When Italian directors are discussed, Pietro Germi is often forgotten. Which is strange since he was nominated for the Best Director Oscar and won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Divorce Italian Style. He had quite a few international hits in the ’50s and ’60s. How could such a successful filmmaker get left out? It appears Germi is perceived as not lofty to reach the upper echelon art house by some and not caught up in the genre grindhouse waves for others. He exists in a middle ground of Italian cinema which isn’t good for conversations or Introduction to World Cinema lectures. Germi is front in center in The Facts of Murder. Besides directing the crime drama, Germi plays cigar smoking police inspector that wears his sunglasses indoors.
A burglar scores a daylight jewelry robbery of Commendatore Anzaloni’s apartment. The old military man chases after him and fires a gun, but doesn’t catch the guy. The police show up to investigate with Inspector Ciccio Ingravallo (Pietro Germi) as the lead detective. He’s not quite buying this as a random crime since the thief was able to locate the valuables in record time. His initial suspect is the boyfriend of a neighbor’s servant Assuntina (Pink Panther‘s Claudia Cardinale). He has an alibi. Before the Inspector can get too deep into the theft, the case turns into a homicide when Dr. Valdarena (Night Train Murders‘ Franco Fabrizi) finds a body that’s associated with the investigation. The doctor pockets an envelope at the crime scene before calling the cops. What is he hiding? The Inspector has a bigger case than he ever imagined when he lit up his first stogie of the day.
The Facts of Murder is a top-notch crime film with a lot of twists. The excellence starts with Germi’s performance as the Inspector. He’s so perfect in the role. If this was an American film, you could easily imagine Universal wanting to turn him playing the Inspector into an NBC Mystery Movie series like Columbo. It’s rather confusing that Germi didn’t make another film playing the Inspector character. The Facts of Murder ought to be treated as a Proto-Poliziotteschi. He’s not quite the Dirty Harry attitude cop that would become popular in the ’70s. He’s not gunning at everyone that moves or engaging in high-speed chases. The Inspector has plenty of swagger when he’s on a case as he puffs away on his cigar. He does slap around suspects, so he isn’t all by the book. This film alone should have him constantly mentioned when talking about Italian cinema. Pietro Germi delivers an unforgettable performance as Inspector Ciccio Ingravallo and directs a gem of a cop film in The Facts of Murder.
The video is 1.37:1 full frame. The restored transfer brings out the details of the crime scene in a lush black and white. Germi looks cool on the screen. The Audio is LPCM 2.0 Mono. It’s a clear audio track. The movie is subtitled in English.
Booklet with essay by Roberto Curti.
Interview with Pietro Germi expert Mario Sesti (46:36) helps give biographical details about the director and his career in film. This is in Italian with English subtitles.
The Man With the Cigar in His Mouth (38:51) is a documentary about Pietro Germi that has Mario Monicelli, Claudia Cardinale, Stefania Sandrelli, Giuseppe Tornatore and others talking about the director. We get to see his Oscar. He is described as a guy who had a limited wardrobe. He was not a flashy director.
What’s Black and Yellow All Over? All Shades of Italian Film Noir (18:40) is an essay by Paul A. J. Lewis. He gets into the film noir elements found in Italian cinema. We see how the American genre was embraced in Europe and became part of Italy’s Neo Realism movement. He tracks how Visconti, Antonnio and Lamberto Bava adapted The Postman Only Rings Twice in different ways.
Radiance Films present The Facts of Murder. Directed by Pietro Germi. Screenplay by Ennio De Concini. Starring Pietro Germi, Claudia Cardinale, Franco Fabrizi, Cristina Gaioni, Claudio Gora & Eleonora Rossi Drago. Running Time: 115 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: December 19, 2023.
