Detective Belli
Detective Belli (Italian: Un Detective) is a 1969 Italian poliziotteschi directed by Romolo Guerrieri and starring Franco Nero.[1] It is based on the novel Macchie di belletto by Ludovico Dentice.[2]
| Detective Belli | |
|---|---|
 Italian film poster | |
| Directed by | Romolo Guerrieri |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Based on | Macchie di belletto by Ludovico Dentice |
| Produced by | Mario Cecchi Gori |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Roberto Gerardi |
| Edited by | Marcello Malvestito |
| Music by | Fred Bongusto |
Production company | Fair Film |
| Distributed by | Interfilm |
Release date |
|
Running time | 103 minutes |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | Italian |
| Box office | ₤616.63 million |
Cast
- Franco Nero as Detective Stefano Belli
- Florinda Bolkan as Vera Fontana
- Adolfo Celi as Lawyer Fontana
- Delia Boccardo as Sandy Bronson
- Susanna Martinková as Emmanuelle
- Renzo Palmer as Commissioner Balsamo
- Roberto Bisacco as Claude
- Maurizio Bonuglia as Mino Fontana
- Laura Antonelli as Franca
- Geoffrey Copleston as Police Chief
- Silvia Dionisio as Gabriella
- Marino Masé as Romanis
Background and style
Film critic and historian Roberto Curti identifies Detective Belli and Days of Fire as examples of Italian crime films influenced by the themes of film noir. In a similar manner to his earlier giallo film The Sweet Body of Deborah, Guerrieri's film also employs tropes of the "sexy thriller" subgenre.[2]
Release
Detective Belli was released in Italy by Interfilm on September 6, 1969, where it grossed 616.63 million Italian lira.[2] At the height of the popularity of the 1970s poliziotteschi cycle, the film was re-released under the title Tracce di rossetto e di droga per un detective ("Traces of lipstick and drugs for a detective").[2] Nero would later play another character with the surname Belli in 1973's High Crime; the character in that film differs from the corrupt protagonist of Guerrieri's film.[2]
Reception
Critic Giovanni Buttafava praised the film's ending, describing it as "nocturnal, stylized, à la Jean-Pierre Melville, with the cold yet emotionally charged confrontation between the half-rotten-half-clean cop Franco Nero and Florinda Bolkan, with stylistic traits of film noir mythologizing which were rare in Italy, and rather remarkable as well".[2] Curti praised Guerrieri's work on the film, stating that it "amply shows that he's an accomplished director in his own right".[2]
References
Footnotes
- Canby, Vincent (2011). "Detective Belli". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. Archived from the original on 20 May 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
- Curti 2013, p. 26-7.
Sources
- Curti, Roberto (2013). Italian Crime Filmography, 1968-1980. McFarland. ISBN 978-0786469765.