Beast with a Gun

Beast with a Gun is a 1977 Italian crime picture that Sergio Grieco both wrote and directed, working within the tough, violent poliziottesco style that was popular in Italian cinema at the time. It turned out to be Grieco's last film before his death five years later. Helmut Berger takes the lead as Nanni Vitali, a character loosely modeled on real-life Milanese gangster Renato Vallanzasca, opposite Marisa Mell, with Richard Harrison and Nello Pazzafini featured in the supporting cast. The film has also circulated internationally under a separate alternate title, a name that captures its focus on a violent criminal on the run from police rather than on any traditional detective figure. Grieco, who had spent much of his career alternating between adventure films and crime pictures, closed out his filmography with this dark, fast-paced portrait of an outlaw whose real-world inspiration was still a notorious fugitive in Italy when the movie reached cinemas.