''The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist'' ( it, Il cinico, l'infame, il violento, lit=The Cynic, the Infamous, the Violent) is an Italian ''

poliziotteschi Poliziotteschi (; singular ''poliziottesco'') constitute a subgenre of crime and action films that emerged in Italy in the late 1960s and reached the height of their popularity in the 1970s. They are also known as ''polizieschi all'italiana'', ' ...

'' film directed in 1977 by

Umberto Lenzi Umberto Lenzi (6 August 1931 – 19 October 2017) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and novelist. A fan of film since young age, Lenzi studied at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and made his first film in 1958 which went unr ...

and third entry into the Tanzi/Moretto/Monnezza shared universe as well as serving as a direct sequel to '' The Tough Ones''. The film was described by Italian film critic and historian Roberto Curti as "a sequel of sorts" to Lenzi's 1976 '' The Tough Ones'', with Maurizio Merli reprising the role of Inspector Leonardo Tanzi. The title of the movie inspired the book ''Cinici infami e violenti'' (2005), written by Daniele Magni and Silvio Giobbio, a book guide about "

Poliziotteschi Poliziotteschi (; singular ''poliziottesco'') constitute a subgenre of crime and action films that emerged in Italy in the late 1960s and reached the height of their popularity in the 1970s. They are also known as ''polizieschi all'italiana'', ' ...

Plot

Luigi "The Chinaman" Maietto escapes from prison. As soon as he is free he assigns immediately two henchman to murder the inspector whose testimonial once led to his prison sentence. Inspector Tanzi is left for dead but survives. The local newspapers cover up for him and pretend the assassination had succeeded. When Tanzi gets better, his superior wants him to hide in Switzerland. But Tanzi defies him because he intends to make sure himself that Maietto is put back in prison. He goes for it.

Cast

Maurizio Merli Maurizio Merli (February 8, 1940 – March 10, 1989) was an Italian film actor and a star of many Italian police thrillers. Career After a decade of minor film roles, 1974 saw a breakthrough for Merli with his first starring role in a rema ...

as Leonardo Tanzi *

Tomas Milian Tomas Milian (born Tomás Quintín Rodríguez-Varona Milián Salinas de la Fé y Álvarez de la Campa; 3 March 1933 – 22 March 2017) was a Cuban-born actor and singer with American and Italian citizenship, known for the emotional intensity and ...

as Luigi "The Chinaman" Maietto *

John Saxon John Saxon (born Carmine Orrico; August 5, 1936 – July 25, 2020) was an American actor who worked on more than 200 film and television projects during a span of 60 years. He was known for his work in Westerns and horror films, often playing ...

as Frank Di Maggio *

Renzo Palmer Renzo Palmer (20 December 1929 – 4 June 1988) was an Italian film, television and stage actor. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1957 and 1988. Life and career Born in Milan as Lorenzo Bigatti, Palmer was the adopted son of the ...

as Commissioner Astalli *Gabriella Lepori as Nadia * Robert Hundar as Dario *

Bruno Corazzari Bruno Corazzari (born 30 December 1940) is an Italian film, television and stage actor. Life and career Born in Castellarano, Reggio Emilia, Corazzari started his career in the second half of the sixties, playing minor roles in a number of S ...

as Cesare Ettore *

Marco Guglielmi Marco Guglielmi (6 October 1926 – 28 December 2005) was an Italian actor, screenwriter and author. Life and career Born Augusto Guglielmi in Sanremo, he graduated from ragioneria, then he enrolled at the university in the faculty of economi ...

as Marchetti, Di Maggio's lawyer *

Gabriella Giorgelli Gabriella Giorgelli (born 29 July 1941) is an Italian film and television actress. She appeared in more than 70 films between 1960 and 1998. Biography Early life Born in Fossola, a frazione of Carrara, Giorgelli was the daughter of a busines ...

as Maria Balzano *

Guido Alberti Guido Alberti (20 April 1909 Birth name: Guido Renato Vittorio Alberti. – 3 August 1996) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 60 films between 1963 and 1993. Selected filmography * ''Wild Love'' (1956) - Sor Alberto (uncredited) * ...

as Tanzi's Uncle * Gianni Musy as Nicola Proietti *Gianfilippo Carcano as The Professor *

Massimo Bonetti Massimo Bonetti (born 28 March 1951) is an Italian actor and director. Life and career Born in Rome, Bonetti after several years as character actor debuted in a leading role in 1981, in Aurelio Chiesa's ''Bim Bum Bam''. Then, he obtained role ...

as ''"Cappuccino"'' * Riccardo Garrone as Natali *

Ennio Antonelli Ennio Antonelli (born 18 November 1936) is an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church and retired President of the Pontifical Council for the Family. Early life and ordination Born in Todi, he first attended seminary there, and then in Ass ...

as barber in jail

Production

Screenwriter

Ernesto Gastaldi Ernesto Gastaldi (born 10 September 1934) is an Italian screenwriter. Film historian and critic Tim Lucas described Gastaldi as the first Italian screenwriter to specialize in horror and thriller films. Gastaldi worked within several popular ge ...

later spoke negatively on his work on the film "the story wasn't mine, and I just did supervising work on the finished script. Actually, I didn't even like the movie." The film was shot at Elios film and on location in Rome.

Release

''The Cynic, the Rat, and the Fist'' was distributed theatrically in Italy by Medusa on February 3, 1977. It grossed a total of 1,818,523,920

Italian lira The lira (; plural lire) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was first introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually ...

on its domestic release in Italy, an amount Curti described as "very successful at the box office."

Notes

References

* *

External links

* 1977 films Poliziotteschi films Films directed by Umberto Lenzi Films shot in Rome Films scored by Franco Micalizzi 1970s Italian films {{crime-thriller-film-stub