In the Name of the Law

Massimo Girotti has just been appointed the judge of a small town in Sicily. It's controlled by the local baron, Camillo Mastrocinque, and Mafia, headed by Charles Vanel. Girotti tries to govern by the law, but everyone in the town is used to the corruption, the murders, and the donkey stealing. He has only a few allies: a youngster, one of the police, and Jones Salinas, the baroness.

Pietro Germi, who wrote and directed this, seems to have seen a lot of westerns and been influenced by them for this movie; the way the Mafia ride into town, shotguns at their backs, Carlo Rustichelli's English-horn-dominated music raising the blood, feels like an A western, with the hero about to stand off the gang of bandits. The movie is remarkably frank about the habits of the area, how everyone is simply used to things being how they are, and blaming whoever it s safe to, specifically the stiff-necked Girotti. While I found the ending a little abrupt and pat, getting there was worth the trip.