IMDb RATING
6.4/10
4.6K
YOUR RATING
Gangster Joe Valachi is a marked man in the same joint where mob boss Don Vito Genovese is imprisoned and he's forced to co-operate with the DA in exchange for protection.Gangster Joe Valachi is a marked man in the same joint where mob boss Don Vito Genovese is imprisoned and he's forced to co-operate with the DA in exchange for protection.Gangster Joe Valachi is a marked man in the same joint where mob boss Don Vito Genovese is imprisoned and he's forced to co-operate with the DA in exchange for protection.
Gerald S. O'Loughlin
- Ryan
- (as Gerald O'Loughlin)
Alessandro Sperli
- Giuseppe 'Joe the Boss' Masseria
- (as Alessandro Sperlì)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn return for using the penitentiary grounds of the Sing Sing Correctional Facility, the production made a large contribution to the prison's recreation fund.
- GoofsDuring the chase scene which takes place during the 1920s in New York, a car goes into the river and in the background the twin towers of the World Trade Center under construction can be clearly seen. This is one of the most famous period reconstruction mistakes in film history.
- Quotes
Tony Bender: "Cut it off!" Bender to his two henchman as they grab Gap to get a "present" for Don Vito's girlfriend.
- Alternate versionsTo receive an 'X' certificate the UK cinema version received heavy cuts to scenes of violence including the castration scene, bloody shootings, and the meat hook killing. Video and DVD releases restore the cuts.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Valachi: The Violent Era (1972)
Featured review
Read it in the papers.
The following year Charles Bronson would team up with director Michael Winner as a cop on the trail of the mafia, but the year before in "The Valachi Papers" he would find himself smack in the middle of it all as former mobster Joe Valachi serving 15 years in prison with a target on his head of twenty thousand dollars by mafia capo Vito Genovese. When he learns of it with there being no way of getting out of it when receives the kiss of death. Joe decides to spill his guts on the inner workings (extortion, vengeance and murder) of LaCosa Nostra for some sort of protection for him and his family. This would be the third European film of the trot between Charles Bronson and director Terence Young with the gritty crime flick "Cold Sweat (1970)" and buddy western "Red Sun (1971)" being the two before it. Coming out the same year as the similar in vein, but masterful classic "The Godfather". "The Valachi Papers" probably came and went with little notice. While not as stylish, it managed to have scope in its tough, trim and grippingly told narration splitting between past recounting and present situations. The plot was adapted off Peter Maas' novel of the same name that covers this true account of the mafia underworld and organised crime. A steadfast Bronson perfectly nailed down the lead with excellently respectable support by the likes of Lino Ventura, Joseph Wiseman, Walter Chiari, Gerald S. O'Loughlin, Angelo Infanti and Amedeo Nazzari. Director Young does a steadily routine job, but it's well done for such a minimal and straight looking production. For a running time of just over two hours, never does it feel it or seem to drag. The workmanlike execution gives the air a brutal (one raw act of violence would have any male squirming) and hardboiled touch, crafting well etched period (through the 1930s) location details and a having profound power in its escalating dramatics. A violent, tough-talking gangster feature with fine cast associated.
helpful•110
- lost-in-limbo
- Apr 24, 2010
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $5,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime2 hours 5 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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