The VHS Archives: Alberto De Martino's NEW MAFIA BOSS (1972)

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NEW MAFIA BOSS

Alberto De Martino's I familiari delle vittime non saranno avvertiti (1972)

The VHS Archives Factsheet

Label: Video City Productions

Catalog: 5047

Box Type: Clamshell

Year of Release: 1985

Runtime: 100:03 (99:37 + end credits music)

Print: 1.33:1 / English / No subs

Extras: Trailer for Proof of the Man

About the Film

Director: Alberto De Martino

Year of Release: 1972

Country of Origin: Italy

Stars: Antonio Sabato, Telly Savalas, Paola Tedesco, Guido Lollobrigida, Maria Valente  

AKAs: The Family of the Victim Will Not Be Warned, The New Mafia Boss, Crime Boss, The Mafia Traitor, The Mafia Terminator, The Murder Network

Verbatim Box Synopsis

Telly Savalas delivers another riveting performance in this brutal gangster epic of mafia families at war.

At stake are millions in mafia profits. The struggle for leadership leaves dozens of corpses in its wake. Bullets fly; loyalties are forgotten as powerful mafia dons claw for the top spot in this corrupt kingdom.

U.S. Video City Productions sleeve!

U.K. Medusa Home Video reissue sleeve, courtesy of Pre-Cert Video!

German Mondial Video hardbox cover!

French VIP Video Club sleeve!

Spanish Luna sleeve!

Argentinean World Video sleeve, courtesy of Raro VHS!

A ltbx print of the entire movie, uploaded by PizzaFlix!

Looking for New Mafia Boss on VHS? It's available on Amazon here. You can also get a cheapo (bootleg) Italian crime DVD set including the flick as Crime Boss, if that's your thing. 

Investigate more titles with Project: Video City!

For a look at other labels, check out The VHS Archives!

© 2013 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.

Dawn of the Grab Bag! Mystery Photos #61-65!

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Welcome back to the ol' Arcana for another round of Grab Bag Goodies!

As outlined in previous installments, I purchased a few hundred promotional stills that have had their title captions trimmed off. Some I recognize, most I don't. It's up to my faithful readership to help me decipher what they're promoting. Hell, solve enough of 'em and maybe I'll send you some of the duplicates I received!

For those not familiar with promo stills, they occasionally carry a helpful hint or two. Some are branded with a cataloging code of letters and numbers which usually signify an abbreviation of the title (sometimes a retitling) and, if you're especially lucky, maybe the year of release (not to be confused with year of production). And that's pretty much all we have to go on...

The thirteenth batch is below; let's see what you've got!

 #61: SR-31

Spaghetti Cinema's William Connolly is no stranger to Luigi Vanzi's The Stranger Returns (1967), the middle entry in Tony Anthony's popular trilogy. This one finds him trying to take down a gang of stagecoach thieves (literally -- the coach is made of gold!) for a hefty bounty. Though there's an old bootleg double-bill out from Alfa Digital, the best option is the brand new remaster (as Western Jack) courtesy of Germany's Colosseo Film. 

 #62: HAR-119

 #63: WPI-7

Turns out this is a still from Veit Harlan's Magdalena (1958), a German import originally titled Liebe kann wie gift sein (Love Can Be Like Poison). Brought to the U.S. in 1960 and "introducing the Sensual Sabrina," the movie follows the titular bad girl from boarding school goody-goody to drug-addled prostitute. I've never even heard of this prior; has anyone seen it? 

 #64: 57-H9

Big Bad Bill Connolly makes it two this batch by placing Helga Line and Tony Russel in Alberto De Martino's The Secret Seven (1963)! It's Peplum Time as only the Italians do it, this time taking a beat from The Magnificent Seven in this story of rebel slaves trying to overthrow a tyrannical king. Though it gained theatrical play worldwide, it's tough to find nowadays and apparently the only English-language game in town is an old Dutch tape titled Invincible Seven?

#65: 7120-29 © Trans American Films, 1971

Temple of Schlock's Chris Poggiali IDs some Swedish sexploitation with Vernon P. Becker's Dagmar's Hot Pants, Inc. (1971). This Copenhagen call girl romp follows a hooker who's closing up shop for good, ready to settle down for the boring housewife life.  Of course, some other folks have some other plans... Not sure if this was ever released to VHS Stateside, but it has been playing cable lately, so check your listings!

Like what you see? Be sure and check out our previous Grab Bag Photos, some of which are still unidentified.  And don't forget, our Upcoming Releases List (the best on the 'net) is constantly updated, so stop by and pre-order some cool stuff!

© 2012 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.

It's Name that Movie Monday! Challenge #7!

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Welcome back to Name that Movie Monday!

It's time for Challenge #7 here at the ol' Arcana. Can you identify this week's mystery photo, scanned direct from The Holecheck Archives? If you think you recognize it, post a comment below. As the week goes on, if no one guesses correctly I'll begin adding some pretty useless hints. Easy, right?

Here ya' go -- good luck!



UPDATE:

Congrats go out to the man, the myth, Marty McKee, for identifying this week's challenge in a half-hour flat, smashing our prior record!  The still above is indeed from Alberto De Martino's Strange Shadows in an Empty Room (1976), a surprising little gem with a killer cast (including Stuart Whitman, Tisa Farrow, John Saxon and Martin Landau) that doesn't get nearly the attention it deserves.  Known to the rest of the world as Blazing Magnum, this poliziotteschi (with some giallo trappings) features, as AIP's pressbook states, "one of the most breathtaking and destructive car chases ever seen on the screen," as well as, "a crashing helicopter, a transvestite crushed in a cement mixer, fights and falls from a skyscraper, and all sorts of shootings." 

American International Pictures issued it theatrically in 1977, oddly playing up the thriller elements more than the action.  (To be fair, their publicity did devote some space to Whitman's stuntwork, along with his exercise regimen of handball and horseback riding...)  On VHS the title found release in the '80s from Vestron Video, whose onscreen title dropped the word "Strange." 

Unfortunately, the film is still lacking a proper DVD release; an unlicensed version turned up as part of VideoAsia's Grindhouse Experience, Vol. 2 set, but it's a crummy transfer a few generations removed from VHS.  We can only hope that one of the boutique labels will roll the dice and give it a shot.

I couldn't find the trailer online (even though I know I have it on a compilation somewhere; perhaps one of the Something Weird tapes?), but plenty of folks have uploaded the car chase! 

For a look at last week's entry, click here. And don't forget, our Upcoming Releases List (the best on the 'net) is constantly updated, so stop by and preorder some cool stuff!

© 2010 -- Bruce Holecheck. All Rights Reserved.