver with a face of a fallen angel seeks revenge with a natural quickness and understanding of a finely tuned intelligence. And of course in Caprioli, he well used a finely turned the finely tuned sense of comedy and the wiliness of an old fox. The film opens up with a dreamlike sequence that as the quickly paced story is the key to its denouement. There is only one thing for you to do: rush out, find a copy of 'Rulers of the City', sit back and enjoy it!

Scott LeBrun "Rulers of the City" is enjoyable for fans of the Italian crime flick, with a fast moving story and a sense of humour to let you know that it's never taking itself too seriously. The actors are all good and the film is effectively violent without ever getting very bloody. True enough that it may not be all that believable, but it *is* entertaining, if not memorable in the end. Director Fernando Di Leo was prolific in this genre and the viewer may want to check out his other works; they're available in DVD and Blu-ray box sets from Raro Video.The amiable Harry Baer stars as Tony, a young debt collector who's tired of his go-nowhere job. So he hatches a scheme with aging mobster Napoli (Vittorio Caprioli) and his new friend Rick (Al Cliver of "Zombi 2") to con big time hood Manzari (Jack Palance) out of several million. Naturally, things don't work out the way that they want and they end up having to make a stand against Manzari and his goons.It's enjoyable to see this international, familiar cast at work. Palance is convincing as the bad guy, the engaging Caprioli supplies a good deal of the comedy relief, Edmund Purdom (the dean in "Pieces") has a welcome presence as mafioso Luigi Cherico, the lovely Gisela Hahn provides the eye candy (and also sings some tunes), and Enzo Pulcrano is amusing as volatile jerk Peppi, who's out to get Tony. Co-scriptwriter Peter Berling also plays the role of Valentino in the film.All in all, this is pleasant to watch, with a reasonably rousing action climax and an eclectic score by Luis Bacalov.Seven out of 10.

JasparLamarCrabb An OK Italian crime thriller from director Fernando Di Leo. Harry Baer is a low level collector for a mafia don who swindles a rival Mafioso (Jack Palance) out of some money. The rival wants revenge. Baer and his clever cohorts thwart Palance and his goons at every turn. Not exactly the action packed thriller you'd expect from Di Leo, but still fairly entertaining. Baer gives an energetic performance and most of the supporting players are great. Palance, who's top-billed though off screen much of the time, smokes and growls. He's called "Scarface" throughout (he has a pronounced scar over his left eye). The music by Luis Enriquez Bacalov is dynamite and the photography by Erico Menczer captures a particularly sunny Rome circa 1976. Edmund Purdom appears briefly.