The Facts of Murder

Gadda's masterpiece is a blend of philosophical novel with mystery and murder, a baroque, caustic and ultimately poignant work exploring the myriad of interactive lives' endless and kaleidoscopic complexities - in other words, causes often interrelated that converge to the production of each individual effect. The book was rather flatenned here, but still it's Germi's most lasting and currently estimable movie, even better than The Road to Hope and Seduced and Abandoned.

Although Pietro Germi has the distinction of having directed the prototype of the genre known as Commedia all'Italiana, his non-comedic films are strongly influenced by the cinema of North America and here he has given us a first-rate 'police procedural'.

He and his excellent collaborators Alfredo Giannetti and Ennio de Concini have also faced the daunting task of adapting Carlo Emilio Gadda's 'That awful mess on Via Merulina' which is a panorama of life in Fascist Italy of the late 1920's. Granted, it involves a murder investigation but the author has not felt the need to tell us whodunnit!

The investigating detective in this loose, updated adaptation is played by Signor Germi who has once again opted to direct himself and has created a fascinating character. His skill with actors is legendary and he draws fine performances from Eleonora Rossi Drago, Franco Fabrizi, Claudio Gora, Claudia Cardinale, Nino Castelnuovo and of course the ubiquitous Saro Urzi. Signorina Cardinale is again 'dubbed' as her voice was considered too coarse for the roles she played. She is on the brink here of her greatest decade and we hear her own voice for the first time in Visconti's 'Il Gattopardo' in 1963.

The plot of this is convoluted to say the least but we are carried along by Germi's taut direction, sharp editing by Roberto Cinquini and well-drawn characterisations. Germi's regular cinematographer Leonarda Barboni and composer Carlo Rustichelli contribute immeasurably. Rustichelli's score is particularly full-blooded and he has composed a beautiful and haunting canzona sung by his daughter Alida, entitled 'Otherwise I'll die' which reflects the passionate relationship between the characters played by Cardinale and Castelnuovo. Viewers will no doubt recognise in Cardinale's frantic run after the police car a distinct echo of Anna Magnani's iconic dash in 'Rome, open City'.

Opinions differ as to whether Germi should be counted among the great Italian directors. I suppose it depends upon one's criteria. His most popular films of course have been his beautifully observed satirical comedies but from his directorial debut with the melodrama 'Il Testimone' he has never ceased to show a capacity to tell a story, engage our emotions and to get the very best from his actors. He is sorely in need of reappraisal.

This is a good crime/thriller movie. Anyone who likes similar movies, with police investigations/whodunnit as a plot, will like this as well. It's not a masterpiece and the conclusion feels a bit rushed and not too clever, but it's enjoyable overall, without plot holes and somewhat unpredictable. I didn't guess who the culprit is, so this movie is successful in my books. Don't expect mindblowing twists/action/car chases etc. Biggest quality here is the verisimilitude and the acting. Germi is excellent, his character is magnetic and charismatic, i 'd say even that his character is ahead of his time. Of course it's a bit outdated but this is totally norma for a 1959 movie. This is a 2 hours/B&W 1958 movie and it never got boring. Every fan of this genre will enjoy it.

Un maledetto imbroglio (1959) is a very good movie, it tells us about a country -Italy- still far from the wealth of the sixties, where low class people struggled to make a decent living, and illiteracy was still spread ... Higher class people could threaten poor peoples lives for trivial reasons and meantime humiliate them with their unjustified wealth ... Of course the Germi's task was simplified by the great book it started with, still the Director has his merits: the irony to start with. I basically agree with other opinions. if a catch can be found, I'd say acting is a little bit much too heavy. A kind of "Venus's strabismus"... Some of the actors (Eleonora Rossi Drago, Nino Castelnuovo and at times also Germi himself)overdo - overindulge in - their roles ... They fall into unnecessary theatrical poses. to my opinion the drama is in the facts being narrated and need not much emphasizing by the actors.

very good by all means, but just a bit overacted, to my modest opinion.

pion

This is really a overlooked masterpiece! Germi made a terrific movie from the difficult Gadda's novel. One of his greatest films, together with "Divorzio all'Italiana" e "Il Ferroviere". The acting, especially Germi's, is perfect, and the rythm he impressed to the movie is unique, a sad ballad with soft humor touches. This movie make me proud to be italian and make me a little less ashamed of the contemporary italian cinema. Take a look at this gem and you'll understand!!