Machine Gun McCain ** (1969, John Cassavetes, Britt Ekland, Peter Falk, Britt Ekland, Gabriele Ferzetti) – Classic Movie Review 11,024

The tough 1969 Italian action crime gangster thriller film Machine Gun McCain [Gli Intoccabili] stars John Cassavetes as the rough and ready ex-con criminal Hank McCain, out to avenge himself on Mafia hoods by robbing their Las Vegas casino. 

Director Giuliano Montaldo’s tough 1969 Italian action crime gangster thriller film Machine Gun McCain [Gli Intoccabili] stars John Cassavetes as the rough and ready ex-con criminal armed robber Hank McCain, who is released paroled from prison after serving 12 years for armed robbery and links up with his son Jack (Pierluigi Aprà), out to avenge himself on Mafia hoods by stealing from their Las Vegas casino.

But Jack is also involved with West Coast mob capo Charlie Adamo (Peter Falk), who uses Hank as a pawn to try to gain control of the Las Vegas territory being run by East Coast mobster Don Francesco DeMarco (Gabriele Ferzetti).

A film that is cast with John Cassavetes, Peter Falk as the particularly nasty and ruthless gangster Charlie Adamo, and Gena Rowlands (as gangster’s moll Rosemary Scott) can’t be all bad – not to mention Britt Ekland, Gabriele Ferzetti, Val Avery and Florinda Bolkan – but this one tries hard.

On the plus side are the performances of Cassavetes and Falk as splashily nasty gangsters, Enrico Menczer’s flashy widescreen photography in Technicolor and Techniscope, and Ennio Morricone’s catchy score. However Morricone’s theme song, The Ballad of Hank McCain (sung by Jackie Lynton), is absolutely awful, though arguably in a good way, and sung throughout. It would be more suitable to a Western than a gangster flick.

‘Special Guest Star’ Gena Rowlands makes the most of her few minutes of screen time towards the end of the movie, as McCain’s old flame. She looks good and makes a bit impact. Britt Ekland has a lot of screen time as McCain’s current flame, and then new wife, Irene Tucker, but the role is a thankless task. She’s just there to look lovely, and of course she does, and be a patient loving subservient sidekick to McCain. Gabriele Ferzetti isn’t bad, managing a bit of smooth and slimy Italian menace as the mob boss Don Francesco DeMarco, who is working under the orders of the Godfather figure, Don Salvatore (Salvo Randone).

There are occasional exciting flashes of a much better movie trying to get out from under this one, and that idea keeps it entirely watchable. Sometimes it is exciting with bursts of action and spurts of tension, but often it is disposable pulp. McCain gets to use his Machine Gun a couple of times, and Cassavetes makes that entertaining. Indeed his performance is surprisingly fired up and full on. He doesn’t phone it in at all, or suggest he is slumming, even if, as Montaldo said, he only took the role to finance his own films.

The screenplay by Mino Roli (story and screenplay), Israel Horovitz (dialogue) and Giuliano Montaldo (uncredited) is freely based on the novel Candyleg by Ovid Demaris. No doubt the film’s hacking of 20 minutes from the 116 minutes original version in Italy to the 96 minutes international version has resulted in the muddled and convoluted narrative, and generally unsatisfactory film.

Both Italian and international versions that run 96 minutes are dubbed, including the Italian actors, and both films are called Machine Gun McCain. The original Italian title Gli Intoccabili translates as The Untouchables.

Also in the cast are Pierluigi Aprà, Salvo Randone, Luigi Pistilli, Margherita Guzzinati. Claudio Biava, Steffen Zacharias, James Morrison, Florinda Bolkan, Tony Kendall and Maria Mizar.

It was shot on location in Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York City, with studio interiors at De Paolis and Dear Studios in Rome. It often looks pretty good, and the exteriors anyway are certainly very striking. There is guerrilla film-making. When Hank leaves prison to be met by his son Jack, it was shot at San Quentin without permits, and the car chase was filmed also without permits in two days using Hertz rented cars. Those were the days!

McCain’s submachine gun is a STEN Mk I.

Machine Gun McCain [Gli Intoccabili] is directed by Giuliano Montaldo, runs 116 minutes (Italy) or 96 minutes, is made by Euroatlantica and Euro International Film, is released by Euro International Film (1969) (Italy) and Columbia Pictures (1970) (US) and (UK), is written by Mino Roli, Israel Horovitz and Giuliano Montaldo, is shot in Technicolor and Techniscope by Enrico Menczer, is produced by Bino Cicogna and Marco Vicario, and scored by Ennio Morricone.

It premiered at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Palme d’Or, before its release in Italy on 1 April 1969.

It is the first film featuring Cassavetes and Falk, but they share no scenes. Falk previously played a gangster in Murder Inc (1960).

Giuliano Montaldo’s previous thriller film was Grand Slam [Ad ogni costo]. Montaldo (born 22 February 1930) said he made Grand Slam and Machine Gun McCain as purely commercial projects to establish himself in the industry before making the films he wanted to make: these include Sacco and Vanzetti (1971).

The cast are John Cassavetes as Hank McCain, Britt Ekland as Irene Tucker, Peter Falk as Charlie Adamo, Gabriele Ferzetti as Don Francesco DeMarco, Pierluigi Aprà as Jack McCain, Luigi Pistilli as Duke Mazzanga, Florinda Bolkan as Joni Adamo, Gena Rowlands as Rosemary Scott, Salvo Randone as Don Salvatore, Steffen Zacharias as Abe Stilberman, Tony Kendall as Pete Zacari, Val Avery as Chuck Regan, Margherita Guzzinati as Margaret DeMarco, Claudio Biava as Barclay, James Morrison as Joby Cuda, Dennis Sallas as Fred Tecosky, Jack Ackerman as Britten, Steffen Zacharias, and Maria Mizar.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,024

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