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Massacre Mafia Style (1978)
Dir: Duke Mitchell
Mimi Miceli (Duke Mitchell), the Son of a deported Mafia Don returns to America
from Sicily to make it in the Rackets.
Teaming up with long time friend Jolly Rizzo he muscles in on the Pimps and
Loan Sharks, at first co-operating with the other Mafia families.
But Mimi's pride and obsession with power and money soon bring him into conflict with the other Gangsters and his own Father's displeasure……..
This delightfully egotistical slice of Grindhouse Gangster cinema, written, Directed, co-Produced, and starring the late Duke Mitchell (he even did the music and sings on the soundtrack!) is pretty much a forgotten entity nowadays, but any fan of violent, off the wall 70's movies will find much to enjoy in this ragged, low budget exercise in vanity.
From the wonderfully over the top massacre opening (where Mimi and Jolly proceed to wipe out an entire office building with deadpan expressions, electrocution by urinal and table lamp and much silly rolling over desks), to the hysterically operatic Finale, "Massacre Mafia Style" never fails to hold the attention. And no matter what some of the other shortcomings of the film may be from a technical and logical point of view, Mitchell is to be congratulated for never wasting a minute of the films lean running time.
As the stoic, but ruthlessly psychotic Mimi, Mitchell commands the viewers
attention. Giving himself some punchy, if basic action scenes and truly grand
standing dialogue ("Tonight we eat, tomorrow we shoot", before
the film throws some blasting shotgun action in the dazed viewers face, and
"These hands are more powerful than the Atomic Bomb" as he
cradles the hand of an old Sicilian Woman).
It's easy to tell that Mitchell (once one half of a Martin and Lewis comedy
team that got slammed down by the Hollywood stars Lawyers) really believes in
his characters motivations and warped code of honour.
Mitchell gives Mimi two big monologues (one of which contains a cheeky dig at
"The Godfather" movie)
about honour, pride, self worth and the meaning of a Sicilians life, and they
are a tour de force of self-indulgent clichés that somehow sum up the
whole feel of the movie. This is ego being stroked, but in such a delightful
and entertaining way that you can't help but warm to this guy…not just
Mimi the character, but Mitchell himself. The story about his Father and the
fish would have been worth the price of admission to one of those long gone
42nd Street fleapit cinemas alone!
The action is expertly placed, leaving enough time between splatter filled
assassinations (highlights of which are a great bullet in the head effect and
a guy hung via a meat hook through the back of the skull that exits through
his right eye!) to keep the complex (or messy, take your pick) plot about Mimi
and Jolly switching with illogical abandon between being partners with, then
ruthlessly killing, the other Mafia guys, one of whom is played by a young(ish)
George 'Buck' Flower who would go on to appear in John Carpenter movies like
"The Fog" and "They Live".
And even with the short running time (barely 78 minutes on video) Mitchell finds
time to give Mimi a full breasted, saucer nipple love interest in the shape
of Liz the honourable Hooker (Cara Salerno).
It is a film of it's time though, and some of the attitudes to Black Americans are suspect (but certainly in keeping with The Mafia's real life thinking so are perfectly valid) with only one Black character being showcased and given the obvious 'occupation' of Pimp (all big afro, big shades, big trousers, big coats and smart ass attitude) and the name of 'Super Spook'. But PC or not when Mimi points at Jolly's Lincoln style beard and says "What you doing, freeing the Niggers?", you can't help but smile at the crass style at work.
But this is not a film for those with any kind of social chip on their shoulder
or stoic belief in higher morals. This is a film for lovers of breasts, guns,
Gangsters, 70's bad clothes and hair, gratuitous violence, Pizzas, spaghetti,
pseudo Sinatra/Tony Bennett crooning, hand waving 'Mama Mia' old Dons, rough
as hell cinematography and hysterically balls out dialogue.
Fit the bill? Then seek this grungy sucker out!
The promised DVD from 'Grindhouse' (where the crazy trailer for this on their
"I Drink Your Blood" DVD got lots of people brilliantly hyped up for
the film) has sadly yet to happen so it's back to searching out old VHS tapes,
where in the UK it was released as "The Executioner".
So what are you waiting for? As Mimi would say, "you're either in, or in the way"…so haul ass quick and get this grime-caked gem in those sweaty hands of yours.
